The College Solutions Blog

Valuable insights from Lynn O’Shaughnessy
a nationally recognized college expert.

Universities
Featured image for “Ben Graduates Again”
June 8, 2015

Ben Graduates Again

Over the weekend, my son graduated from college again. A year ago, Ben left Beloit College with his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a minor in studio art. On Friday, my 22-year-old son received his master’s degree in education from the University of Denver. Denver Teacher Residency After graduating from Beloit, Ben was only home in San Diego for 10...
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Featured image for “Some Surprising College Super Stars”
June 1, 2015

Some Surprising College Super Stars

Can you guess what the following schools have in common: More Than a Mish Mash Admittedly, this list looks like a mishmash of institutions that includes some of the nation’s prestigious research universities along with specialty engineering schools, liberal arts colleges and master’s level universities. These colleges and universities emerged as super stars in a new value-added college ranking system...
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Featured image for “Colleges vs. Universities: Which Are Bargains?”
May 26, 2015

Colleges vs. Universities: Which Are Bargains?

Here’s a little known but excellent way to cut the cost of a bachelor’s degree: Attend a college rather than a research university. Nearly all colleges provide discounts off their sticker prices versus research universities, which are far less likely to give families a price break. In the chart below that I pulled from the latest tuition discount study from...
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Featured image for “Building a College List:  A Free Resource”
May 21, 2015

Building a College List: A Free Resource

Creating a college list can be intimidating. And it’s no wonder since there is a lot riding on drawing up a solid list of promising colleges and universities. Getting it wrong can lead to students being miserable at their schools. It also is a reason why so many unhappy undergrads end up transferring to different institutions. In extreme cases, creating...
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Featured image for “Would You Pay $47,000 for the University of Oregon?”
April 20, 2015

Would You Pay $47,000 for the University of Oregon?

Last week at the exercise boot camp that I attend on Sunday mornings, I saw a mom who hadn’t been coming to the workouts for several months. The mom is divorced and is trying to support herself as a manicurist. Her son is a high school senior so I had been giving her some college advice before she stopped showing...
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Featured image for “Research Universities:  A Dirty Little Secret”
March 27, 2015

Research Universities: A Dirty Little Secret

Most students who hope to earn a bachelor’s degree will enroll at a university. The schools that students dream of attending are almost always research universities. It’s far less common for teenagers to end up at a college. I find that reality unfortunate because a college can often provide a better education for undergraduates than a research university. And it’s...
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Featured image for “A Young Alum from Georgetown Weighs In”
March 4, 2015

A Young Alum from Georgetown Weighs In

In my last post, I urged parents, who are stressed about how their kids are going to get into the most elite schools, (these are mostly affluent families) to ditch this toxic worry. If you missed the post here it is: Stop Fixating On These Colleges I had a young alum from one of those elite schools write a thoughtful...
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Featured image for “Where to Find the Best College Professors”
July 14, 2014

Where to Find the Best College Professors

How do you know if the college or university that your child ultimately attends will provide him or her with an excellent education? You won’t. College pricing is inching closer to transparency thanks to net price calculators, but it’s largely impossible to form an educated opinion about the strength of a school’s learning environment beyond checking  an institution’s graduation rates....
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Featured image for “Dad: Should l Force My Son to Attend Cornell?”
June 17, 2014

Dad: Should l Force My Son to Attend Cornell?

Some of my most popular blog posts are generated by comments from parents whose children face agonizing college decisions. I got an email today from a dad who is grappling with what to do with his son, who was accepted to Cornell University last year through deferred admission or guaranteed transfer option.  Under this arrangement, Cornell requires an applicant to...
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Featured image for “Are Flagships Worth the Price for Outsiders?”
April 9, 2014

Are Flagships Worth the Price for Outsiders?

I received an email recently from a mom who was upset because her smart daughter didn’t receive any scholarships from the schools on her list. All the school were prestigious public flagships outside her state. These institutions will be among the toughest to receive meaningful scholarships from because they are most demand from their own state residents and they can...
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