As freshmen and sophomores in high school, college admissions is focused on being eligible for application. The academic classes that need completing (also known as A-G requirements for the UC & CSU systems), as well as extracurricular activities that are included in any college application means that most applicants are going to start looking the…
Tag: High school sophomore
“ARRRRGH! Why is High School So Stressful?!?”
The worry that comes with trying to understand how actions today will affect one’s unknown future can create stress for anyone. Now, add that one is 15, 16 or 17–with limited life experience–trying to predict their future based on their academic performance on one class assignment today, and there’s even further cause creating stress. …
“My Student is Average. Where Can She/He Get In?”
First, “average” doesn’t mean “not admissible to any college, anywhere.” What is important for an “average” (and I use “average” loosely) student and their family is the college selection process–just as important as for EVERY student wanting to go to college. The selection process for the “average” student may include a different scrutiny of…
Gaining Scholarships & Paying for College is a Process
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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.
When a Letter of Recommendation Isn’t Just a Letter of Recommendation
Now, that school’s back in session (or about to be back in session), and the excitement of choosing colleges for application can be wearing thin (given that everyone who discovers or knows you’re a senior is asking where you’re applying), so what’s next? Well, parents, since about July have been asking us about letters of…
“Why Do You Want to Go To College?” Has New Meaning
“How do employers look at college names?” is a typical question parents ask us, when trying to narrow their senior’s choices for application. Two meanings emerge from this question: What’s the value of a college degree? How, if at all, is value different for different colleges? The value in college question will be answered differently…
CA College Tuition = UP; College Value = ?
California ranks among the top five states in the nation for the greatest tuition increases in their public universities. (Wall Street Journal, 8/14/2012) Not only do current UC students face a possible additional 20% increase mid-school year, if the November tax increase does not pass, the budget reductions can mean more cuts to courses…