Counselors give tips for success
Students have many options to choose from for colleges in and out of state.
October 9, 2009 • written by Lauren Haley
Filed under Features
The juniors and seniors at Bartlett High have started looking excitedly at their futures. These young adults are making plans to attend the college of their dreams. However, they may need some help getting there. Fortunately, the guidance counselors at Bartlett are happy to help.
Most students at Bartlett High would agree that these helpful counselors give great advice for the upperclassmen.
“The biggest thing is apply, apply, apply. They need to apply to about five schools: a dream school, a local school and three in between,” senior counselor Brenda Pilant said.
Pilant also says that along with applying to schools, visiting them is very important as well. Students need to decide whether or not they like the campus.
Also, Pilant recommends that those students whose ACT scores are not up to par retake it or take a refresher course.
“Work on your GPA and your ACT scores,” Pilant said.
Another important part of applying is having a good resume. College and career counselor Jana Radford has advised seniors to keep their resumes short and sweet.
“A lot of times kids end up having so much on their resumes that they’re two pages long. That’s when you want to remember the important stuff, things that were very influential or that you did a lot of work with,” Radford said.
She also says that students should not put anything in that they did prior to their freshman year.
Also, counselors suggest that students should research the schools they plan on attending very well before they make a final decision.
Seniors are not the only ones looking forward to their future. The juniors at Bartlett have also started thinking about the schools they would like to attend, and not a moment too soon.
“The first thing I would recommend is that they start thinking about 7-10 colleges that they would be interested in,” Radford said.
Also, Pilant says that juniors should make sure that they have all the courses required for the school that they want to attend.
For students still unsure about where they would like to attend, the Bartlett High School College Fair is on Oct. 20th from 6-7:30 pm for juniors and seniors interested in doing further research on their dream colleges. There will be over 60 colleges at the fair.
Jim Shannon with the Christian Brothers Financial Aid will be in the library from 6:15 to 6:45 speaking about updated financial aid information.
Also, Gary McCormack, a local ACT tutor, will speak in the library about ACT tips from 7-7:30.
The schools attending the fair include various colleges such as Middle Tennessee State University and Paul Mitchell’s School of Cosmetology.
The counselors at Bartlett High have assured any juniors or seniors nervous about college that they have nothing to worry about if they follow their tips for success.
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