To assist the diversity of high school seniors and their families as they seek the greatest value in higher education, we offer a variety of retainers which are a culmination of our nearly twenty years of practice as educational consultants, as well as our understanding of the current trends in education. Seeking higher education isn’t…
Dear Common Application CEO Jenny Rickard: In advising transfer students, I discovered several incongruencies which, although did not prevent a student from submitting his applications on time, created undue stress and confusion in the hours before the deadline expired. I offer the following feedback for you and your colleagues to consider, as a means of…
Students who applied to colleges will now confront the need to grieve and celebrate simultaneously, as they receive admissions decisions. Acceptances eliciting an elation will be diminished by denials, which sometimes arrive on the same day, as well as by reactions to the success and failures of their peers. In their grief over a denied…
A new 650 word Common Application (bolded in the list below) essay prompt is being added for Fall 2022 admissions, as a replacement for one prompt being “retired”. Regardless of any prompt chosen, I recommend to avoid approaching the college essay as yet another school assignment, where students try to write and edit simultaneously, crafting…
For students who’ve submitted Part 1 of the Georgetown Application, they can extend submission of their supplement application through January 13, 2021, extending their time to work on their essays. Why are a noticable number of universities extending their Fall 2021 Regular Decision deadlines, more than during a usual college application season? Specifically, are college…
I asked a recent college graduate, whom we advised during her high school years, what she believed could be improved about her undergraduate experiences. She shared the following: I think undergrad is complex. It’s an odd blend of finding yourself, finding your passion, and finding your career. And a lot of times those do not…
Good writing is rewriting. Truman Capote Typically, high school students write one draft of an essay the night before the assignment is due amidst the myriad other homework assignments. Thus, drafting and editing and revising of each sentence happens simultaneously. But, typically, in writing college essays, drafting, editing, and revising are three separate steps, repeated…
Admissions officers at three different University of California campuses—Santa Cruz, Merced and Riverside—will continue to accept first year and transfer applications for Fall 2021 admissions through December 15, 2021 at 11:59 pm PST. For more information about how Creative Marbles Consultancy can help students and parents navigate through the complex college application and essay drafting…
Ellie, a high school senior, wrote the following reflection for one of her college essays: In life, I have just been going through the motions, never stopping to pause and contemplate or observe anything. I chased happiness, but once I finally held contentment in my grasp, it quickly slipped through my fingers and the chase…
Typically, in the few days before a college application deadline, both applicants and their parents are wondering: Adding to their stress, students wildly speculate that their efforts to complete their applications will merit them the following response: Anticipating the worst case scenario of a denied admissions, in the midst of crafting their quintessential life’s story,…
Why copy editing matters… Also, when a comma can make the difference between family time and doin’ time… Let’s eat Mom! And, why Mom told me not to submit my assignments at the last minute: And when there is no delete key and white out won’t help: And, for once, your mom won’t kill you…
For those students who worry about distinguishing themselves in their college applications, especially as they draft their essays, need to watch the following clip with Yakko, Wakko, and Dot: No need to ask Google for a list of “good” college essays. Those are other people’s stories, and while their autobiography may rhyme, “There’s only one…
Updated: November 2020 from the original posted in July 2018 The short answer is yes…with an *. [See Below] But, like any life-impacting decision, the short answer doesn’t account for the complexities of choosing a college. And, the last three words are what’s most important to keep in mind: YOU, the applicant, are the one…
To effectively answer essay prompts, an integral component of applications for many US colleges as well as other countries scattered throughout the globe, requires understanding of the autobiographical writing process. According to the Oxford Dictionary, autobiography is “an account of a person’s life written by that person.” How does a teenager, or one of any…
Two-thirds of all US universities are expecting enrollment to decrease in Fall 2020, with obvious impacts to fiscal revenues. For universities already reporting growing fiscal deficits from the initial COVID-impact in the Spring 2020 academic term, the loss of revenues can further compound the sustainability of the modern American university. According to the latest statistics…
