Radford gives college tips
One out of four college students dropped out in 2010. “Part of the reason is that they’re totally unprepared for the college experience,” John Bryson, national speaker and college ministry veteran, said. Many students wait until junior or even senior year to start researching colleges.
Thankfully, Jana Radford, the college and career counselor in the guidance office in the A Building, helps students from getting completely lost. “As long as my door is open and no one else is in my office, and I’m not on the phone, you are more than welcome to come and see me.” Her best periods are second, third, and sixth.
Radford recommends checking out the cost. With tuition rising, it can be a struggle to cover expenses. She also warns against not getting fooled by companies that want “fifty dollars to find you a scholarship.” They may say, ”Oh, we don’t care about your grades or ACT score,” but that “is simply not how it works,” Radford said.
Money does not solve everything, however. A 2010 report by ACT, the IOWA testing company, estimated one-third of 2010 freshmen would not return for sophomore year. Students should ask questions about what colleges do to retain freshmen at their schools. The college should help students adjust and keep their grades up, because so many students get homesick or leave due to failing grades.
Students should also be asking themselves questions about what they want out of a college by taking into consideration where they will feel comfortable. If students are shy, they may not want a big college with crowds and a classroom with 300 other students. However, a very outgoing person may enjoy a bustling campus with lots of clubs and organizations. Some students cannot wait to get far away, but if some get homesick easily, they may want a college close enough to come home on weekends.
Radford also suggested looking over websites started by students, Rate My Professors.com. Most people think it is a joke, but students seriously share useful information. One student may say the teacher is very “hands-on” and students who prefer a different style can avoid the teacher’s class.
Students should also make certain a college is reputable. “If a college doesn’t ask for your records…(or claim) they will guarantee admission, or scholarship money without seeing your grades or ACT scores, then that’s not legitimate,” Radford said.
Likewise, it is not always easy to determine if a college is accredited. Often a “big governing body will accredit a college, but each department major area also has a level of accreditation.” For example, the Education Department and Business Department have separate accreditations by governing bodies. Radford says websites can provide that information. Radford said, ”…a lot of times you’ll work more with (the department) than you will with the university as a whole.”
There are many schools with locations all over the United States that are wonderful. Radford says these schools can be a good thing if the student is willing to stay on top of things. Lots of times students just assume that the school is going to put them on the right track and everything is going to be just fine, but it is the student’s job to make sure that the school is doing everything they can for them.
Radford said that a student knows they have made the right college choice when they feel comfortable at that school, when there are enough things they like to make them stay and enjoy it. “I hate to be philosophical, but deep down you’ll just know.”
Dreams evolve as seniors grow
Every little kid has a dream career, but pursuing these dreams falls upon the shoulders of the growing child. Kids grow, but does the dream grow with them, or get thrown away for a new beginning?
Some kids’ aspirations come to only a selective few, such as being the President of the United States or being a rock star, and therefore become out of reach for many. As children get older, they realize they have to decide either to work harder to obtain these selective jobs or to give that dream up and move on.
Most kids ditch their original career goal long before they reach high school. Once teens develop new interests, they find new ideas; and once they find new ideas, they find new career paths.
“When I was a kid I wanted to be a marine biologist because I wanted to play with the dolphins,” senior Stephanie Klink said. “Now I’m going to college to major in music and theater.”
While some students have only changed their dream once, others have had multiple dreams throughout their years.
“When I was a kid I wanted to be a minister because my grandpa was one and I wanted to be like him,” senior Cassandra Scheiber said. “At the beginning of high school, I wanted to be a geneticist because all my siblings look like my parents and I don’t and I wanted to know why. Now I want to be a music teacher because music is my life and my passion, and I want to show other people how amazing it is.”
Some students have not decided to give up their dreams all together, but have altered them to make room for everything they want to do.
“I wanted to be a writer,” senior Jesse Gillespie said. “Now I plan to go to the University of Memphis to become a stage manager, but I still want to write on my spare time and get something published.”
According to research conducted by Penn state as well as other institutions up to 80% of students entering college admit uncertainty about what they want to major in, and 50% of college students change their major at least once, if not multiple times.
Developing kids usually change their minds many times before they decide what they want for the future, but eventually they do decide.