What Trends in Public University Tuition Means for College Bound Seniors

Public universities and colleges are partially funded by student tuition and partially by state and local government revenues (i.e. taxes collected), alongside subsidies by the Federal government and private donations.  Public funding is then allocated per full time student, as shown in the map below. Alaska contributes the most per student at $14,837, while the…

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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…

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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…

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Reviewing The Week In Education: March 31-April 6

Highlights in Educational and College Admissions Happenings for March 31-April 6: In College Admissions: The last of the college admissions acceptances and denials were returned to anxiously awaiting Seniors and their parents. Creative Marbles Consultancy’s Commentary: For students denied admissions, speculation about why s/he was denied has ranged from “only the Asian kids in my…

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Life in College: A Glimpse of Smaller Class Sizes in Action

Many universities publicize the small class sizes as a benefit for student’s learning. Wanting to understand more about what small class sizes looked in practice , I talked with a Creative Marbles Consultancy client and a current freshman at the University of San Diego (USD), Jarett.  He graciously agreed to let me summarize his experience…

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Denied?!? WHAT THE WHAT?!!!?

The email inbox for a college applicant at this time of March can be an emotional minefield.  Each “ding” alerting the Senior to a newly received message can create a heart-pounding, nervous-butterflies-in-the-stomach-hand-quivering-as-you-click-the-mouse-on-the-bolded-new-message-from-such-and-such-college, frantically searching the opening text for, “Congratulations!” and instead seeing, “With a record number of applications, we regret we were unable to admit you…

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