Congratulations on being accepted to college! But, now the work begins. During college, each student still needs to seek understanding of their aptitude, collaborating with mentors, to unleash joy and thus more likely realize a lasting economic vitality. However, many students expect colleges and universities to act in loco parentis, in the place of a parent, guiding them into adulthood…
In response to Art’s recent post, To Choose or Have Others Choose for You, a Reed College student who’s finishing her first year, shared the following in a recent text conversation. Since many other students are likely in a similar predicament, I’m passing her message forward: I’m so glad other students have the opportunity to read this article. I definitely…
Seize the day Plot a path A whole new way Embrace failure, learn from wrath Look around And just beyond Stay home or move afar Wherever you go, there you are Look for answers to questions And question the answers By seeking teachers Not creatures of comfort To discover a profound consciousness flow You must upend the status quo To…
New college grads, those aged 22-27, who studied computer science, are just as likely to be unemployed as those who studied the fine arts, according to the latest New York Federal Reserve analysis. The irony. Most families expect that any studies remotely related to technology translates to unequivocal and continuous employment throughout one’s lifetime. Conversely, both parents and students often…
Everyone has genius. Yet, few discover their genius. Every parent intends to unleash their child’s genius. Yet, the endeavor to help one’s child discover genius requires the intricate, on-going, at times, herculean effort to challenge expectations—one’s own, one’s extended family’s, as well as one’s culture’s and community’s—not to mention reconciling any gaps in a parent’s own undiscovered genius, a separate…
Comparing the published price of tuition along with the size of the student population can be one metric to value a university education. However, “shopping” colleges on price alone is shortsighted, thus families may overlook valuable educational opportunities. Instead families should determine the value of any college education by discussing answers to reflective questions, starting with, “Why is a student…
During the last fifteen months of living a pandemic disrupted experience, kids experienced unstructured days amidst distance learning and suspension of regularly scheduled activities. Simply seeking to stave off boredom, many (re)discovered talents. Perhaps a break from running on the hamster wheel of modern family life, chasing prosperity was just what we needed. Pandemics throughout history have disrupted, short-circuiting the status…
And, as Bart Simpson exemplifies once again, a test without context can create conflicting results far removed from reality. Answering standardized multiple choice questions, at a single moment in the time-space continuum, subject to emotional reactions and human temperament, then interpreted in a formulaic analysis, identifying aptitude without ever seeking the view of the kid whose future has now been…
Throughout the Ivy League, possibly emboldened by test-optional admissions policies being one less barrier to entry, Fall 2021 applicants increased by double digits, adding subjectivity to the admission evaluation process and dropping admit rates year over year, some to record lows at Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania. Ivy League admit rates for the Classes of 2025: Harvard, 3.4% Columbia,…
The 1200% increase in college tuition over the last four decades, outpacing inflation by nearly 1000%, is Reason Number One parents often anxiously ask me about how their kid can apply for scholarships. As the conversation unfolds, many often also reveal having saved some for their children’s college expenses, though the amount is woefully inadequate, and are now looking for…
To learn effectively is to practice humility, to admit how little we know, and recognizing the cost of remaining ignorant is the antidote to pride and the beginning of the journey of discovery, fueled by curiosity which results in the acquisition of knowledge which applied in a continuous collaboration with others who are willing, results in resilience needed to navigate…
I recently zoom’d with Dr. Will Davenport for The Dr. Will Show podcast about how to find value in education. Take a listen and share with others who are seeking guidance as they help their children discover their life’s purpose. To learn more how Jill and other experts at Creative Marbles Consultancy, a full service educational advisory, help families resolve…
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 national college enrollment deadline.* Essentially,…
Sometimes, we gain clarity and/or confidence about our aptitude when the thoughts of another like Kurt Vonnegut, author of Slaughterhouse Five, reflects our own experience: When I was 15, I spent a month working on an archeological dig. I was talking to one of the archeologists one day during our lunch break and he asked those kinds of “getting to…
Kahlil Gibran’s timeless poem provides a contemplation as we all share concerns for the youngest generations. And, while parents are typically the primary adult mentors for children, we all bear the responsibility of helping children realize their full potential. Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you…
