A new 650 word Common Application (bolded in the list below) essay prompt is being added for Fall 2022 admissions, as a replacement for one prompt being “retired”. Regardless of any prompt chosen, I recommend to avoid approaching the college essay as yet another school assignment, where students try to write and edit simultaneously, crafting…
This spring, like every spring, after years of struggle, high school seniors will finally experience acceptance in the form of an electronic letter or alert in an applicant portal offering admissions to this or that college. Once the initial elation fades, families begin deliberations in earnest to make a final selection by the May 1…
Dear Chancellor Castro: I respectfully seek clarification about the suspended requirement to submit SAT or ACT scores for Fall 2022 admissions, concerned that Fall 2022 applicants may wrongly assess their opportunities for admissions, thus potentially affecting their decision to submit a CSU application. In preparing to advise clients about Fall 2022 admissions, I noted a…
Confidence is what makes the economy move. Falling confidence is a drag on economic growth. Right now, Americans are mixed yet leaning toward a recovering economy once pandemic restrictions are lifted. Yet, only roughly a third of all Americans are confident to make a major purchase: Thus, as acceptance letters trickle back to students during…
Two income families have become synonymous with modern parenting. Yet, in the recent COVID-induced economic disruption, when women are more likely to be unemployed or underemployed than men, the family dynamic may also be shifting. ….by April [2020] the COVID-19 crisis had created a 3 percentage point gender gap in unemployment. A similar gap emerged…
In virtual school, where the learning process is digitalized, students are struggling to access assignments, and to demonstrate mastery of the curriculum being presented, therefore, how can it not be that the potential for greater learning is lost? Students learning virtually must navigate and utilize a sundry of online learning tools, reducing their time to…
For students questioning whether to take the AP exams, wondering if they’d score a 3 or higher to merit college credits, especially since adjusting to virtual learning may have detracted from learning subject material, I offer the following advice: First, consider what information on the test may not be presented in class before the test…
Each Spring Break, families pilgrimage to colleges, promoting the potential rewards if students continue achieving, reifying the belief that a college degree equals long term prosperity. However, we’re still living through a pandemic, with some experts fearing another outbreak fueled by variants of the original COVID virus, could emerge at the end of March, coinciding…
Many high school juniors who will be applying to college for Fall 2022 admissions are desperate to understand whether major universities will require SAT or ACT scores as part of their applications. I would first caution parents and students to be patient and flexible when defining an SAT or ACT test-taking strategy given admissions policies…
Like everything else in our COVID-colored reality, Fall 2021 college admissions decisions will be historic. Let’s review how: Two-thirds of all US universities and colleges are not requiring SAT or ACT scores as part of applications, and some are not considering the SAT or ACT scores at all, implementing what’s known as “test-blind” admissions, for…
On January 21, 2021 by executive order, President Biden continued the suspension of all Federal student loan payments as well as interest until September 30, 2021. With President Biden’s extension, student loan borrowers will be granted a total of 18 months of loan and interest deferment, since payments were suspended since the enactment of the…
First, in Spring 2020, as we retreated into our homes concerned for the health risks of contracting COVID, we re-centered our lives. Following stringent social distancing guidelines, we imported the world to our personal fiefdoms. Thus, we’re spending more on groceries to prepare our own meals, purchasing cable and satellite TV for news and entertainment,…
The criminally fraudulent actions of Rick Singer and 50 parents and college administrators indicted in the college admissions scandal in 2019, highlighted the disparities and weaknesses in the college admissions system, as well as the cultural bias that a college degree is a salve for life’s uncertainties. As Washington Post journalist, Jeff Selingo writes: These…
For students who’ve submitted Part 1 of the Georgetown Application, they can extend submission of their supplement application through January 13, 2021, extending their time to work on their essays. Why are a noticable number of universities extending their Fall 2021 Regular Decision deadlines, more than during a usual college application season? Specifically, are college…
Twas the first days of winter vacation In hopes of relaxing from a semester of deprivation Not a teenager eschewed a multi-days long hibernation Where the XBOX was humming, punctuated by the occasional deviation To the refrigerator. All finals were taken No impending projects to be done As the holidays arrived Full of food and…
