With continued, widespread test optional admissions policies, where students are not required to submit SAT or ACT scores as part of their college applications, inevitably, students, under the misconception that an acceptance letter is THE objective of college admissions, worry about unwittingly harming their admissions evaluation by either adding or excluding test scores from their…
Prior to the senior year of high school or transfer admissions, students simply matriculate in a pack, taking the same classes, striving for the same grades, clustering in similar out-of-school enrichment activities. Yet, at the moment of applying to college, students need to make their own decision—relate the process, to what Mr. Kipling shares the…
Selection is defined as “serious attention and vigilant consideration”. Therefore the effective selection of colleges is essential to reduce risks of mis-allocating $150,000 to $200,000. Yet, parents and teens compromise their ability to reason, as they’re often also attempting to counter emotion and expectation, with misconceptions when seeking value in college, only adding complexity to…
Students commit hours of their lives, year after year, in organized activities afterschool and on the weekends. (Their parents, as chauffeurs/Uber drivers, coaches, snack providers, co-chairs of every fundraiser, etc, equally spend years of their lives as their kids’ support team.) Thus, at the moment of capitalizing on their efforts, as part of the online…
Self-reporting classes and grades on a digitalized college application may seem straightforward, yet the first challenge is families take a crash course in edu-speak. Block schedules, quarters, semesters, trimesters, one grade, two grades, three grades per class require precise manipulation of the standardized digital format so students accurately report their academic history. However, the actual…
Many students as well as their parents believe that if they apply Early Decision they have an “advantage” given the higher admit rate over regular decision. However, given Early Decision is a binding choice, where students MUST enroll (legal but is it constitutional?) If admitted, considering the pros and cons therefore is prudent. While the…
As executives at tech giants, like Facebook, Intel, Netflix, Google, Apple, and Microsoft, announce hiring freezes and layoffs, the technology sector may not be the stable and growing industry with ever-lasting employment opportunities that many students and their parents have been promoting. To add insult to injury, new computer science grads (aged 22-27 years old)…
The subjectivity of college admissions, combined with the unpredictability of the future, parents and graduating high school seniors, are making (sometimes) educated guesses about college often imbued with expectation and clouded by emotion regarding the value—often complex to define—of a college education. To value a college education, families must be as candid as possible. Additionally,…
Often, teens seek freedom, as a primary reason for attending college. To which, their parents nod knowingly, smiling slyly, complicit in their teen’s seeming act of rebellion, believing that a college education is a coming of age into the freedom of adulthood. However students and parents should reflect on what it means to be free,…
Although hearsay, defined as: “information received from other people that one cannot adequately substantiate”, is not admissible in any court of law, every day, every year, families make complex educational choices, consequential for their children’s prosperity, based on the hearsay, passing as truth, circulated along The Parent Network, distorted with each retelling, which may have been a selective…
In questioning the affordability of college, more families are asking, “Is the value of a college degree concomitant to the price?” However, despite annually increasing discounts on college tuition, 54.5% in 2021-22, thus improving college affordability for a wider swath of families, college enrollment continues dropping. As previously discussed in our series about the already…
For more information about how to navigate the complex college admissions process to prepare any student for the challenging global socioeconomic situation, contact us at Creative Marbles Consultancy
“Never say never” is as true in college admissions as anywhere else. Despite popular belief, many college admissions officers are still seeking students for Fall 2022 enrollment. So, for recent Class of 2022 high school grads as well as transfer students, still seeking a college for Fall 2022, here’s the most updated list of “College…
The published college tuition is not likely the amount the average family will pay, as discounts in the form of merit scholarships increase every year. Thus, parents and students should not dismiss a college solely on price, but instead define value at a price they can afford. In the recent school year, 2021-22, the average…
Applying to an Ivy League or other similarly highly selective college, where 95-97% of all applicants are denied admissions can be intimidating. To apply or not apply requires asking, “Just because I can (since I’m qualified), does that mean I should?” Being the top of one’s class in one’s local high school, even in a…
