Annually, this is the time of year parents and teachers share concerns that students forget academic concepts, since they’re not in school several months. It’s often called, “Summer-Slide.” Yet, how much does consistency affect students’ comprehension and academic progress?
Tag: College selection
Being Special in a Sea of Special
Wow. In a time when it seems every 5 year old knows what “self-esteem” means, David McCullough Jr. reminded us of our basic human equanimity. “…even if you’re one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you. ” Boy, that either fries your hide…
Standardized Testing: The Good, The Bad and A Hmmmm…Moment
Bob Schaeffer of FairTest, an organization committed to a fair use of standardized testing in K-12 schools and college admissions, recently spoke with Creative Marbles about assessments. Our conversation reminded me of questions I’ve been asking since I was a beginning teacher, “How do we know (i.e. grasp clearly in the mind) what another has…
What’s Unemployment Got to Do With Picking Colleges for Application?
Forecasting job prospects based on location of the college is another criteria for prospective applicants and their parents to consider, before deciding to apply. If unemployment in general is high in a particular state, does a student and family want to invest their limited capital and 4-5 years of effort in a college, when they…
College Reputation: The Inheritance of Graduates
A recent promotion (see below) on the University of San Francisco’s Facebook page got me thinking about the reputation of the college in relation to career prospects, especially since many students (and their parents) seek college degrees for greater future job security.
Will the $10 Billion Deficit in Pension Obligations Affect the Quality of UC Education?
The perfect storm: increasing numbers of qualified high school graduates for UC admissions, baby boomers maturing to retirement, who were promised generous pensions–which UC administrators did not fund for 20 years starting in the early 1990’s–and current reductions in state funding for higher education–all put pressure to increase tuition–while at the same time real wages…
College Application Advice for Rising Seniors & Their Parents
“OMG, I’m going to be filling out college applications in the fall!” Rising seniors (and their parents) can react on a scale, somewhere between total avoidance and frenetic activity to get it all done. Here’s a few tips to prepare for Fall applications:
Low SAT Score = Total Failure? NOT
“If I don’t get a high score on the SAT (or ACT), I’m never getting into college, then I’ll be a total failure, all these AP classes will have been for nothing and I’ll be homeless!” Many of the juniors and seniors (and their parents) we advise sense some variation of this stress–which is a…
“College is too expensive” or Is It?
Multiple kids maturing to college age, shrinking retirement funds, loss of home equity, loss of personal wealth, plus annually rising college tuition and costs…no wonder middle class families are concerned about financial aid. When families assume all children will graduate from college, the question is, “What is the family’s collective (this includes all siblings, not…
Winds of Change Blow in California’s Higher Education Systems
Look for changes to the California Community Colleges (CCC) and California State University (CSU) system as the chancellors of both organizations, Jack Scott & Charles B. Reed, respectfully, retire in 2012. Also, UC Berkeley’s Chancellor, Robert Birgeneau, will retire on Dec 31. Change may be what’s needed, as California again faces shrinking state funding and…
Arrrgh! What Information about Colleges Should Be Paid My Attention?
The most recent U.S. Department of Education statistics about the states the Fall 2010 freshmen class comes from is telling for prospective applicants and their families, when seeing the data from different views.
When Considering Student Loans…
A student loan, well any loan, is future income brought forward. While there are consequences to debt, the key is being educated to the realities of repayment in the long term (i.e. opportunity and financial costs) and being rigorously honest in the intermediate term about the value of the college education your debt is purchasing.…
What’s a College President Got to Do with Me?
Prospective students and their parents would be smart to investigate the view of the presidents at colleges they’re considering for application to know if they share values and the college will be able to help the student reach his/her individual goals, since college presidents’ views regarding the role of colleges varies depending on the type…
What Successful College Students Do
No student starts college expecting to NOT graduate; yet the most recent statistics indicate the college completion rate is 55% within 6 years of enrolling full time in a 4 year college. So, what does make for success in college, including a timely (and actual) graduation?
Future Success + Financial Constraints = College?
More families, and younger, are asking Creative Marbles about financial aid and paying for college. Parents are facing difficult choices between supporting multiple kids through 4 years of higher education and saving for retirement, while confronting the challenge of encouraging their children to dream big, yet understanding the realities of financing that educational dream.