Inspired by CMC Clients: OMG College ESSAYS! College essays are often feared. Topic selection can confound students, who’re under the impression that a traumatic-dramatic-life-altering experience makes a compelling college essay. However, choosing the “perfect” topic is not necessary to begin writing. Simply start putting words on the page. Then, students will have some thoughts to edit and…
Tag: College essays
Top 10 Questions NOT to Ask a High School Senior
Where are you applying to college? You must be excited to graduate high school, aren’t you? Isn’t senior year the best time of your life? What is your GPA? What are your SAT scores? Why do you want to apply there? (referring to a particular college) My son/daughter/nephew/co-worker’s daughter’s boyfriend’s cousin went to _____ (fill-in-the-blank…
The Chronicles of Procrastination
Bravado When first given an assignment, especially a project due beyond the end of the week, we’re often overly confident that we’ll complete the assignment in stages, so there won’t be a last-minute-panic-tear-streaked-temper-tantrum-tazmanian-devil-whirling-dervish kind of effort in the 24 hours before the deadline. We pridefully chalk up previous “all-nighters”, as “all in the past”, determined…
Ahead of the Curve: July 5, 2014
Inspired by CMC Clients Advanced Placement (AP) Test Scores: Students often believe that a score of less than 3 will hurt their college admissions competitiveness. The belief is a myth. A student’s willingness to challenge themselves academically by taking AP classes and the tests will be considered by college officials in the admissions process. The score,…
The “Inside” Track on College Admissions, Especially To The Ivy League
Kwasi Enin was recently accepted to all 8 Ivy League colleges – and offered these words of “wisdom” for future college applicants on The Late Show with David Letterman: In other reports, college admissions officers have recounted stories of being offered free surgical procedures from parents who are doctors in exchange for their kid’s acceptance,…
Ahead of the Curve: February 27, 2014
From Our Clients: Aaaaccck! How do we pay for college? Parents often tell themselves, “First things first. Applications, THEN we’ll think about how to pay for college.” Totally an expected reaction, when considering the six figure totals for a college education these days. However, the planning to pay for college can take place long before…
Free Money For the Asking
Imagine someone wants to give away money to help pay for college, and publicly extends their offer to many people. The only step needed to get the money is to ask for it. Asking for the money happens as a written request – usually consisting of some forms requesting basic personal contact information and a…
Procrastination or Provocation?
“Waiting for Inspiration”? (AKA the day before the college application deadlines?)
Ahead of the Curve: December 13, 2013
From the News: How to Stop Worrying about College Rejection, Washington Post December 9, 2013 Could LinkedIn’s University Pages Make the Difference in the College Admissions Process?, CBS Los Angeles December 6, 2013 College Admissions Offers May Be Easier to Obtain, Los Angeles Times November 25, 2013 From Clients: End of the Semester: “studying” for…
The Emotional Side of Applying to College
Most students expect that completing college applications will be a short-term effort, temporarily inconvenient to the rest of their schedule, but generally able to be subsumed within their daily lives. In reality, the challenge of opening one’s life to analysis, in order to write autobiographical essays required in applications can create an unexpected emotional response,…
Creative Marbles In The News
Creative Marbles Consultancy was in the press again today – featured in The Sacramento Bee. Cathie Anderson, who’s goddaughter is a former client, highlighted our decade long history and evolution as an educational consultancy. Take a read and enjoy the weekend! Photo Credit: freefoto.com
Thank Your Third Grade Teacher: She Was Right About the Thesaurus
Every word counts, when there’s a word count. A common complaint amongst college essay writers is the the wish for more words. The tedium of examining, re-examining, thinking through each word chosen when writing a college essay can be a test of patience, as much as a test of intellect. The Thesaurus, dictionary and books…
The Returns on Writing College Essays
While writing the college essays may be a stressful experience, the process of reflecting on your life experiences – gaining greater awareness of what you’ve accomplished and where you’re headed – will serve you long after any acceptances return in the Spring.
The College Application Process in 7 Minutes
From challenging the myths about writing college essays to dealing with the stress of applying to college, Creative Marbles Consultancy’s three-part video series gives an overview of the college application process. Take a look: Part 1: The College Application Part 2: How to Write A College Admissions Essay Part 3: A Few College Essay Myths
Ahead of the Curve: December 3, 2013
From the News: Student Exchanges Between U.S. and Other Countries Rise to Record, New York Times November 17, 2013 College On The House, New York Times November 29, 2013 SF [San Francisco] Seeks Injunction to Stop CCSF [City College of San Francisco] Closure, San Francisco Chronicle November 25, 2013 From Our Clients: College Applications &…