According to the Common Application, “around 860,000” applications were submitted on November 1, 2019 for Early Action, Early Decision and Regular Decision application deadlines, which for the first time, exceeded the “around 720,000” applications submitted last year on January 1 for traditional Regular Decision deadlines. The increasingly competitive nature of the college admissions process—evident in…
Tag: Helicopter Parents
Know Your Frenemies AKA Writing College Essays?
Every college, transfer and graduate school applicant is facing their own “mirror” as they brainstorm their life’s story to draft their college essays, which being autobiographical will be some of the toughest writing they’ve ever done. Being educated isn’t just about learning reading, writing and ‘rithmatic, but also understanding ourselves so we understand our life’s…
Advice for the First Year of College, by College Students
Guest Podcasters, Ally Jeffers and Mikala Rosaia, Santa Clara University Sophomores studying both Political Science and Communications, offer the following advice as they reflect on their first year of college. The pressure to establish new friend networks, while “declaring independence” from their families can have unintended consequences. So, listening to Ally and Mikala discuss the…
Paying for College…Before College
Parents, no matter their net worth, readily take risks, if they believe their children will benefit. And, the risks parents will take know no bounds—as seen in those facing federal prison trying to guarantee a college admissions to those who go into debt to pay for extra-curricular activities. However, why are parents so willing to take…
Tied at the Hip: Modern-Day Parenting
“Helicopter Parenting” has become a norm, which can delay adult children taking responsibility for themselves. More colleges staff are now sponsoring a PTA-like “College Parent Groups”. Adult children can also tie themselves to mom and dad; some request editorial advice on college papers through Google Documents. And, as no parent wants their child to suffer,…
Guest Post: Encourage Children to Become Experts
Recently, Creative Marbles Consultancy met Dr. Randy OMD, a Homeopathic Doctor specializing in child health care and blogger of CureGuide. Like us, Dr. Randy believes that although children are influenced by their parents, they are individuals with their own life’s purpose. So, in the following, we republish Dr. Randy’s recent blog post elaborating on how…
The Unveiling of the Educational Meritocracy
As the saying goes, “For every system, there is a counter system.” And, the recent Federal indictments of 50 individuals only becomes the latest example of an educational counter-system. College coaches, athletic department administrators, parents, and Rick Singer, the independent college admissions consultant, collectively found a way around the admissions office, the “front door” of…
What Happens When Children Mimic Adults Too Soon
Never has a day dulled, remembering the joy of being a child.
ARGGHHH…#$%@^ Sickness
The days of Calvin-esque thinking are gone. Now, to miss school and recover from illness is more trouble than worthwhile. Missing assignments means hours of make-up work on top of already multi-hour nightly homework sessions, and missing tests is a complex, logistical hassle to coordinate already busy teacher’s, kid’s and parent’s carpool schedules to find time…
The Junior Dilemma
Right about now, junior parents’ anxieties about college applications begin rising. Thus, they begin asking, imploring, nagging, begging, commanding their 16 or 17 year old teenager to discuss the details of their college plans. However, juniors may resist their parents’ attempts to initiate conversation about their futures—mostly demonstrated by not applying for summer programs, not…
The Final Lap
California’s high school seniors (and increasingly non-Californian high school seniors) will be eating turkey, yams and mashed potatoes and gravy in the glow of a computer screen, as they complete their University of California (UC) applications. Any parent who believes that Thanksgiving will be an incentive to finish college applications early will be sorely disappointed. In fifteen…
Selfish Caring
Not a day goes by, when I don’t hear from a concerned parent that their kid isn’t doing enough community service. The unsaid part of the concern is “not enough for a competitive college admissions resume.” Although community service IS recalled in college applications and can matter in demonstrating the interest and commitment of an…