Happy Halloween

My nephew, Brady, dressed up as Mario.

When you were little, I suspect that Halloween was a day filled with excitement.  You had the chance to dress up, pretend that you are someone you are not, hang out with your friends and be given candy by neighbors.  Today, for many of my seniors in particular, I suspect Halloween is a day filled with anxiety.  You are not able to disappear into your imagination and the stress of tomorrow's college application deadline feels rather like a nightmare.

I would like you to pause.  Breathe in.  Breathe out.  Repeat that again. 

Seriously.  (If you didn't, please stop and take the well needed deep breath.)

Applying to college by the early action deadlines is a great goal, but it is not the only deadline so if you are not ready, you're not ready.  Breathe.  You do still have a little over 24 hours left to try to finish up your applications so I want to give you a few final reminders.

1. If you are applying tomorrow via Common App and have not already identified me as your counselor on the FERPA and Recommenders section of your application, you need to do this TONIGHT!

2.  You need to submit your transcript release form.  This is on the WKHS Counselor website - www.wkhscounselors.com - and you need to get that done before noon tomorrow so that I have time to get it uploaded before I leave for the day.

3.  If you have not already requested that your official test scores be sent from ACT/ SAT directly to your colleges, then you need to go the the testing agencies pages and request for your scores to be sent.  (Hopefully you have already done this because they won't make it by tomorrow, but still do this now if you realize you hadn't done that step.)

4.  If you are trying to rush together a half-hearted application and you know that your essay is not great and really could be better, I am going to encourage you to have a heart-to-heart with your parents about waiting to submit your application for the regular deadlines.  The regular deadlines are NOT late.  It is absolutely acceptable to apply by those dates.

5.  This has been a non-stop week of trying to review essays for students.  If you are still working on your applications and need help, feel free to stop by tomorrow and I will do my best to squeeze you into the day - just prepare yourself for the fact that you might have to wait for a few minutes.

Back to Halloween, I wanted to give a special acknowledgement to all of the students who braved the cold and wind tonight to go "Trick or Canning" for the Worthington Food Pantry.  You make a difference and I am grateful for your efforts!

Career Starting Salaries

Today I was meeting with a student and we were talking about what he wants to do some day in the future as a possible career.  His response was that he didn't care what he did as long as he could make a lot of money.  Interestingly, as I was recommending that he use YouScience to explore what he is naturally good at, I had to admit that there is not a search factor that simply said which are the highest paid jobs that he would be good at... but there is the ability to look at the jobs and see what the pay is for each one and save those which interest him - even if the interest is just based upon income.

And here is the thing... money matters, but your happiness matters even more.  However, if making a lot of money is your biggest motivator then finding jobs that will pay well would be a factor in your decision making.  I just hope it isn't your only factor.

During our conversation I told him that I knew that I had recently read articles about the jobs with the highest and lowest starting salaries.  So I found them and decided that I should share them with you as well.

10 college majors with the best starting salaries

The above article features the majors with the best salary and if you’re not interested in engineering, then I have bad news for you - you’re not going to be a fan of this list.

10 college majors with the lowest starting salaries

This article features the majors with the lowest starting salaries and, not surprisingly, many of these jobs are service oriented or more aligned with a person's interests/ passions, but I hope you will recognize that there is still value within these fields.  Just keep it in mind as possible jobs to avoid if making lots of money is your top motivator.

Homework

It's a new quarter and I have been talking to many students about plans for turning around their grades in classes.  One topic that has come up over and over again is homework.

I get it... for some of you, doing work at home is not always a top priority.  Either you tend to tell yourself that you'll do it the next day, that it isn't really that important, or that you forget about it completely, but then it isn't working out the way you had wanted.

Homework has value because it is practice.  Your teachers are not assigning homework to you just because they think it is fun.  They are trying to extend your learning to make sure you know and understand the concepts being covered in class.  Being able to spend your time learning and fully understanding the material is worth the investment of your time and energy.

