To date, thirteen of the top twenty-five US News & World Report nationally ranked universities, all adopted Pass/No Pass-style grading systems for the spring term, due to the COVID-19 health crisis: Although Pass/No Pass is the default system at UC Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania, Brown, Princeton and Yale, students can still “opt-in” to be awarded…
Tag: College students
Adulthood Delayed?
Many students, who while at college are “adults in training”, returned home for the remainder of the school year, finishing their studies online. Yet, the unintended consquence is reverting to childhood roles, letting moms “mother” them, as they willingly reliquish the independence they sought by moving away for college in the first place. One first…
Test Optional Admissions
Given the cancellations of the ACT and SAT tests this spring 2020, several colleges, including the University of California, will have a test-optional policy for applicants starting next Fall 2020, meaning applicants are not required to submit SAT and ACT scores for admissions. However, the test optional policies vary per school, ranging from suspending the submission…
Student Loan Payment Pause
On Friday, March 27, 2020, Congress and President Trump passed the CARES Act [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act], and millions of student loan borrowers gained a temporary reprieve from making payments until September 30, 2020. Additionally, as President Trump promised two weeks ago, student loan interest is also waived until September 30, 2020.…
Grief
Sanika, a freshmen student at UC San Diego, reflects on her truncated first year of college. ——————————————————————————– I just finished doing panic grocery shopping with my dad in the midst of a pandemic in Sacramento. A week ago, on Monday, I never thought I would even say this sentence. In fact a week ago, I was…
Novel COLLEGE-2020
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…
Lessons to Learn from The Stanford Experience, Part 2
Students are transforming how they imagine their college experiences and reimagining their relationship with their university. Suddenly, with shifts to online learning and for many students, the eviction from on-campus residences, like those at Stanford, the loss of access to libraries, tutoring centers, guest lectures, panel discussions, late-night dorm conversations about the meaning of the…
Lessons to Learn From The Stanford Experience
As U.S. Health Officials, like Surgeon General VADM Jerome Adams on Sunday’s Face The Nation, advocate for mitigation strategies, slowing the COVID-19 infection rate rather than containment of COVID-19, and more university administrators, like those at Stanford University, are heeding their recommendations. We, at Creative Marbles, know that educators, administrators, parents and students are reorienting…
COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY CLOSURES
The University of Washington President, Ana Mari Cauce, announced today that all in-person courses at all University of Washington campuses will be suspended as of Monday, March 9 for the remainder of the quarter and until the beginning of Spring Quarter on March 30. Similarly, the President of Seattle University Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J. also…
The Coronavirus & Schools
Winter 2020 is not the typical cold/flu season. The emergence of the novel 2019-nCoV or coronavirus is a rapidly evolving situation. Given the consquences for humanity, being prepared and diligent in practicing preventative measures, especially for the youngest among us, has been heightened. However, carefulness does not mean panic, as knee-jerk reactions are not effective…
Delicious Student Loan Relief
While Mom always warns us not to eat too much fast food, Burger King’s recent offer may change her mind. Given the historically record setting $1.5 Trillion total student loan debt, Burger King is offering 301 of the 44 million Americans with student debt some relief–up to $100,000 for one lucky person and $500 each…
Tricks of the Academic Trade
Online tools are useful homework management techniques for students. Yet, with the plethora of online tools available, knowing which tools are actually worthy can be tricky. So, here’s a couple tools that are student-tested and recommended: Wolfram|Alpha: a searchable database for all academic subjects, including solutions to exact math problems. For an additional fee, students can…
College Move-In Day
Meanwhile for most students getting ready for their college move-in day… Cartoon courtesy: kxoj.com Photo courtesy: Mehr Sahota
College Admissions Season is Now Open
Is she mad? She just ate her first pop-tart!
FAFSA Changes Release Date
The FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the government form required to apply for financial aid at any U.S. college or university, will be released on October 1, 2016. The October date is a full three months earlier than previous years, when the FAFSA was released on January 1. What the earlier release…