California Community Colleges (CCC) and the California State University (CSU) systems recently started a transfer guarantee program for selected majors, where students can earn both an Associates Degree from a Community College and their Bachelor’s from a four year CSU, called the Associate’s Degree for Transfer. Basically, if students complete a set of required general…
Tag: College selection
The Admissions Waiting Will Be Over Soon: University of California Response Dates
From January and Mid-March can be re-named, “The Waiting Season” for Seniors and their parents. While Early Admissions applicants may know admissions decisions by now (end of February), which can lead to rampant speculation amongst regular decision applicants, the admissions decision waiting will soon be over for University of California (UC) applicants. Then, comes a…
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…
“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…
The Skinny on Increasing College Tuition
Wondering why college seems more costly than in the past? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, college tuition has increased 559% since 1985. Over the same time, disposable income has increased only incrementally, which can create the perception of greater costs for each family.
Do You Wonder if College Admissions Offices are Single-Handedly Keeping the U.S. Postal Service In Business?
Availability of information is not the problem when starting a search for colleges. The sources of information–admissions statistics, YouTube, college websites, college search engines, Facebook pages, parents swapping stories on the sidelines at the soccer game, alumni returning to high schools to talk about their college experience, aunties and uncles freely offering college advice at…
How to Reduce the “Yuck” in Preparing for the SAT & ACT
The SAT and ACT are unlike tests students see in high school. First, teenagers will need to be awake at 7:45 am on a Saturday morning, bright-eyed and bushy tailed, knowing the score will play a role (although how large is unknown) in determining their competitiveness for admissions to colleges of their choice. Second, teenagers…
“Demonstrated Interest” & College Admissions
Parents know from experience that relationships and networks can create opportunities in the job world. Often, moms and dads will apply this same “build a relationship” thinking to the college admissions process, to try and gain an advantage for their rising Senior student. The theory is that the more the kid makes himself/herself known to…
“Study Abroad” May Not Mean What You Think
“Study abroad” in college can have multiple definitions. Not every student will immerse themselves for a year at a foreign university, studying concepts in a foreign language. Universities are expanding the range of opportunities to travel and study abroad, as well as varying the duration of programs. Summers, spring breaks, semesters-long, month long trips between…
The California State University System Changes Graduation Requirements
The California State University (CSU) trustees recently voted at their last meeting to cap the number of units needed for graduation to 120 for campuses with semesters and 180 for colleges using academic quarters. For students, this may mean reduced number of years to complete general education and major requirements for graduation. Be sure to…
On Being Educated
Supposedly, the older you get, the less you know, which can be a sign of wisdom. For me, the Harvard educated, lifelong ‘A’ student, however, the idea of knowing less is deflating. I was the nerdy kid, the one in the corner, even at extended family gatherings (which my cousins kindly remind me every chance…
Extracurricular Activities & College Admissions
Many high school students and their parents ask me, “Am I (or is my son/daughter) doing enough activities?” Enough is the key word in the question, as well as an unquantifiable amount that is one of the indicators that college admissions can be an art and subjective. Parents and students over the years have begun…
Best or Worst U.S. States to Live for Health
Looking to move to or prospect for a college in some far away, unfamiliar state, and weighing the costs and benefits of living in said state? Perhaps, the following “Health Risks By Area” chart, pinpointing five health risks by state, may help in those difficult “which state to live in (temporarily or permanently)” discussions.
College Admissions Can Test Even Your Last Nerve
Colleges that don’t have early admissions deadlines sometimes review applications in batches and send out acceptances AND denials in groups, starting in the fall and winter, even though the admissions office website says that admissions decisions will be sent in March or April. There may be no particular rhyme or reason why some applications…
The Classroom Transition from Anonymity to Known
The dictionary defines teaching as, “showing or explaining”, and explain in its simplest terms is “to make clear, make plain.” Making plain takes time and a dialogue to be sure each person within the exchange is in agreement, so with a class of 35 students and one teacher, one can come up with creative ways…