Updated: November 2020 from the original posted in July 2018 The short answer is yes…with an *. [See Below] But, like any life-impacting decision, the short answer doesn’t account for the complexities of choosing a college. And, the last three words are what’s most important to keep in mind: YOU, the applicant, are the one…
Two-thirds of all US universities are expecting enrollment to decrease in Fall 2020, with obvious impacts to fiscal revenues. For universities already reporting growing fiscal deficits from the initial COVID-impact in the Spring 2020 academic term, the loss of revenues can further compound the sustainability of the modern American university. According to the latest statistics…
The COVID-induced disruption of the educational system, has also upended the Fall 2021 college admissions process. From suspended admissions requirements, like submitting SAT and ACT scores to the implementation of Pass/No Pass style marks for Spring 2020, instead of academic letter grades, effectively reducing students’ cumulative Grade Point Averages (GPA), students and parents are questioning…
As college students prepare for the new 2020-21 school year, the college experience during the time of COVID-19 will be fundamentally altered. Students, professors, parents and college adminstrators are in the midst of an adjustment period, transitioning to a new mode of learning. Perhaps, for those students attending in-person classes in the U.S., professors will…
In order for students to provide a complete and thorough summary of their achievements and qualifications for admissions, The Common Application added two new questions to the form. The Common Application is an online application utilized by almost 900 public and private universities across the US and internationally, which make applying to college more efficient…
Last Thursday, May 14, California Governor Newsom announced 2020-21 budget revisions, including cuts to higher education, given the projected $54 billion loss of state revenues. Although he proposes a $376 million cut to the University of California (UC) system affecting 285,000 students and a $404 million cut affecting 500,000 California State University (CSU) students, the…
On May 11, University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Chancellor Pradeep Kholsa initiated the inaugural round of voluntary testing of the 5000 residents who chose to continue living in the residence halls scattered around the La Jolla, CA campus, since the closure of campus in mid-March. Students are live test subjects, participating in a trial…
Awoken at 6:46 am on the Saturday after the 4th of July, through groggy consciousness, I registered the staccato sounds of a teenage texter. I recalled that The College Board released the 2019 AP (Advanced Placement) Exam scores (at least in California) on that fine morning. His texts were the first of many I received…
As state revenues shrink, the subsidies to public K-12 schools and higher education systems will shrink proportionately, effectively increasing the (or likelihood of) fiscal deficits for educational institutions. In a recent Bloomberg News article discussing the economic state of affairs in California, the fifth largest state economy in the United States: California Governor Gavin Newsom…
Skip to 10:15 in the video. Reinvention also means the death of something and the resurrection of something from the past but then a creation of something that never existed before, a whole mindset that never existed before. Dr. Deepak Chopra As we all continue putting one foot in front of the other, walking our…
A student who attends a public flagship university in California characterizes distance learning as: Chaos is an apt description. Zoom is challenging to manage and pre-recorded lectures lack humor. It’s difficult to focus on lectures… Third year undergraduate The student, like many others, struggles to continue learning, conflicted about missing friends and her life in…
The million dollar question: How’s the distance learning going? It’s a mixed meme bag, according to college students’ own words. First, new protocols have developed for virtual learning: “When someone new joins a Zoom Chat” But, some things don’t change; no one wants to be the “try hard” no matter if in a virtual sense…
With so many unknowns, as the coronavirus rapidly spreads around the globe, admissions officers from around the US are sharing with Creative Marbles Consultancy they aren’t sure how to predict the enrollment for the incoming classes. Admissions officers are advising that waitlists may become even more vital to round out their incoming class, as they…
An online, distance learning college education is not what most four-year college students and their parents paid (or borrowed) to experience. With college closures, the holistic “college experience” has been truncated, as entire university communities have been dispersed, with no late-night dorm floor existential debates, no clubs, no socializing—stripped down to simply content delivery through…
As the novel COVID-19, coronavirus, continues rapidly evolving and affecting more and more individuals around the world, college officials have been disseminating information to students and faculty, as we previously posted. In response to the weekly emails from university administrators, former CMC clients characterized general sentiment amongst college students ranging from concerned to “business as…
