I was sick last week and found myself monitoring the flu activity in Sacramento, CA. I wasn’t too concerned until a friend brought to my attention the NYTimes January 9, 2013 front page article, and top two emailed story, Flu Widespread, Leading a Range of Winter’s Ills. Concerned, I got to writing this post, hoping I…
Stop, Smell the Roses and Improve Your View at the Same Time
Seek to grow each day, in a mildly different way, than what you observed about yourself the day before. Stop what you’re doing, letting the mundane day-to-day come to a halt. Once the forward motion that stirred up so much commotion, day in and day out, also ceases, then you can get a glimpse into the…
The Many Meanings of “I Don’t Know”
“I don’t know” is a common answer to a variety of questions, when I talk with teenagers and their families about college and education. What I’ve come to learn is that “I don’t know” has a different meaning, depending on the question.
Applying for Free Money (i.e. Financial Aid)
The process to apply for college financial aid requires families to complete several forms. Below is a list of the forms needed to complete the financial aid application process: 2011 Tax Returns? Check. FAFSA (aka Free Application for Federal Student Aid)? Check. CSS/PROFILE? Wait a minute…What’s that? 2012 Tax Returns, done? Excuse me, why do…
The Inventors Dilemma
A fun excerpt: dedicated to all the curious and hands-on students who tend to create certain “stress” for their parents, and generally, the adult population around them. Did you know? As a child, [Thomas] Edison’s home laboratory often produced explosions that shook the house and upset his father. The hard work it took to make…
Best or Worst U.S. States to Live for Health
Looking to move to or prospect for a college in some far away, unfamiliar state, and weighing the costs and benefits of living in said state? Perhaps, the following “Health Risks By Area” chart, pinpointing five health risks by state, may help in those difficult “which state to live in (temporarily or permanently)” discussions.
The ‘Tweet and a Quarter College Essay
Concentration isn’t easy in today’s day and age; one must really, pointedly make time and space to focus for anyone, let alone teenagers. Just in communicating with others, teens’ attentions are pulled in multiple directions each day. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 63% of all teens report texting daily, with 60…
Embrace, Don’t Shun Worry and Stress; a Normal Part of Living
We spend our lives–first, learning and then, embracing–the idea that stress and worry should be avoided, denied, and minimized, but seldom understood. Art shares his view on worry and stress with a high school junior client and their family, as well as how one can work with stress and worry to become stronger, not weaker…
College Admissions Can Test Even Your Last Nerve
Colleges that don’t have early admissions deadlines sometimes review applications in batches and send out acceptances AND denials in groups, starting in the fall and winter, even though the admissions office website says that admissions decisions will be sent in March or April. There may be no particular rhyme or reason why some applications…
The Classroom Transition from Anonymity to Known
The dictionary defines teaching as, “showing or explaining”, and explain in its simplest terms is “to make clear, make plain.” Making plain takes time and a dialogue to be sure each person within the exchange is in agreement, so with a class of 35 students and one teacher, one can come up with creative ways…
The Human Element of Learning
In the relationship between the student and the teacher, when the personalities are in sync, then you know it. A conflict–temporary or more on-going–can skew learning and create longer lasting consequences than just the school year. Understanding any conflict, objectively, takes some effort on the teenager’s, parent’s and teacher’s parts. What’s a general complaint?…
No Free Lunch: A Student Loan Borrower’s Tale
My student loans were just paid-off this year–13 years after I first assumed them**. I originally borrowed $18,500 to pay for graduate school, plus a $740 loan origination fee. I ended up repaying about $29,500, which includes interest and principal–approximately $10,260 was paid in interest alone. I’m not particularly attentive to my expenses or money…
Scantron Tests: A Jedi Mind Trick?
Ever marked three of the same letter answers in a row and seriously start questioning the correctness of your thinking on a Scantron answer sheet? Double checking and triple checking your work–as the minutes tick by and you become more frantic to finish the test before the period is up? And, you know in the…
“The College Frenzy” aka The Junior Year
College that mythical, out there place that’s simultaneously used to motivate and be a warning through the first 10 years of school–then, transforms, seemingly in a flash, when 11th grade rolls around and every parent seems to be talking about SAT this and ACT that, plus asking, “What colleges will you tour? We toured X,…
Northwestern University’s 2012 Common Application Supplement Essay Defined
Northwestern University includes one essay question as part of their Common Application Supplement. The question is designed to gain insight to the student’s interests and their potential match with Northwestern, which reads: What are the unique qualities of Northwestern – and of the specific undergraduate school to which you are applying – that make you…