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

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!!!

PSAT/NMSQT

As mentioned previously, I will break the sequence of topics as more timely issues arise. Most High school juniors interested in college will have taken the PSAT/NMSQT today or will take it this Saturday, October 13. Test takers can expect to receive their individual results and actual test booklets in mid-December. While this "gift" may not have been on any holiday wish lists, it is an invaluable tool in helping a student prepare for its successor, the SAT. The student receives a report that shows which specific questions were answered correctly or incorrectly, the content area each question was meant to assess and its difficulty level. The student can also use the access code on the score report to register to use the MyRoad program on the collegeboard.com site. There are many features on this site that can be used without registering but, with it, one can customize an individual program and gain access to:
-take a personality assessment
-explore a list of suggested careers and majors that fit the student's personality, and
-explore colleges and majors and more.
This service is free for those who took the PSAT. As mentioned in a previous blog, paid subscriptions area also available for those who did not take the test.

I'm not going to post on Wednesday, October 20 but will return on October 27 with the next blog, "Sophomoric Year".

High School Homework - HELP!!!!!

In reviewing last week's blog, I noticed the Amazon.com portal had the Hallinan book I referenced as costing over $100. Yahoo! I ran up to the attic and retrieved my copy, planning to put it up for sale lickety-split. On closer inspection, I realized that price was for the paperback edition which is obviously rare. My copy of When I Grow Up is the hardcover edition and can be purchased at around $8.00 which is less than I spent! Moral of the story: Read carefully and check your work.
Speaking of work - how's that high school homework? Now that the September review segments are over, the work should be getting more difficult. Here are two great sites for assistance with your homework and research.
- http://edsitement.neh.gov This is an index of websites which have been reviewed by the National Endowment for the Humanities and provides links to those sites in the following areas: Art & Culture; Literature & Language Arts; Foreign Language and History & Social Studies.
- http://www.rcan.org/schools/links.html This site is run by the Vicariate for Education of the Archdiocese of Newark and provides links to great websites - the Library of Congress, the College Board, et.al.

NOW, GET TO WORK!!!!

Finally! Freshman Year

I had thought we would have gotten to this point long before this! There is just so much information and so many topics to cover. I am trying to keep these subjects in some kind of grade order but I will break the sequence as topics I think important come to mind. Also, there is a great deal of crossover, as subjects apply to many grade levels. For example, career exploration may be addressed as early as kindergarten. I used to read P.K. Hallinan's When I Grow Up to the children in grades K-2 and then ask each student to draw a picture about the job they would like to do. I would laminate and collate the pictures into a book for each classroom's library..but I digress. (as usual!)
One of the things that may make going to high school less frightening would be eagerness to take the couses in which you have an interest and, finally, a choice. While freshmen do have to take a core set of classes, they are usually able to select a foreign language and applied/performing arts electives. Having a career focus can help with these choices. Those interested in architecture may want to take drafting while those interested in fashion may want sewing or art. Choose wisely, grasshopper. In making these selections you need to be aware that certain classes may be of interest and fulfill a graduation requirement but they may not "count" toward college admission requirements. For example, Vocal Music is a great choice and counts in New Jersey as an arts requirement for graduation but it is not considered an academic elective for college entrance. A course in Music Appreciation would satisfy both requirements. Sing if you want to. American Idol needs contestants! Just know how your curriculum choices fit your needs.
You can find high school graduation requirements on your state's Department of Education website. Check the pre-requisite classes for admission to a college(s) in which you might be interested. If you don't have one, you can play it safe by checking the requirements for a major state college/university where you live. For example, in NJ, state colleges have the following MINIMUM requirements:
-4 units of English
-3 units of math (Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II)
-2 units of the same foreign language
-2 units of laboratory sciences
-2 units of social sciences
-3 units of ACADEMIC electives
Many private schools and special programs have additional requirements. The sooner you have specific programs/colleges in mind, the easier it will be to make sure you've covered all the bases.

JUNIORS: PSAT - Wednesday, October 13
Saturday, October 16
SEE YOUR COUNSELOR!