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…
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…
As many U.S. universities have not yet announced any extended test-optional or test-blind policies for Fall 2022 admissions, meaning applicants are not required to submit SAT or ACT scores for admissions, many current high school juniors (in the Class of 2022) are in limbo about the necessity of taking the SAT or ACT. Yet, given…
The 23 campus California State Universities (CSU) system is extending the test-optional admissions policy for another year, through Fall 2022 admissions. In other words, current high school juniors in the Class of 2022 will NOT be required to submit SAT or ACT scores as part of their applications to any CSU campus for Fall 2022…
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is the latest university admissions office to extend their application deadlines for Fall 2021 admissions. Other colleges, including the 23 California State Universities (CSU), the nine University of California (UC) campuses, as well as the University of Texas Austin and Texas A & M have all already extended their application…
Typically, in the few days before a college application deadline, both applicants and their parents are wondering: Adding to their stress, students wildly speculate that their efforts to complete their applications will merit them the following response: Anticipating the worst case scenario of a denied admissions, in the midst of crafting their quintessential life’s story,…
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…
As the UC eliminated the SAT and ACT testing requirement for Fall 2021 and beyond, the subjectivity in the admissions evaluations will likely increase, as admissions officers will interpret applicants’ qualifications for admissions without the more objective test scores as a metric. In this fifth installment in the series about the University of California’s (UC)…
Since now first year University of California (UC) applicants are not required to submit SAT or ACT scores, many students ask, “What will ‘replace’ the missing information from test scores?” Yet, as Ms. Han Mi Yoon-Wu, UC Director of Undergraduate Admissions stated in her response to CMC’s Open Letter to the University of California: In…
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…
In my recent conversation with Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle, I discussed the changes to the college admissions process starting in Fall 2021, as well as sentiment about the value of a college education. Although colleges are non-profit organizations, which in the collective culture are imagined to be altruistic endeavors where the potential…
In 2019, average state funding per full time college student was still lower than the 2009 levels, the beginning of The Great Financial Crisis. Given projected reductions in state revenues for 2020, higher education leaders will likely again experience reductions in state subsidies starting this fall, as we discussed earlier. Students would be wise to…
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…
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 continued COVID-19 health crisis, and its impacts both economically and socially may have wide-ranging consequences for colleges throughout the United States. Families confronted by an array of changing circumstances are recalibrating their educational decision making processes, especially for high school seniors choosing between multiple colleges or deferring enrollment, as well as continuing college students…
