Post Synopsis - Summary of Posts From October 2011 - May 2012

Every six months or so, I like to list the topics of posts I've published and briefly summarize them. In that way, you may be enticed to go back into the archives to read blogs of special interest to you. As in past synopses, this post will also include some of the websites and books mentioned.
   
Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - Declaring a Major, Early Action and Early Decision
Some thoughts on declaring a major and, as the title says, an explanation of the "Early Decision" and "Early Action" options.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011 - On the Job
A discussion of apprenticeships.
US Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship website: www.doleta.gov/oa


Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - Earn While You Learn
The subject of this post was Cooperative Education, a program that integrates academic learning and practical work experience.
The World Association of Cooperative Education website: www.waceinc.org
The National Commission of Cooperative Education: www.co-op.edu
The Journal of Cooperative Education: www.ceiainc.org

Wednesday, January 4, 2012 - Show Me the Money!
A discussion of sources of information regarding financial aid and how to determine your EFC (Expected Family Contribution) Calculator found at: www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml 


Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - Show Me the Money! Part II
A continuation of the previous post.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - Time Out
A break in the financial aid discussion to re-assess "why college?"
Going Broke by Degree by Richard Vedder
Crazy U by Andrew Ferguson

Center for College Affordability and Productivity:  www.centerforcollegeaffordability.org

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 - Show Me the Money - Part III
Resources that provide information on scholarships.  Scholarship finders can be found at:
collegeboard.org, , www.Scholarup.net, www.scholarships.com, www.heseaa.org
Secrets to Winning a Scholarship by Mark Kantrowitz
Get Free Cash for College by Kelly Gen Tanabe

Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - Working the System
Strategies to maximize your financial aid package
Paying for College Without Going Broke - Princeton Review

Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - The Six Year Undergraduate
Recent reports show that many students take longer than four years to receive their undergraduate degree.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012 - If Spring Training Is Almost Over, Can Summer Be Far Behind?
Discussion of summer programs for students
Peterson's Summer Programs for Kids
Kaplan Yale Daily News Guide to Summer Programs


Wednesday, April 18, 2012 - Hurry Up and Wait!
Discussion of the likelihood of students being offered admission if they have been wait listed.

Summer Vacation

This is the penultimate (Look it up!) post until Wednesday, September 21. In this post, I will propose a new twist to an old topic. The September "Back to School" theme of "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" will become "How You Should Spend Your Summer Vacation". I'd like to suggest a few things that you should do this summer to help you reach your goals.

1. Define Your Goals
Students in middle school and beyond can use the sites I've written about this past year to help achieve this end. My post of December 14, 2010 lists some good ones where you can find career and interest inventories to help you pinpoint career interests.

2. Investigate Possible Careers
Hopefully, you've used some of the information I've posted to enroll in a summer program that will assist you in this endeavor. www.bls.gov and www.careercornerstone.org are two excellent websites.

3. Investigate Training for Specific Careers
The websites above will help you find out what kind of educational background a specific career requires. You can find out more about these programs and schools at www.collegeboard.com and www.unigo.com.

4. Visit Specific Schools
Actually travel to places where you might enroll after high school. At the very least, use the sites mentioned to find out more about a school. In addition to these and individual college websites, www.campustour.com provides virtual tours of many campuses. www.neighborhoodscout.com gives a wealth of information about the region and city in which a school is located. www.thefire.org gives information as to the school's protection of the individual's Constitutional free speech rights.

5. Determine Entrance Requirements and Prepare for Entrance Exams
Students should be sure they have the proper courses to fulfill entrance requirements. These can be found on the school's website or by looking up the school on www.collegeboard.com. If you need to take a class/classes that you haven't scheduled, you'll have to notify your counselor as soon as possible. Students entering junior year in the fall should spend some time preparing for SAT's. Those entering senior year who haven't taken the SAT should be sure to apply to take the first one to be given on October 1, 2011. Register by September 9, 2011. Go to the College Board site for more information.

6. Begin Your College Application
Hopefully, those students who are entering senior year have done all of the previous things on the list and should spend some time this summer to prepare as much of their college applications as possible, specifically THE DREADED ESSAY! More on that next time!

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!

