Why do parents expect to pay the entire bill for college? Often, parents tell us that they want their kids to apply for scholarships and are frustrated, if that doesn’t happen. Yet, they’ll move forward with paying for college. Is it a parents’ responsibility to ensure the bills are paid for college, without at least…
Tag: College admissions
Guest Post: Parent to Parent Advice about College Applications
Norman’s daughter will be starting her Freshman year at the University of Washington in Fall 2012. He offers the following perspective, having just completing the college application process: _________________________ Applying for college is an exciting time for every family. It represents all the hopes and dreams that your student has had since he or she…
UC Tuition and Fees: Up, Up and Away
Anyone involved in the University of California over the past thirty years knows one thing for sure: The tuition and fees for the UC has gone in one direction–UP.
You Can Dish It. Can You Take It?
Opening up to outside review of one’s work, including college essays, can create a wincing-eyes-jaw-clenching-fidgeting reaction to the surely unfounded criticism anticipated to be unleashed. While the ultimate reward of such perspective can be a sharper argument and greater understanding, the human tendency to prevent humiliation can get the best of us. (Incidentally, as humans…
Guest Post: “I Changed My Major Five Times”: Advice from a Harvard College Dean
Emelyn dela Pena, Ed. D. is the Assistant Dean of Harvard College for Student Life, where she is responsible for campus diversity programs, student leadership development and residential life training. She generously offers the following advice to Creative Marbles: As eager freshman and nervous parents arrive at college this fall, I’m sure on the minds…
Make Money from Doing Your Homework
“Hands on learning”–somehow these eduspeak words have invaded Seniors’ vocabulary to describe the classroom environment they desire in college. (Incidentally, their next sentence usually includes something to the effect, “You know, the opposite of high school.”) Well, how about taking “hands on learning” to another level and actually making money with the knowledge one gains…
Rising Seniors: Talk is Cheap
Why invest many dollars, actual or borrowed, into a college that will expect students to learn, yet holds itself to another standard when it comes to expanding horizons? Rising seniors and their parents who seek a valuable degree, consistently ask us questions about the value of a degree from X college or university over another.…
Just Because You Can, Does That Mean You Should?
Are we “solving” issues too quickly with medication, or just “kicking the can down the road” only now with more complications for a generation of today’s youth? According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention reports 14% of Americans 12 years and older have been on medications…
Study Abroad: Necessity or Privilege?
Study abroad isn’t simply an opportunity to travel and live in another country. The immersion in a second (or third) culture and/or language can change a person’s views, values, and confidence–as the individual is literally transplanting themselves in a foreign location and learning to thrive. Is study abroad or some international experience becoming necessary to…
SAT & ACT Preparation: A Lesson With “Should” and “Don’t Want to…”
The existence of SAT & ACT prep courses, books, tutors, online questions, etc. shows that with practice a student has the possibility of increasing her/his scores. Yet, when it comes to practicing, who wants to sit down with a 600+ pages thick, 8.5″ x 11″, doorstop looking, test prep book by oneself or in a…
You Can’t Divorce Your College Degree
The reputation of a college and its alumni is no small consideration in choosing schools for application. Networks of professionals and access to opportunities all can be gained with an institution’s name attached to your resume. (Of course, you still have to earn a position and perform consistently to stay in that position.) Yet, the…
High School = College Tours “Invade” Family Vacations
Once students enter high school, parents start planning summer vacations to coordinate with college campus visits (often wondering where all the time went). More exposure to college life helps students make informed decisions about applications and eventually enrollment. Listen to our tips that will help make time on campus more productive: Starting tours early also…
College = Personal & Intellectual Independence?
Here’s proof that computer science and creative arts are not opposite pursuits. Will the prospective colleges you’re investigating allow you the room to think outside the box? Many students tell us they’re seeking greater independence by going to college. Doesn’t the freedom to innovate AND be nurtured for realizing something previously unimagined qualify, as “independence”?…
The “Muddy” Side of Learning
Do-it-yourself does not just refer to hours at Home Depot, then trucking all that stuff home to saw, sweat, swear and drive back to Home Depot for stuff you forgot, while your family watches from a distance–afraid of the snarls. As an educational tool, DIY refers to the blow-stuff-up, come-home-dirty-enough-so-your-mom-makes-you-change-in-the-garage, direct-your-own-project learning. You know,…
Maybe a Summer-Slide Is Just What the Doctor Ordered?
Annually, this is the time of year parents and teachers share concerns that students forget academic concepts, since they’re not in school several months. It’s often called, “Summer-Slide.” Yet, how much does consistency affect students’ comprehension and academic progress?