The recent October Comstock’s Magazine–a business publication in our Sacramento region–featured Art’s & Jill’s advice to plan for rising college expenses and answer the all-important how to apply for scholarships question. Click here to read more. Financing a college education is a series of choices–sometimes over years. However, waiting until the first tuition bill arrives…
Tag: High school junior
SAT & ACT Prep: How? How Much? When?
The concern behind the questions in the title is “what do I have to do in order to get a score that will get me into college?” Both parents and students share these concerns. However, the answers to their concerns are varied–not standard–which can both alleviate and increase concerns.
What’s the Least Amount I Will Have to Pay for College?
Free. How do we find a free college education or at least greatly reduced from the published price? Makes sense families are concerned about the costs of college and their ability to pay for those continuing-to-rise costs. Scholarships seem like the likeliest possibility for reducing the out-of-pocket costs. They are free money…(i.e. you don’t have…
The Pioneers Take All the Arrows
Risk takers are often discounted, pooh-poohed and can be actively campaigned against for stepping outside the status quo. Their daring to question what’s accepted challenges our seeming comfort, shining a light on the constant change surrounding us, yet can sometimes go by undetected. Think: Steve Jobs, fired from his own company than rehired to take…
Guest Post: Where to Start on the College Essay
Rohan is a current Freshman at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He offers the following essay drafting suggestions, after his experiences last fall writing several dozen college application essays from October through January. ______________________ The best advice I could give is just to start writing, whether that be in the form of a…
College Selection: It’s an Imperative
College selection. College selection. Let me say it one more time…College Selection. College selection is the foundation of the college application process. It sounds so basic and simple, that families may not invest as much effort into this step–relying on a few campus visits and a short browse through a website. Yet, taking the time…
‘Tis the Season for College Fairs…
College Fairs are the trade shows of higher education. 100’s of colleges’ admissions officers standing behind long rows of tables, set up in a high school gym and everyone’s got shiny, thick papered brochures with 1000’s of parents and students wandering around, wrinkled maps in hand, waiting in lines for one, maybe two minutes of…
Only 4% the Class of 2012 SAT Takers Scored 2100+
Ok. Ok. Mention the SAT to any senior and their parents, then take a step back. The anxiety of a 3 hour and 45 minute test, on top of the concerns about being accepted to a college or not, with the effort of 16-17 years worth of homework and driving all over the state for…
B.A. in Common Sense
“Common sense can be uncommon.”–Art Baird Every parent knows with certainty their kid is smart. As Montaigne said, “Everyman has within himself the entire human condition.” Yet, what does smart mean? How smart is smart? Is our current generation of budding adults–actually legally an adult–but mere months away from teenager-dome, lacking common sense? Have we,…
Huh? A School Profile? What’s that Got to Do with My College Application?
The school profile comes through the counseling office and is sent as part of the counselor’s recommendation to private universities, as part of a senior’s college application. Often, its included alongside the Secondary School Report, as part of the Common Application. Why does this matter?
MAAAAIL CALL: ‘Tis the Season for College Brochures
This time of year glossy, thick papered brochures in big 8.5″ x 11″ envelopes, with personalized letters from colleges in far off places–like North Dakota and Ohio–as well as more known places, like Los Angeles or Seattle, begin arriving by the mailbox full to high school seniors all over the country; not to overlook the…
What?!? Colleges Possibly Going Bankrupt?
The changes to higher education and its price in California are partially in response to the recent state funding cuts. Students (and their families) are being asked to shoulder more of the costs of their education–in the form of increased tuition and fees, parking costs, per campus student activity fees etc. At the same time,…
Making the Most of Back to School Nights
Making the most of Back to School Night is a tricky proposition–especially for middle and high school parents, who may only spend 10-15 minutes in each of their student’s 6 classrooms–not much time after the teacher completes her/his presentation and 20 other parents are asking questions. Plus, Back to School Night is usually 2-3 weeks…
Guest Post: Budgeting for the College Years
By: Lisa Dalton, California parent of a senior at the University of Oregon, and sophomore at Washington State University _________________________ With two kids in college, both at out of state universities, friends and neighbors ask all the time, “How do you do it?” The answer is planning, financial education, and sometimes hard choices.
How Common is the Common Application Essay?
In this podcast, Art Baird and Jill Yoshikawa, our company’s educational experts, generously share their 10-years of experience to help students write competitive college admissions essays within the context of the Common Application. They define an effective outline for drafting this complex autobiography. For more helpful information, please also read: Storytelling Season is Around the…