The Glitch to Gliding

One of the key factors in college admissions is the applicant's GPA, Grade Point Average. When I first began counselling, my high school did not "weight" grades. Weighting is a formula by which grades in honors and advanced placement courses are given greater numerical value, i.e., weight, to compensate for the fact that they are more difficult in many aspects than core college preparatory courses - bonus points, if you will. It didn't take a student long to figure out that if he resisted placement in these advanced levels he would not risk his GPA. Students who didn't take the honors level courses would often rank higher in the class than those who challenged themselves with more rigorous placements. I campaigned for weighting, and, shortly after I began working in the high school, we had a weighted GPA and ranking system, much to the chagrin of those who hoped to continue to glide and not suffer any disadvantage.

Coasting through the core curriculum may have seemed to these students to be the way to go. They would be able to shine with little effort and get great letters of recommendation from teachers who welcomed their presence in class. They were only hurting themselves. One of the other big factors in college admissions is the rigor of the secondary school program. This factor is right up there with the GPA and rank in admissions criteria. College profiles in the Princeton Review's 2011 edition of the Best 373 Colleges back up this statement. Since many competitive colleges ask for a copy of the high school profile, they know if advanced placement opportunities existed for students who received A's and only took core college prep courses.

Another reason to take the most difficult classes you can handle is to challenge yourself. If you don't, you may be the one left behind in difficult college classes. Many of your fellow students who took honors and advanced placement courses may be knowledgeable about topics to which you weren't even exposed. Dr. Thomas Sowell, a brilliant economist and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University wrote a book, Choosing a College, a Guide for Parents and Students. It was published in 1989. While some of the information about specific programs and places is dated, the philosophy of how to make this most important choice is sound and relevant. In it he states, "In the admissions game, 'winning' cannot be defined as simply getting in. At a minimum, it must also include reasonable prospects of survival...". By testing and challenging yourself in high school, you can maximize your chances of not just surviving but thriving in college.

In honor of the Thanksgiving holiday and the fact that I'm hosting dinner, I will not be able to blog next Wednesday. I wish you all a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving. Patience, some of your relatives may not be so thrilled to see you either!!! Remember the great Ralph Kramden's mantra - "Pins and needles, needles and pins. A happy man is a man who grins." Keep smiling!

Sloan Career Cornerstone Center

In searching for links to professional organizations/societies for last week's post, I found a site that is, as the Brits would say, BRILLIANT! Sloan Career Cornerstone Center can be found at www.careercornerstone.org It is a "non-profit resource center for those exploring career paths in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine. The extensive site explores over 185 degree fields and offers detailed education requirements, salary and employment data, precollege ideas, and career planning resources."

All 185 "Degree Fields" are listed alphabetically under that heading. Articles are similar to entries in the Occupational Outlook Handbook , accessible at www.bls.gov, in that they include the following sub-headings: Overview; Preparation; Day In The Life; Earnings; Employment; Career Path Forecast and Professional Organizations. Links are provided for organizations such as the American Board of Medical Specialties, The Society of Actuaries, The American Geological Institute and many others that provide and update content to the Center.

They spotlight and discuss resources for students, counselors, teachers, parents, and graduates. Under the sub-heading "Graduates", they link to job search sites. Unlike the OOH, the site includes the sub-heading highlighted above, "Day In The Life". Contributors in different careers describe a "typical" day on the job and there are profiles of professionals in areas such as biology, engineering specialities and more. The profiles detail the professional's educational background and job description. As an example, Urszula Tajchman is featured under the Profiles of Physicists. Dr. Tajchman is a Fellow in Pediatric Cardiology at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. There's an interesting profile on her which includes, as do all the profiles, her advice to students. There are profiles for a lot of "heavyweights" like Dr. Tajchman. Under the "Healthcare" heading, job titles range from veterinary tech to surgeon. Many of the articles give lists of degree conferring colleges and universities and accredited training programs.

This is another really great site. The information it provides is invaluable and so extensive, it's almost overwhelming. Despite that, it's easy to navigate and understand - and it's FREE! BRILLIANT!

Keeping the Dream Alive

To continue the last post's theme of finding ways to motivate yourself, I recommend that underclassmen tap into the resources they know. The idea of visualization leading to actualization/realization - "If you can see it, you can be it" - is very popular but not necessarily the case. In reality, most goals require a lot of work to be accomplished. If you have a career goal, it's important that you begin to find out what steps, e.g., education, training, experience, you'll need to reach it.
A really good source of information is one we often overlook - the people we know. How did your beautician become a beautician? What undergraduate school did your doctor go to? What subject did she major in? You may even have read and know the school name on the medical diploma, but how did the doctor get there? How did your plumber get licensed? I was often amazed at how few of my students knew what their own parents did for a living. If they knew the job title, they often didn't know what that actually meant. What did they DO?
Other good sources of information are professional societies/organizations. There's a good article by Lorie Withop, "The Promise of Professional Organizations", at http:www/back2college.com but it's mainly geared toward college students. However, in each job description article in the Occupational Outlook Handbook, under the subheading, "Sources of Additional Information", you can find contacts for professional organizations involved with specific careers. Many of these societies have precollege student membership categories. The American Meteorological Society at www.ametsoc.org, is a particularly interesting organization that has elementary, middle and high school student membership levels at a nominal fee. They have a Career Center, guides for pursuing a bachelor's degree in Atmospheric Sciences, internship opportunity information and many other services, including SCHOLARSHIPS! The staff is very responsive and helpful. So, all you Weather Channel junkies (I prefer Mr. G on WPIX.) now have an invaluable source to help you further investigate this interest.
Let's alter that trendy formula:
Visualization + Investigation + Preparation/Education = Actualization