Worries about “not being accepted” to a college are common, since most parents and students believe they’re at the mercy of an admissions officer’s decision. Often, students think, “How do I make my experience, like GPA, test scores and extracurricular activities, match the “right” selection criteria of (insert name of college)?” Few students turn the…
Tag: College applications
The Costs of Cheating
Recent articles highlighting cheating in college here and here and here, may be shocking to some or just an everyday commonplace for others or somewhere in between both reactions. However, none of the authors of the aforementioned articles question why students and seemingly more students than in the past believe that cheating in college is…
The Early Admissions Arms Race
According to the Common Application, “around 860,000” applications were submitted on November 1, 2019 for Early Action, Early Decision and Regular Decision application deadlines, which for the first time, exceeded the “around 720,000” applications submitted last year on January 1 for traditional Regular Decision deadlines. The increasingly competitive nature of the college admissions process—evident in…
Who’s the Class Clown?
Teachers got jokes Some advice for those students wanting to be the next Jack Ryan: If you’re looking to hide top secret information, insert it into a syllabus or an assignment’s instructions. No one will ever read it. — Typical EduCelebrity (@EduCelebrity) December 2, 2019 And, just to shake things up for those parents who…
University Of California Application – Activities & Awards Section
The University of California (UC) Application for Fall 2020 admissions includes many opportunities for applicants to explain the significance of their hours spent on the field, on the court, in a lab, on a stage, serving others, working in the mall…etc in the redesigned “Activities and Awards” section of the UC Application. In text boxes,…
The Dilemma
Apparently some town founders in Pennsylvania we’re also parents of high school seniors or community college transfer students who are applying to college. 😆 While college applicants “Desire” to be admitted to the college of their choice and often the freedom of moving away from home, they can also “Panic” about the risk of not…
The State of A College Education, Part 2: The (Un)Fulfilled Promise of a College Degree
As I posited in Part 1, although an exact date is impossible to state, sentiment amongst college graduates is set to decline (as seen in the graph above), testing and possibly exceeding the 2009 lows. As the last of the Millenials graduate college this year (2019), many are disgruntled that the financial prosperty promised by…
Know Your Frenemies AKA Writing College Essays?
Every college, transfer and graduate school applicant is facing their own “mirror” as they brainstorm their life’s story to draft their college essays, which being autobiographical will be some of the toughest writing they’ve ever done. Being educated isn’t just about learning reading, writing and ‘rithmatic, but also understanding ourselves so we understand our life’s…
Got Jobs?
Since many attend college in search of “The Golden Ticket”, AKA “a good job”, the above map can give needed information about employment opportunities to both high school seniors and soon-to-be college graduates. With more information about the greatest potential employment in a particular location, students can consider if they’d move somewhere, apply to a…
College Application Help Available
We’re excited to offer a variety of options to assist high school seniors, community college transfer students and graduate school applicants as they navigate the complex application and college essay writing processes. Contact us today at (916) 457-4090 or info@creativemarbles.com. Spots are limited and filling up fast!
Guest Post: It’s Okay to Not Know
By Spencer Batute I’m not quite sure how to write one of these personal journey blog posts, as I still don’t feel like I’m at some end goal or vista point that I can look down from and spew some all-seeing knowledge. And I don’t know if I ever will be. But I think that’s…
SAT Adversity Scores
The Wall Street Journal recently unveiled of what’s being called, “SAT Adversity Score”, which is an attempt to address the question of fairness in college admissions, as well as the “nature vs. nurture” debate about what most influences a human to develop their full human potential. In their own executive summary, The College Board reasons…
AP Exam = Stress?
Now that AP (Advanced Placement) tests are imminent, the stress level of high school students (and by extension—their parents) is noticeably increasing. Not only are students taking multiple tests in a few short weeks, students are also in the last month of a long school year, and the pressures of thinking that college admissions officers…
Advanced Placement Exam Registration Changes for 2019-20
The College Board, which administers Advanced Placement (AP) exams, will require students to register for May 2020 AP exams in November 2019. Alternatively, if students decide to register for the May 2020 exams after the November registration period closes, they’ll pay an additional $40.00 late fee. Conversely, if students decide not to take the May…