What the what?!? Pick A College Based on Surfing?

There’s a myriad of ways to select colleges for application.  Major choice and future careers usually pop into both students’ and their parents’ minds as the first criteria for choosing a college.  However, many get stumped, because at seventeen a student may not have identified a specific academic concentration, nor an intended career.  And, parents…

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“How Do I Select Colleges for Application If I Don’t Know My Major?”

One of the first questions that arise when high school juniors start thinking about selecting colleges for application is, “What’s my academic major?”  However, choosing a major can seem risky, like locking oneself into an academic concentration with no chance to change, as well as declaring career for the rest of one’s life–all at age…

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Sleep, More Sleep and Summer Camp: A Teen’s Summer Vacation Agenda

The months long stretch of unscheduled summer vacation can be enticing to both teens and their parents.  For teens, the idea of sleeping in until afternoon and no pressure about daily homework assignments is enthralling.  For parents, summer can be an unrestricted time to explore other academic interests and hobbies.  (And, in fairness, for teens…

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Transfer Admissions from a California Community College: Bargain or Cost?

Several changes to California Community College policies in the current 2012-13 school year may affect the typical transfer student who chooses community college, by extending the total number of semesters before transfer to a 4 year university. The typical transfer student is usually qualified for 4 year college admissions, yet “doesn’t know what s/he wants…

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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…

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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…

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