Summer break–two words that often have a different meaning for parents and for students. Parents are often concerned that their students will dive into sleeping through the day and video games, while ignoring summer reading. Students seeking to relax will meet a compromise with parents by participating in camps and leadership activities that flex…
European History in 3 Minutes…Wait, Don’t Click Away
Ever wonder how history is relevant? Do you believe history is boring–simply memorization of facts and dates? Here’s a short 3 minute history of the changes in Europe for the past 1000 years. Watch and wonder how many people’s lives changed with the shifting borders, how many cultures were exchanged after being conquered and conquering…
What I Did for Summer Vacation: College Tours
With summer breaks, many families are busy planning vacations that include college campus tours. The expense and time families invest in visiting colleges can be more valuable, with preparation by both parents and students. Here’s a few tips:
College Admissions Yield? Why Students Should Pay Attention
The college admissions yield is the percentage of students who enroll from the total number of students admitted to the school. A higher yield shows the greater likelihood that an admitted student will enroll; thus, colleges will often admit less students and may have shorter wait lists, if any. So, for prospective applicants, a higher…
What’s Test Optional Admissions?
While many colleges require students to take the SAT or ACT (with or with the Writing exam) as part of admissions, a number of colleges don’t require students to take the tests or report scores as part of an application process. Test optional admissions policies sometimes ask students to send additional letters of recommendation or…
College Tuition Rises and So Does Demand
As the University of California Regents debate a 6% tuition increase for Fall 2012, see how tuition has changed at California colleges, since 2001. (The database provides information for 2 and 4 year colleges, both public and private.) While students and their families are concerned about rising tuition and student debt is at $1 Trillion…
Prudent fiscal planning is essential in today’s economically turbulent world (Part 1)
As you sit down to contemplate your budget, and wonder how you will afford to pay for on-going, future educational related expenses, it might be worth your while to take a wider view of your situation from say 30,000 feet. If you where to get airborne and climb to this elevation, this is what you…
College costs more than 4 years of tuition
Student loan debt is future income brought forward. To an 18 year old college Freshman, with little experience in financial responsibility, this concept may be foreign. Financial literacy is only part of the resolution; students and parents need foresight and continued roll-up-their-sleeves effort to pick colleges that will give them the greatest value for their…
Will continuing tuition increases eventually cool demand for college?
Total student loan debt hit the $1 Trillion mark this week and continues growing. Congress is debating to stop the increase in the student loan interest rates from 3.4% to 6.8% on July 1, 2012. And, UC’s are considering an additional 6% tuition hike on top of the 47.6% tuition increase, since 2009. With more…
ACT & SAT Scores Can Affect Financial Aid, Too
Many families ask Creative Marbles about preparing for the ACT and/or SAT, as a way to boost a students’ competitiveness for admissions. There’s another reason to prepare. Merit aid scholarships can be awarded on a sliding scale, based on ACT & SAT scores and GPA–as scores and GPA increases, the amount of merit aid increases.…
On Commencing
Commencement…always seemed funny to call graduation commencement. I focused on the ending aspect, the-that-was-a-long-4-years-and-too-many-homework-assignments-thank-goodness-its-over aspect of graduation. In reality, graduation is both–a recognition of what’s been accomplished and a beginning of what’s next.
Guest Post: A Mom Shares Her Experience About “Mommyness”
By Kelly From about age 10 until my daughter was born, I collected sea shells exactly one time. During that shell collection, I carefully selected each piece for symmetry, size, lack of blemishes and uniformity. Upon returning home, I gingerly washed each shell and, once dry, I popped a dollop of hot glue into the…
Campus “Vibe” vs. Academics: Why College Selection Takes the Whole Family
College students aren’t just gaining an education and future career training, they’re moving to a new community. Parents often express concerns to Creative Marbles that their student is paying more attention to “atmosphere” or “how s/he feels on campus”–not “what do I want to study.” These differences in perspective can create conflict, and also are…
Motivating others by helping others see the importance of their actions
We spend a lot of time trying to get others to do what we want, and generally our efforts end in failure. According to Dale Carnegie-the brilliant thinker on all things related to working with others-in his seminal work, “How To Win Friends & Influence People: Of course, you can make someone want to give…
Why More Effort Alone May Not Improve Grades
As students head into the final weeks of the school year, last minute activity to “pull up” a grade is happening in every school. Asking teachers more specific questions, then, “What can I do to improve my grade?”, will help families and students get information that’s useful. Creative Marbles suggests the following tips: