Since mid-March 2020, students, parents and educators have been developing ways to ensure a continuity of learning for all students. However, in the uncertainty of the continuing pandemic, 65% of parents worry “whether their children will stay on track and be prepared for the next grade”, with 60% believing school closures will have a negative…
Author: Jill Yoshikawa, Ed M, Partner of Creative Marbles Consultancy
Jill Yoshikawa, EdM, Harvard ’99, a seasoned, 25 year educator and consultant, is meticulous in helping clients navigate all aspects of the educational experience, no matter the level of complexity. She combines educational theory with experience to advise families, schools and educators. A UCSD and Harvard graduate, as well as a former high school teacher, Jill works tirelessly to help her clients succeed.
The Ivy League Goes Test-Optional…Almost
Following both Brown’s and Yale’s test-optional announcements, yesterday evening, June 15, Harvard became the seventh Ivy League college to suspend the requirement of SAT and ACT scores for Fall 2021 first year applicants. Why is Princeton, as the last remaining Ivy League, still requiring standardized test scores for Fall 2021 first year applicants? Since the…
Phased Return to Educational Normalcy
Leaders in the California Department of Education are proposing to reopen schools in phases, by grade level with elementary school students and teachers returning to campuses first. Elementary school students constitute the greatest number of K-12 students and the greatest percentage of schools in California, so prioritizing their return to school will serve the most…
Put Down Your #2 Pencils, The University of California Eliminates SAT/ACT Scores: Part 3
As part of a series of posts, I’ll analyze each of the University of California’s (UC) 14 Comprehensive Review factors which admissions officers will apply to select their incoming first year and transfer classes. The first post can be reviewed here, and in this second post, the following factor will be examined: Number of, content…
Yale Declares Test-Optional Admissions for Fall 2021
On June 12, Yale University officials joined almost 200 universities which have suspended the requirement of SAT and ACT scores for Fall 2021 first year applicants. Like many other universities, Yale’s amended testing policy only applies for the 2020-21 admissions cycle. Yale officials reasoned: This one-year policy change reflects the extraordinary circumstances that students, families,…
Plan to be flexible
As civic leaders seek to revitalize economic activity yet not at the cost of public health, many families are uncertain how to plan for the next school year to ensure continuity in their children’s learning. Adding complexity, on Wednesday, June 10, 2020 Senator Lamar Alexander also stated: Schools should plan for COVID to last at…
Teenage Unemployment Blues
Many high school and college students, who are normally camp counselors, are unemployed as many in-person and residential summer programs were cancelled. While a financial deficit for many students in the short term, cascading consequences may also affect students’ prosperity in the long term. On May 24, Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal wrote…
Navigating Fall 2021 College Admissions: Test-Optional Policies
Current high school juniors who will apply to colleges this Fall are anxious about amending their college plans, given the numerous cancelled SAT and ACT tests this spring, distance learning for the end of the spring semester, as well as not adding to their weighted GPAs as the academic progress of many is indicated with…
Is Sentiment Shifting Regarding College?
The current generation of high school students are preparing for college admissions at a time of annually increasing college costs and significant university fiscal deficits, which could diminish the quality of education for all students. In addition, current high school students will join an already inflated number of college grads competing for jobs in a…
Collaborators Come In Many Forms
Sometimes collaborators in an uber-competive academic environment may seem like an arch-rival, but is actually what we need to succeed.
Student Loan Interest Rates for 2020-21
Federal student loan interest rates for the upcoming 2020-21 school year will be set lower than the 2019-20 school year. The 2020-21 rates will be as follows: Undergraduate Direct Loans: 2.75% Graduate Student Direct Loans: 4.3% Parent PLUS Loans: 5.3% Student loan interest rates are set annually and apply to any loan taken during that…
Test-Optional Admissions for Four Ivy League Colleges
On Wednesday, June 3, The College Board announced that the online, at-home SAT will not be available for Fall 2021: The College Board will pause on offering an at-home SAT this year because taking it would require three hours of uninterrupted, video-quality internet for each student, which can’t be guaranteed for all. After The College…
COVID-19 impacts Fall 2020 academics
As K-12 school administrators debate different options about how to re-open school campus doors to students and teachers in the fall, they are deferring to doctors and public health officials for guidance. So, families must decide, based on the most accurate information regarding the coronavirus outbreak they can acquire, what degree of risk they are…
Defining Life’s Purpose in 500 Words or Less
My advice to a high school senior or transfer student, who’s preparing to share their innermost thoughts with a perfect stranger (AKA a college admissions officer), as they draft college essays would be to consider the acclaimed author, Stephen King’s, view on writing: The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the…
International Academic Collaboration Under Siege
When students and professors from different countries collaborate, the quality of the university scholarship improves concomitantly. Yet, many international students, particularly Chinese students, are less sure if they can complete their studies at U.S. universities, given current travel bans and changes to U.S. foreign policy. …as President Trump’s confrontation with Beijing over trade and security makes pursuing…