So let's talk for a second about those top reasons students have been citing about why they haven't been doing their work...

- I'll do it the next day... Saving your work to finish during academic prep or lunch sounds like a viable option, but if you have been saving your work for then and it isn't getting done then it is time to rethink your approach.  Getting through the work rather than having it hang over your head will take away the pressure and allow you to feel the success of having your work completed.

- It really isn't that important... I get it - in some of your classes homework is weighted really low compared to other assignments or tests and so it doesn't always feel as if the work is worthwhile, but here is the reality - Every Point Matters!  Especially if your grades aren't where you want them to be.  But think about it for a moment.  If homework is worth 10% of your grade and you don't do it then you're already starting with a 90% in your class and the only way you could earn a 90% would be if you get a perfect score on every other assignment outside of your homework.  And, let's be honest, if you aren't doing the homework to practice and develop a deeper understanding of the material, then it isn't realistic that you will be able to earn a perfect score on all of your other classwork and tests.

- You forgot about the work... time to get organized and keep a planner or use an app for tracking your assignments.  Your head is the place to think - not the best place to try to keep track of all of your work that needs to be done.  This is especially the case when you take into consideration all of the long-term assignments and projects which you have to keep track of throughout the year.

The reality is a few students also mentioned that they are struggling with homework because they try, but aren't sure of what to do.  If that is you, then I need to stress the importance of doing the best that you can on what you know and then using your academic prep, lunch or before/ after school time to meet with your teacher or the academic assistants to ask questions to make sure you learn and understand the material.  I actually see this struggle as a possible strength because if you are trying the assignments and are able to seek help to learn the specific compoentns that you weren't sure about then you will have a much richer understanding of the material than anyone who didn't even attempt the work in the first place.

I know that homework is not always fun.  I know you have other things happening in your life that can make dedicating the time to complete work a challenge.  But school is your job.  You need to maximize your learning and take care of this responsibility by doing your homework on a regular basis so that you don't fall behind and then have to dig out of a hole.  I am confident that if you do, you will see the reward in your grade and most importantly in your learning and understanding of the material.

Upcoming Changes with ACT

Anytime that there are changes announced related to the ACT or SAT they tend to be big news.  (Ok, well, at least big news for those of us who follow college admissions news regularly.)  Such was the case in the last few weeks when ACT announced that they will have changes coming beginning next September.

They are going to begin allowing students to do retakes in just particular subject areas.  So, once a student has taken the full ACT they will have the option of taking just a particular section that they struggled with rather than retaking the entire ACT over again.

This news excited a lot of people, but I have to tell you, unless lots of colleges change their current admissions policies, this is likely not a change that will make a huge difference for most of our students.  That is because most colleges do not superscore.  Superscoring is when colleges will take the highest scores for each subject area no matter the test date and average all of those together to come up with a composite "superscore."  At this point, most colleges elect to use the highest composite score from one test date.

The other aspect that I thought was particularly interesting is that the section specific retakes will only be allowed to be done at national test sites that administer the ACT online instead of through paper/ pencil.  With most of our students still having a preference of taking the test with the paper/ pencil format, I am also not sure how that shift will impact the decision to take just a particular section.

I am confident that in a few years these changes will be much more mainstream and chances are that for the current sophomores these changes might be applicable, but, I'd guess that before that it is big news that really won't have any applicability yet.

Here is an article that highlights these changes if you want to read more about it.

Searching for a College

No matter what grade you are in, when you start the college search – the answer lies in you! I know, that sounds cheesy, but it is true. Before you really start looking for the “right” school it is important to figure out what you WANT in a school and that can only be found by looking in yourself and determining what factors are most important to you.

