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…
Tag: College selection
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…
No Free Lunch: A Student Loan Borrower’s Tale
My student loans were just paid-off this year–13 years after I first assumed them**. I originally borrowed $18,500 to pay for graduate school, plus a $740 loan origination fee. I ended up repaying about $29,500, which includes interest and principal–approximately $10,260 was paid in interest alone. I’m not particularly attentive to my expenses or money…
“The College Frenzy” aka The Junior Year
College that mythical, out there place that’s simultaneously used to motivate and be a warning through the first 10 years of school–then, transforms, seemingly in a flash, when 11th grade rolls around and every parent seems to be talking about SAT this and ACT that, plus asking, “What colleges will you tour? We toured X,…
College in the Twenty-First Century
A short poem about the millennial college experience. College seems like a given Through tournaments and mom’s taxi service driving here and there Research papers that almost were not Finished only in the minutes before the school day began Yet, endured for the promise of one day Over yonder, a good job and a move away The…
“College Admissions Speculation”: Let the Comparisons Begin
Every Senior and his/her parents want to know, “Which college is going to accept me and which college is going to deny me?”—for although, the Senior and their parents, say out loud that college is about getting a good job, moving away from home etc, a college acceptance or denial also can feel—internally—like a validation…
College Selection and Financial Aid in the Age of Rising College Tuition: Part Three
We finish our podcast series today on College Selection and Financial Aid, by discussing the need to define the value of college in an era where tuitions are rising faster then the cost of pretty much everything else we consume. Furthermore, we offer simple questions that any family can ask early, and often, in helping…
College Selection and Financial Aid in the Age of Rising College Tuition: Part Two
We continue our series on college selection and financial aid, by discussing the clash between the demand–and even right to attend college–and the dawning reality that rising tuitions (at a rate greater than inflation), alongside average student debt increasing at an unsustainable rate, are beginning to price some deserving candidates out of the college marketplace.…
College Selection and Financial Aid in the Era of Rising College Tuition: Part One
This is the first in a series of Podcasts dedicated to the complex topic of financial aid as it relates to college selection, with its focus on seeking the greatest return on one’s investment in a college education during an era of rising college costs. We hope you enjoy our thoughts and as always, feel…
Potential Can Be Nurtured with Effort: More about College Selection
“Doing your homework” when it comes to choosing colleges is essential. A former client and current college freshman’s mom, recently shared her experience how to do that “homework” and how pleased she is with the family’s final choice for her son–UC Santa Cruz. Her son is growing, even in an unexpected triple roommate situation, and…
Community College Transfers Increasingly Enroll at Multiple Campuses
Last fall, about 69,665 students attended two schools, nearly 5,000 went to three schools and about 400 to four or five schools, according to data from the California Community Colleges chancellor’s office. (The numbers include students who take online classes; officials are unsure how many are in that category.) Los Angeles Times, October 16, 2012…
English Teachers & The College Essay
At this point in the school year, many senior English teachers assign the college essay as a class assignment to be completed for a grade. While this may seemingly “kill two birds with one stone”, relieving parents concerns about their student’s seeming procrastination to start writing the essay and student’s thinking that “once and for…
Guest Post: A Parents’ Perspective Times Two
About the Authors: Anne’s & Dan’s two daughters both moved away from home this fall to start college–one as an upper division transfer at University of San Francisco and one as a freshman at Baylor University. Their experience helping both daughters’ pay college expenses was featured, along with Creative Marbles, in the October issue of Comstocks…