The Top 100 Colleges in the U.S. Ranked by Tuition

How to assess the value of a college education in order to avoid malinvestment

Comparing the published price of tuition along with the size of the student population can be one metric to value a university education. However, “shopping” colleges on price alone is shortsighted, thus families may overlook valuable educational opportunities.  Instead families should determine the value of any college education by discussing answers to reflective questions, starting…

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Uneven Pavement Ahead

COVID Effect On Colleges Extends to Fall 2021

Every day, college administrators are announcing Fall 2021 COVID vaccine policies, stoking lively conversations on social media about the requirement to be vaccinated, as well as continued social distancing protocols.  While many colleges continue debating how they’ll conduct the business of education in Fall 2021, and others have announced that they’re re-opening campuses for business…

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Is Fall 2021 University of California Applicant Increase Year Over Year Due to Change in SAT/ACT Policy?

According to a recent Los Angeles Times article, preliminary application counts for Fall 2021 released by the University of California show a 15% increase from last year’s Fall 2020 applications, netting nearly 250,000 single applications. Yet, will increases in applications render to more acceptances and more enrollment? Some speculate that the increase in applications is…

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Comedy: Online Learning College Tuition Increasing, LA Times

College Tuition Increase = College Value Decrease?

For many higher education institutions, like the University of California (UC), the fiscal losses are growing as the health emergency extends, precipitating the need for a tuition increase. As reported in a December 12 Los Angeles Times article:  Systemwide, UC took a $2.7-billion financial hit between March and October — about 6.5% of its $41.6-billion…

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Put Down Your #2 Pencils: The University of California Eliminate SAT/ACT Scores, Comprehensive Review: Part 7

In the seventh post in the series, Put Down Your #2 Pencils: The University of California Eliminates SAT/ACT Scores, Comprehensive Review, where each of the 14 Comprehensive Review points which UC admissions officers use as a guide for their application evaluations are analyzed, high school students can understand how they’ll be assessed during the admissions…

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Examining Subjectivity in the Fall 2021 College Admissions Process

The COVID-induced disruption of the educational system, has also upended the Fall 2021 college admissions process. From suspended admissions requirements, like submitting SAT and ACT scores to the implementation of Pass/No Pass style marks for Spring 2020, instead of academic letter grades, effectively reducing students’ cumulative Grade Point Averages (GPA), students and parents are questioning…

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Put Down Your #2 Pencils, The University of California Eliminates SAT/ACT Scores: Part 2

Since now first year University of California (UC) applicants are not required to submit SAT or ACT scores, many students ask, “What will ‘replace’ the missing information from test scores?” Yet, as Ms. Han Mi Yoon-Wu, UC Director of Undergraduate Admissions stated in her response to CMC’s Open Letter to the University of California:  In…

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A Glimpse Into the Undergraduate Experience during COVID-19 Signals Declining Sentiment about the Value of a College Education

A student who attends a public flagship university in California characterizes distance learning as:  Chaos is an apt description. Zoom is challenging to manage and pre-recorded lectures lack humor. It’s difficult to focus on lectures…  Third year undergraduate The student, like many others, struggles to continue learning, conflicted about missing friends and her life in…

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How COVID-19 may affect Fall 2020 college admissions waitlists

With so many unknowns, as the coronavirus rapidly spreads around the globe, admissions officers from around the US are sharing with Creative Marbles Consultancy they aren’t sure how to predict the enrollment for the incoming classes. Admissions officers are advising that waitlists may become even more vital to round out their incoming class, as they…

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Novel COLLEGE-2020

An online, distance learning college education is not what most four-year college students and their parents paid (or borrowed) to experience. With college closures, the holistic “college experience” has been truncated, as entire university communities have been dispersed, with no late-night dorm floor existential debates, no clubs, no socializing—stripped down to simply content delivery through…

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Questions to Ask About Potential School Closures

As the COVID-19 continues spreading, parents and students may question how to protect their well-being, as well as plan for the continuity of their education, especially as U.S. Health Officials and regional public health directors offer new guidance to school administrators and college officials every day regarding the coronavirus.   School closures and the transfer…

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