Sophomoric Year

Sophomore year in college was when, for the first time in almost twenty years of formal education, I got my first grade below a B. This was rather late in the normal scheme of things, since this often happens when a student is a sophomore in high school. Hence, the word "sophomoric", which means you think you know it all when, in reality, you don't know nothin! You may wonder why they even use the word "sophomore" to describe the second year of high school or post secondary study. From personal experience, I believe it must have stemmed from teacher observations of their students dating from when Socrates lectured young people under the cypress trees. (In his case, they may have been hemlock!)
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor (PHEW!) reports that high school dropout rates increase as grade level increases. When I was a school counselor, I frequently saw an uptick sophomore year when students turned 16 and could legally drop out. It is so important for students to have a goal towards which a high school diploma is a necessary step. IES reports that in 2006-7, over 600,000 high school students out of around 14 million dropped out. That's definitely a dead end, especially in these economic times.
Since high school sophomores are often sophomoric, they usually don't see the link between current courses and a career. It is especially important at this time to flesh out a dream and keep it alive. Career interests should be identified and they should be explored through high school course selection. Career Days and College Fairs should not exclude underclassmen in an attempt to focus on juniors and seniors trying to decide on a college/major.
Since many sophomores won't be old enough for summer jobs, this is the perfect summer for exploration through a pre-college program. As I've mentioned previously, I've used and like Peterson's Summer Programs for Kids and Teenagers. Another that might be of interest is the Kaplan Yale Daily News Guide to Summer Program .
If you have a specific college in mind, see if it offers any pre-college summer programs. Many do. Check the school's website. Websites are especially good resources, as they are usually current. Two that I like are: http://www.studenteducationprogram.com/precollege.html and http://www.bc.edu/sites/genpulse/pass/summer_pulse.htmlThis last one is out of Boston College and lists sources of information on summer programs with descriptions.
This post was long enough to make up for missing last week!!!

Part VI - Enrichment and Exploration

     Once someone has a career interest in mind, one of the best ways to explore/develop that interest is enrollment in a pre-college program.  When you Google "pre-college programs", you get over NINE MILLION results.  "Pre-college programs in health careers" results in over eight million and even narrowing the search to "free pre-college programs" yields over six million. (I found quite a few that were not "free".) This can seem daunting and students should seek help from their guidance counselors.  You can also check your state's Department of Education website.  If you are interested in a specific college, you can look for pre-college programs at that school.  I would recommend perusing Peterson's Summer Programs for Kids and Teenagers.   Once you find a program that interests you, check out the website for information and application updates.
     I helped many of my middle and high school students find summer and school year programs which they found very helpful and motivational.  Here are just a few about which I have first hand knowledge.  I will blog about others that are available when we get to the high school segments.

• New Jersey Institute of Technology - Newark, NJ  The Center for Pre-College Programs offers a wide range of summer programs in science, math, engineering and technology.  The courses are designed for students who are entering fifth grade to those entering twelfth.  Program fees range from $350 to $700.  The district for which I worked provided scholarships for a number of qualified students.  My students, and also my nephew, got a lot out of these programs.  (Having an aunt who's a guidance counselor can really ruin your summer plans!)  More information can be found at:  www.njit.edu/precollege/
• Fashion Institute of Technology - New York, NY  The School of Continuing and Professional Studies offers classes for middle and high school students.  This Fall they're offering courses in marketing, design, sewing and many other areas.  My daughter and my niece attended different Saturday Live classes and really enjoyed them.  I enjoyed bringing them into the city, chatting over bagels and then wandering around on my own while they were in class.  (FIT has a very interesting museum and the flower district in spring and Macy's flower show are cool as well!)  Neither girl went into fashion, nor did they decide to go to college in Manhattan, but process of elimination is also a learning technique.  FIT also has a Sunday Live program.  One course currently costs $391 for out of state residents and meets for 11 weeks.  The workshop classes are less expensive.  http://www.fitnyc.edu/
• New Jersey Performing Arts Center - Newark, NJ  NJPAC offers programs for students ages 11-18 who are interested in music, dance and theater.  Information can be found at http://www.njpac.org/  At the home page go to "Education" and then "Arts Training".  Programs for the 2010-2011 school year are full but auditions will be held in Spring 2011 for the following year.
• Douglass Residential College - New Brunswick, NJ  This is the women's college of the Rutgers University system.  The Douglass Science Institute is a four year summer residential program to which young women who are entering ninth grade and are interested in math, science and engineering may apply. www.rci.rutgers.edu/~dougproj/DPPreCollege.html

     These are just a few of the over NINE MILLION possibilities.  The experience can be invaluable.

CLARIFICATION :  I realize that some information I gave on accessing the BLS "What Do You Like?' site may be confusing.  It's such a good site, especially for younger students, I want to be sure you can find it!!!  Either go to http://www.college.gov/, click "Why Go?" on the home page and then click "Find Your Passion"  and go to "What Do You Like?" on the next page OR go to http://www.bls.gov/, scroll down on the home page and click "Career Information for Kids".

NOTE TO HIGH SCHOOL JUNIORS:  The PSAT/NMSQT will be administered on Wednesday, October 13 and Saturday, October 16.  You cannot register online.  You must see your counselor to take this test which is a must if you're even thinking about college!  If you take it, you will also have free access to the College Board's My Road program which is a good planning tool I previously blogged about.

SENIORS!  LATE REGISTRATION FOR THE OCTOBER 9 SAT IS SEPTEMBER 24
You can register online at http://sat.collegeboard.com/