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:
CA College Freshmen Moving Out of CA: A Shift or Temporary Reaction?
Since 2000, 90% more California resident high school grads are choosing to enroll in out of state colleges–both public and private. While speculation from budget uncertainties in California to affordability of out-of-state tuition is circulating as reasons for the trend, Creative Marbles asks, “Are families and students simply approaching college as a consumer purchase, and…
The $1 Trillion Inheritance
The Student Debt total reached $1 Trillion today. What are the costs for future generations and its prosperity? Since student debt is future income brought forward, Creative Marbles suggests thinking carefully about career and major choices to know if a student would be able to afford the monthly loan payments. Also, students need to consider…
Graduated, Yet Still Not Grown Up?
Parents want what’s best for their children. Yet, what is the cost of “the best” for both parent and child? A recent Ameriprise Financial study found the following amongst Baby Boomer Parents (born between 1946-1964) 55% allowed their adult children to move home rent free 71% paid college tuition Yet, 34% say that helping children…
California’s Budget Shortfalls: Consider the Immediate and Long Term Effects
Although California’s budget is challenging CSU officials to “live within it’s means” in the short term, forgoing expenses today can affect the long term quality of education and how the CSU educates students in the future. Delaying purchases on library materials today can affect the resources available to future students, and coupled with phasing out…
Student Loan Debate in Congress Continues
It’s partisan politics as usual in this election year, as Congress continues its debate on student loan legislation. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Republicans on Tuesday blocked the Senate from considering a measure to keep the rate on subsidized federal student loans from doubling amid suspicion of Democrats’ motives as they seek to court…
Dropping wages = shrinking prosperity?
According the the Economic Policy Institute, from 2002-2012: For male workers: With a college degree: hourly wages dropped 11% to $21.68 With a high school diploma: hourly wages dropped 10% to 11.68 For female workers: With a college degree: hourly wages dropped 7.6% to $18.80 With a high school diploma: hourly wages dropped 9.2% to…
The Neverending Reform in Education Coming to a College Near You
In a recent article by Richard Pérez-Peña of the New York Times, “Trying to Find a Measure for How Well Colleges Do,” we are beginning to see what might be the next chapter in the near obsessive effort to measure the performance of education: this time with colleges being in the cross hairs.