BUT complete your FAFSA ASAP! Below is a useful article/video that walks you through the basics of the FAFSA. If you have more questions or need more help please contact Mr. Kerwien in the Counseling Center.
Don't worry!
BUT complete your FAFSA ASAP! Below is a useful article/video that walks you through the basics of the FAFSA. If you have more questions or need more help please contact Mr. Kerwien in the Counseling Center.
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What is First-Gen?
First-Gen is short for First-Generation College Student. You are usually considered to be First-Gen if neither or your parents have gone to college. There are a variety of programs and scholarship opportunities at various colleges available to first-gen students. Read the following blog article on CollegeMapper for more information on programs and resources available to first-gen students. Also start the conversation with your counselor or Mr. Kerwien by telling them that you think you are first-gen. Where should I go to college?
Where do I want to go to college? There are a variety of factors, but one of the main factors should be if the college/university has a program of study that leads you to the job/career you want to pursue. 4-Year Colleges have majors which basically means you take a majority of your college classes in a specified area of study. (i.e. I am majoring in Psychology so I need to take 70 credits of Psychology classes) Majors differ in the total amount of credits required. (NOTE: Undergraduate Degrees = Bachelor's Degrees = 4-Year Degrees) 2-Year Colleges have Associate's of Arts Degrees (AA Degrees) or technical degrees. If you are interested in transferring to a 4-Year College it may benefit you to pursue one of two options: 1). AA-DTA is the Direct Transfer Agreement AA Degree that any public WA college/university will accept and transfer all credits. (Always check with your final destination college/university for their requirements/policies) 2.) AA in a specific field (i.e. AA in Business) will help you get an early start at some of your future major requirements at your future 4-Year College. (Always check with your final destination college/university for their requirements/policies) **Technical Programs at community colleges include one-year certifications and two-year technical degrees that allow students to obtain a job directly after finishing school. NOTE: Some recent reports identify 2-year community college degrees will be essential for 70% of future jobs because they are technical in focus. TOOLS: There are a variety of tools to research colleges online in addition to worksheets (see below). CollegeMapper - https://www.collegemapper.com/colleges/search CareerCruising - http://www.edlinesites.net/pages/University_High_School/CounselingCareers/Career_Cruising Cappex - https://www.cappex.com/ Let me know if you want more ideas or resources! Finals and tests/quizzes in general can be stressful.
Read the following article for some tips on how to handle your stress. (The pictures are particularly entertaining and a little nerdy - SEE BELOW) http://www.wikihow.com/Deal-With-Exam-Stress NOTE: Wiki entries are sometimes hit and miss but this one is general enough to not need too much factual checking. There is a website called edX that offers free online courses (including Intro to Computer Science from Harvard - see Zuckerburg = Facebook).
A course that just started today is called The Road to Selective College Admissions. For those students interested in the tips and tricks behind finding their way into highly selective college with low admit rates. From the description the people who are running the class have experience with highly selective colleges, but I have had no students take this class yet so I can't vouch for its effectiveness. If you choose to do this class please let me know what you think so I can advise other students. I am going to start categorizing my posts, hopefully they will be easier to search over time.
I just found a cool resource that you can download as a Chrome extension for your Google Chrome browser. It's a great way to do textbook comparisons. Upside - It has a huge list of options to choose from Downside - Your college/university specific bookstore may not be on it yet. **Make sure to watch the quick intro video to make sure you understand how to use it (~1-2 min) Here it is your senior year, nearing the end of first semester.
You have friends who have already applied to all their colleges, you have friends who have signed on with military branches and you still aren't sure what to do. You want to go to EWU, but you didn't take your SATs You want to go to WSU, but you are missing your second year of foreign language. You want to go to CWU, but your GPA is really low. FIRST - Of course, you can always go to SCC or SFCC and earn your AA Degree (Direct Transfer Agreement (DTA)) and transfer after two years (also save money). SECOND - If you are missing certain 4-Year college requirements like a foreign language, SAT/ACT scores, higher GPA score, etc. then you can talk with your potential future 4-year college admission adviser about it. Often if you are missing one key element they will allow you to explain things in a college essay or getting extra letters of recommendation from teachers. In short, don't eliminate yourself from the possibility of going to a 4-year college because you are missing a "requirement." Talk with them about it. If it can't happen right now then you get a clean slate in community college. New college GPA, new learning environment, new possibilities! Some of you are planning on attending SCC or SFCC or have them as an emergency backup. Anyone who might attend SCC or SFCC next year needs to fill out the CCS Foundation Scholarship. It's awesome because there is one interface/online application for over 50 scholarships available only to SCC/SFCC students.
One small point is you have to actually apply to SCC or SFCC first online. The whole application takes about 5 minutes. I would be happy to help you apply online in my office if you leave me a note or schedule an appointment with me (make sure I'm not out of the office at a meeting). (DON'T FORGET, APPLY FOR YOUR FAFSA AND SCHOOL SPECIFIC SCHOLARSHIPS) I know this seems completely obvious, but bear with me. You go to school from Kindergarten through 12th Grade and some of you continue on to the military, technical, 2-year, or 4-year schools in an attempt to find a job/career that will support your way of life (i.e. drive a fancy car or drive a functional car or don't get a car at all). Some jobs require 4-year degrees, some require 2-year degrees, some require 1-year certificates. What does your future job require of you? Food for thought is this video. It is an opinion by some that there will be a lot of future jobs that don't necessarily require a 4-year degree. Some will of course, but for those of you not interested in going to a 4-year college or not ready right now consider some of the talking points in the video. Leave a comment on what you think about the video! |
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