Surya, a former student, seeking to live authentically, is developing his latest film. View this post on Instagram A post shared by branded (@branded_film) Creative Marbles was founded by teachers who appreciate helping students (re)discover their aptitude, first in the academic classroom, now as part of the complex college admissions process. For more information, please…
For a high school student, there’s no single “right” way to spend a summer vacation. Yet, many students and their families are concerned that without a “productive” summer vacation, then a student diminishes opportunities for college admissions. However, this is not necessarily true. Selection for college admissions is becoming increasingly subjective, thus no one summer…
Students often wonder, “How will college admissions officers’ view this?” in reference to a grade, an extracurricular activity, or topics for college essays. In other words, teens worry about impressing admissions officers, or risk not being accepted to college. Amidst the competitiveness in education, students often search for the “right” combination of factors including: GPA,…
Prior to the senior year of high school or transfer admissions, students simply matriculate in a pack, taking the same classes, striving for the same grades, clustering in similar out-of-school enrichment activities. Yet, at the moment of applying to college, students need to make their own decision—relate the process, to what Mr. Kipling shares the…
Often, teens seek freedom, as a primary reason for attending college. To which, their parents nod knowingly, smiling slyly, complicit in their teen’s seeming act of rebellion, believing that a college education is a coming of age into the freedom of adulthood. However students and parents should reflect on what it means to be free,…
Congratulations on being accepted to college! But, now the work begins. During college, each student still needs to seek understanding of their aptitude, collaborating with mentors, to unleash joy and thus more likely realize a lasting economic vitality. However, many students expect colleges and universities to act in loco parentis, in the place of a…
In response to Art’s recent post, To Choose or Have Others Choose for You, a Reed College student who’s finishing her first year, shared the following in a recent text conversation. Since many other students are likely in a similar predicament, I’m passing her message forward: I’m so glad other students have the opportunity to…
Seize the day Plot a path A whole new way Embrace failure, learn from wrath Look around And just beyond Stay home or move afar Wherever you go, there you are Look for answers to questions And question the answers By seeking teachers Not creatures of comfort To discover a profound consciousness flow You must…
New college grads, those aged 22-27, who studied computer science, are just as likely to be unemployed as those who studied the fine arts, according to the latest New York Federal Reserve analysis. The irony. Most families expect that any studies remotely related to technology translates to unequivocal and continuous employment throughout one’s lifetime. Conversely,…
Everyone has genius. Yet, few discover their genius. Every parent intends to unleash their child’s genius. Yet, the endeavor to help one’s child discover genius requires the intricate, on-going, at times, herculean effort to challenge expectations—one’s own, one’s extended family’s, as well as one’s culture’s and community’s—not to mention reconciling any gaps in a parent’s…
Comparing the published price of tuition along with the size of the student population can be one metric to value a university education. However, “shopping” colleges on price alone is shortsighted, thus families may overlook valuable educational opportunities. Instead families should determine the value of any college education by discussing answers to reflective questions, starting…
During the last fifteen months of living a pandemic disrupted experience, kids experienced unstructured days amidst distance learning and suspension of regularly scheduled activities. Simply seeking to stave off boredom, many (re)discovered talents. Perhaps a break from running on the hamster wheel of modern family life, chasing prosperity was just what we needed. Pandemics throughout history…
And, as Bart Simpson exemplifies once again, a test without context can create conflicting results far removed from reality. Answering standardized multiple choice questions, at a single moment in the time-space continuum, subject to emotional reactions and human temperament, then interpreted in a formulaic analysis, identifying aptitude without ever seeking the view of the kid…
Throughout the Ivy League, possibly emboldened by test-optional admissions policies being one less barrier to entry, Fall 2021 applicants increased by double digits, adding subjectivity to the admission evaluation process and dropping admit rates year over year, some to record lows at Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania. Ivy League admit rates for the Classes…
The 1200% increase in college tuition over the last four decades, outpacing inflation by nearly 1000%, is Reason Number One parents often anxiously ask me about how their kid can apply for scholarships. As the conversation unfolds, many often also reveal having saved some for their children’s college expenses, though the amount is woefully inadequate,…
