A parent’s job is often unenviable. Thankless. Tiring. Trying. Tireless. Especially when the child is a teenager. Parents’ reasons for making decisions can vary from encouraging their children to “live their own lives, do what makes you happy” and worries that what makes their children happy won’t pay their bills, let alone save for retirement,…
Tag: High school freshmen
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…
Tricks of the Academic Trade
Online tools are useful homework management techniques for students. Yet, with the plethora of online tools available, knowing which tools are actually worthy can be tricky. So, here’s a couple tools that are student-tested and recommended: Wolfram|Alpha: a searchable database for all academic subjects, including solutions to exact math problems. For an additional fee, students can…
Will My August 2018 SAT Scores Be Cancelled?
Rumors are circling and the internet is again buzzing with controversy about the August 25, 2018 SAT Reasoning Test. The College Board is accused of “recycling” the August 2018 SAT from a test or practice test given in China and South Korea in October 2017. A recently deactivated Reddit thread posted an answer…
Carpe Diem
From the Business Insider, an interview with Mr. [Jeff] Bezos about choosing “service and adventure” over “ease and comfort”. “Bezos said everyone has two options for creating their “life story.” Either you go for a life of “ease and comfort” or a life of “service and adventure.” Bezos is clear about which is the right…
Guest Post: The Meritocracy-Diversity Divide
Affirmative action policies could use closer scrutiny—but don’t lose sight of their benefits. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION is an increasingly rare sort of debate, the kind where both sides present a valid analysis of a complex and thorny issue. This is not always the case. On climate change, the left is reacting to a real, imminent problem,…
In the Midst of College Admissions, Brilliance is Born
The Daily Academic Dilemma Director: Surya Sundararajan with an assist from Hubbubbaloo Creative
The Dilemma of Every College Applicant
Do you know what you want? Well, do ya…
College Admissions: An Unexpected Treasure
In a recent text conversation with Megan, a second year student at MIT, she reflected on the benefits of the college application process. _____________________________________ Creative Marbles Consultancy: Any advice for seniors going through the application process, especially when applying to MIT? Megan: While it’s hard, I think they should try to enjoy the application process…
Email: America’s Past-Time (Literally)
The typical teenage inbox … because email is Snapchat’s great-grandmother. Photo credit: Hubbubbaloo Creative, 2017
“The Road Less Traveled”
Life begins with a finite period of temporal existence baked into the cake. Somewhere between the innocence of our youth and the reality that balancing needs with wants is a tricky business, lies a narrowly defined period where any choice made can have a disproportionate (positive or negative effect)—exacerbated at times by the hand of…
Grammar Shmammer
The rules of grammar can be annoying, especially when an English paper is “bleeding” with red ink marks, noting every single punctuation and grammar error. However, the purpose for grammar, which is to articulate the author’s ideas clearly to the reader, can get lost in trying to follow the rules of grammar. To help all the college…
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…
“I Have Student Debt?”
[Sung to the tune of Heigh Ho from Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs] “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go…” Even though I remember singing this refrain in jest, Millennials, the current generation between age 18 – 35 , may not be so light-hearted. According to Bloomberg News in April 2016: A…
Mind the Gap
Malia Obama recently became a famous representative of a Millennial trend, The Gap Year. Defined as a “year-off” between high school and starting college, most “Gap Year-ians” aren’t just loafing around, playing video games and drinking Bobo teas all day. For a generation raised on scheduled play-dates, year-round athletics, and regimented community service activities, the…