The California State University (CSU) trustees recently voted at their last meeting to cap the number of units needed for graduation to 120 for campuses with semesters and 180 for colleges using academic quarters. For students, this may mean reduced number of years to complete general education and major requirements for graduation. Be sure to…
Tag: College admissions
Senioritis: It’s Not Contagious, Yet Can Strike Whole Senior Classes
About this time of year, a curious affliction can take hold of the current high school Senior class; its often known as, “Senioritis”. With no known cure, yet for most, a temporary condition, Senioritis can strike at any time, for no apparent reason, and without warning. The symptoms can include:
Extracurricular Activities & College Admissions
Many high school students and their parents ask me, “Am I (or is my son/daughter) doing enough activities?” Enough is the key word in the question, as well as an unquantifiable amount that is one of the indicators that college admissions can be an art and subjective. Parents and students over the years have begun…
Wrapping Your Arms Around College Costs
Parents often remark that they don’t want money to define their child’s choices for college, and then proceed to ask me questions about financial aid and scholarships. The sense of an impending expense in the thousands of dollars can make any normal human being nervous. Teens can often react with guilt and fear, that they…
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.
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…
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…
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 $10,260 was paid in interest alone. I’m not particularly attentive to my expenses or money…
“The College Frenzy” aka The Junior Year
College that mythical, out there place that’s simultaneously used to motivate and be a warning through the first 10 years of school–then, transforms, seemingly in a flash, when 11th grade rolls around and every parent seems to be talking about SAT this and ACT that, plus asking, “What colleges will you tour? We toured X,…
Northwestern University’s 2012 Common Application Supplement Essay Defined
Northwestern University includes one essay question as part of their Common Application Supplement. The question is designed to gain insight to the student’s interests and their potential match with Northwestern, which reads: What are the unique qualities of Northwestern – and of the specific undergraduate school to which you are applying – that make you…
The (*$%^&@!) YOWCH of College Admissions
To the Senior and possibly their parents, who’ve been anxiously awaiting December 15th early admissions notification deadlines, checking their email every 30 seconds from midnight, a college admissions denial email can sound like: “We received a record number of blah, blah, blah–oh, my goodness, JUST TELL ME IF I’M IN OR NOT ALREADY–and while you’re,…
The Six Figure Cost of College: In Dollars & Sense
The words, “financial aid,” can send chills down any parent’s spine, as they wonder, “How in the (insert expletive) are they going to pay for college, without going bankrupt?” Many American families approach college, like other purchases in their lives–dream big and figure out how to pay later. Parents often believe, “If my kid…
Guest Post: The Savings for College Challenge, Part Three – How Much to Save in a 529
About the authors: For over 25 years, Cynthia S. Meyers, CFP®, MBA, has assisted people with their Lifetime Financial Planning–helping to build and preserve wealth in every area of life. Jenny Hood, CFP® has been a paraplanner with Cynthia S. Meyers for five years and enjoys being a part of the financial planning process. _____________…
“College Admissions Speculation”: Let the Comparisons Begin
Every Senior and his/her parents want to know, “Which college is going to accept me and which college is going to deny me?”—for although, the Senior and their parents, say out loud that college is about getting a good job, moving away from home etc, a college acceptance or denial also can feel—internally—like a validation…