Knowing what the college essay adds to a college application, as we discussed in the first podcast of our Common Application essay series, is only the first step in developing a competitive personal statement. The following podcast advises Seniors how to actually write the autobiographical college essay, and addresses common challenges in the drafting process. The college…
Tag: High school junior
Location, Location, Location: More Tips for Choosing Colleges
College bound students are choosing a new home, as much as they are choosing a new school. Often, students we advise want to move to Southern California–one, because its further away from home (since we’re Northern California) than the San Francisco Bay Area, yet still in their home state, and two, for the beaches and temperate…
Finding A College Can Feel Like Searching for a Needle in the Haystack
But, in reality, the student is the needle. No, that’s not some obscure Master-Yoda-Jedi-training-mind-trick. What it means is that the more that college bound student, knows about himself/herself (i.e. interests, vision, goals–career and otherwise), then the narrower the field of possible colleges for both application and enrollment becomes. Plus, the six figure price tag of…
Choosing Extra-curricular Activities When There’s No Magic Formula for College Admissions
Unfortunately for college applicants, there is no magic, straightforward formula for earning an acceptance in the college admissions process. Since the evaluation for college admissions is completed by human beings, about other human beings, in an environment with yearly increasing numbers of applicants who excel and exceed the requirements for admissions, subjectivity in decision making…
1140% = Increase In College Tuition Since 1978
Another chart showing college tuition is increasing at a steepening rate: And is causing families to spend a greater portion of the family budget to pay for college expenses, thus making college “more expensive”: (If unable to view chart, click)
Paying For College Tuition
Student loans, grants and scholarships are replacing parent income and savings in paying for college. Source: Wall Street Journal
School + New Town = College
Picking colleges for application or enrollment isn’t just picking a new school. Most likely, teenagers are moving away from their hometowns. Knowing something about the place being moved to as well as the college may add insights to the searching. The Atlantic Cities reported on the “Brainiest Cities” based on an online survey measuring cognitive…
When is “Enough” Enough?
When is “enough”, enough? To answer this question, let’s define “enough”. In my experience, an outside (read: someone else’s) definition of “enough” may provide a starting point, but knowing when I’m “enough” is an inside job. Clients and friends time and again have reinforced the notion that “trusting my own experience” will be the true…
It’s Never Too Early (or Late) to Plan for College Costs
After talking with News10 Sacramento this morning about financial aid and paying for college, thought I’d share a few additional tips and expand on a few points we discussed: Understanding the Family’s Finances: The more parents can understand the family finances, the better planning can take place for the additional expense of college tuition. Some…
“Summer Reading” Is Not An Oxymoron
As summer vacation begins, so too does the back and forth negotiation to complete summer reading assignments. Even for avid readers, summer reading assignments can sap the pleasure derived from reading. Both parents and teens know all the logical, rational reasons TO complete summer reading sooner rather than later, but there’s that part of the…
3…2…1…Liftoff! Launching the Class of 2013
Commencements can be bittersweet moments–a celebration of accomplishments, while simultaneously a doorway into a new unknown. The following are words of wisdom from graduation festivities around the United States, as the Class of 2013 enters the world with new knowledge and greater experience. And, for posterity, I added my two cents. President Barak Obama, Morehouse University:…
Choosing Harvard: Thoughts About a “Prestigious” University
As Juniors and their families begin sizing up prospective colleges for application and weighing the value of a college’s reputation, I thought I’d share I came to be a Harvard graduate, along with thoughts about a recent New York Times article, Measuring College Prestige vs. Cost of Enrollment. Quotes from the New York Times article will…
The Student Debt Dilemma
While debt can be a useful tool to finance a college education, potential borrowers (and their families) would be prudent to think through their choices, as we discussed in a earlier 6-part series on fiscal planning. And, to add emphasis on the need to think ahead, Fidelity Investments recently found that, “[e]ven with the…
More 25 Year Olds Have Student Debt…And At Higher Average Amounts
As seen in the chart below, the red line indicates that the portion of 25-year olds with student debt has grown from 25% in 2003 to 43% in 2012–meaning an increasing portion of young adults are choosing to “bring forward” expected future earnings to pay for a college degree. Furthermore, the black line on the chart…
Greek Life: One Perspective on College Fraternities & Sororities
Clients often want to consider colleges where they’ll be opportunities to join Sororities and Fraternities, also known as Greek Life. In response to clients’ questions, I interviewed Drew, a former Creative Marbles Consultancy client, Fraternity member and soon-to-be-graduated college student with a degree in Biology. He talked with me about how joining a fraternity added to his…