Students and their parents worry, as is often the case in this springtime of year, about who will be admitted and/or rejected at what college, believing that the outcome of a meritocratic, formulaic decision making process that defines winners (those accepted) and losers (those denied) is the final arbiter of who succeeds in life and…
To learn effectively is to practice humility, to admit how little we know, and recognizing the cost of remaining ignorant is the antidote to pride and the beginning of the journey of discovery, fueled by curiosity which results in the acquisition of knowledge which applied in a continuous collaboration with others who are willing, results…
In spring when high school juniors begin devising their lists of colleges in preparation for fall applications, panic can quickly arise, when asked the typical first question, “What do you want to study in college?” which to a teenager translates to: “I must choose a career, right now at seventeenish years old, sign my name…
E.O. Wilson, a Harvard-trained renowned biologist, and reported Father of Sociobiology, the study of the social behavior of insects and animals which includes humans, has published an entire biology course—an interactive tome—synthesizing much of Professor Wilson’s life’s work, a rethink of the biological idea, free to anyone on iTunes, Biology: Life on Earth. Image of…
In virtual school, where the learning process is digitalized, students are struggling to access assignments, and to demonstrate mastery of the curriculum being presented, therefore, how can it not be that the potential for greater learning is lost? Students learning virtually must navigate and utilize a sundry of online learning tools, reducing their time to…
Distance learning isn’t a perfect system. But, being home, we have the full support of our families. 😂 Some “enlisted” their family’s cooperation: But, in other situations, moms readily lend a “helping hand”: And, so do little brothers: Lastly, when students and teachers do return to the classroom, all that family “support” may be this…
Recently, Art and I reflected about the effects of COVID-19 for our company and in our history. As an educator in private practice, I have pivoted frequently not only to meet the needs of clients, but remain competitive in the near perfectly competitive educational support industry. I, working with my partners have continuously sought to…
Twas the first days of winter vacation In hopes of relaxing from a semester of deprivation Not a teenager eschewed a multi-days long hibernation Where the XBOX was humming, punctuated by the occasional deviation To the refrigerator. All finals were taken No impending projects to be done As the holidays arrived Full of food and…
University of California (UC) applicants are evaluated according to 14 different Comprehensive Review points, for which no one criteria is weighted more heavily than another. Thus, students’ talents and strengths can be more fairly identified when evaluating their admissions to the UC. Ten of the fourteen Comprehensive Review points concern academic performance, validating the importance…
For Fall 2021 first year applicants, earning the academic designation, Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC) for University of California (UC) admissions, may be more difficult than in past years. Given the Spring 2020 implementation of Pass/No Pass grading systems, thus the loss of a semester’s worth of letter grades for GPA calculations, Class of…
Starting in Fall 2021, without required standardized test scores, University of California (UC) admissions evaluations will likely be more subjective, as the interpretation of an applicant’s qualifications may not be balanced by a more objective test score. As the suspension of test score requirements will extend through Fall 2025, which includes current seventh graders, potential…
Until mid-March 2020, parents and students each had defined roles and processes when working together to manage a student’s education. Yet, the COVID-induced closure of school campuses and the subsequent implementation of distance learning, upended a well-worn family dynamic. During a typical Pre-COVID school day, all students had a ready-made structure to manage their academic…
In just the last 13 weeks, more than double the 25 million jobs created in the last decade have been lost. With the total supply of jobs not in equilibrium to demand, a job shortage exists, so anyone searching for a job will be competing more than at any time in the last decade against…
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…
Sometimes collaborators in an uber-competive academic environment may seem like an arch-rival, but is actually what we need to succeed.