For example, for some students distance from home may be a big deal. Being close can have it’s advantages – like being able to come home and have a free home cooked meal or a place to do your laundry and also not having to worry about flying half way across the country any time you would want to come home for a visit. Going to school at a college far from home can also have it’s advantages – often a different climate, a new experience and adventure where you can be independent, and no concerns about mom or dad just dropping in unexpectedly. And, of course, there are some students who will elect to find a school that is not too far and not too close. (Remember, that by communicating with your family about what you are looking for in a school you may find that a college outside of your comfort zone is still worth considering because you and your parents may be able to reach some mutually agreed upon ground rules – so the concern that they might come see you or you might come home too often can be eliminated by talking about those issues up front.)

The size of a school is another factor for many students. Small, Medium, Large or somewhere in between – the challenge is that many students will say, “I don’t know” and that is where making a variety of visits to different sized schools can be advantageous. You can explore a small school and see if the experience of knowing lots of people on campus and in your classes is better for you than a medium or large school where you may have a class in a lecture hall with hundreds of other students. As you visit the schools you may find that there are experiences or advantages that a larger school can provide that a smaller school can’t such as a wider variety of clubs or groups for students to be involved. The key is to figure out what size school fits you and then you can narrow your search to explore more schools in that range.  However, it is important to keep an open mind about size because there is only 24 hours in a day so the way you will spend your time is going to be very similar no matter what size of a campus you select.  Plus, you know yourself academically... so you know if you are the type of student who will go and seek out your professors during office hours or if you are the type of person who wants a teacher to notice that you are struggling.  (Hint, at a medium/ large school the professor will most likely not be able to notice that you are struggling.)

Other factors that often influence a student’s college decision will include the types of majors or programs offered at the school, their athletic programs – both collegiate sponsored and intramurals, the food, the dorms, the cost (but don’t necessarily eliminate potential colleges simply based upon cost because often the private schools are much more expensive, but also offer a much larger financial aid package to make it competitive and comparable to a public school), extra-curricular opportunities, career placement services and on and on.

Again, I cannot stress the point that everyone is different and what is best for one person is not necessarily the ideal school for someone else. All too often I listen to students who are only looking at the 2 or 3 schools that their best friend or sibling looked at rather than trying to find the school that fits best for them. Also, I truly believe that it is about being a good match – for both you and the college and that there is not 1 perfect school.  You will be successful no matter where you end up attending.

I know, it can be a bit intimidating to search for a school and to try to figure out what you really want in a college and for your future, but it is also supposed to be fun so try not to put too much pressure on yourself to find “perfection” and try to take a step back and figure out what will make you happy. It really can be fun, but I know it is also overwhelming so remember that I am here to support and help you in any way that I can.

Merit vs Need Based Aid

Paying for College is expensive! There is no question that higher education costs add up quickly.

There are two broad categories of financial aid – Merit Based aid and Need Based aid.

Merit Based aid is what you think of when you think “Scholarships.” These are usually awarded to students based on academic achievements, leadership, athletics, special talents such as art or music, volunteerism, or other personal qualities that set you apart. These scholarships do not consider financial need. A significant portion of all merit-based aid comes directly from the college/ university. Some schools may require additional scholarship applications, essays, interviews, and many colleges will have earlier deadlines to be considered for their scholarships. It can be helpful to know that a lot of times the smaller, private colleges will have more money available for scholarships in order to help make attending their school competitive with the lower costs of the public colleges. Please also remember that there are scholarship offerings listed in PrepHQ. It is important to keep an eye out for unique scholarships that might apply to your personal situation. Last year I had a student who was able to qualify for an Italian heritage scholarship. Perhaps one of your grandparents won a purple heart or maybe you have time to write an essay for one of the other scholarship competitions… no matter what the situation, if you find a scholarship that you meet the criteria for go ahead and apply – you might be pleasantly surprised at the result and if you don’t, the answer is definitely a “no.”

Need Based aid is what you will sometimes hear people refer to as “Financial Aid” even though both Merit Based and Need Based aid technically fall under that one category. There are a variety of different Need Based aid programs which will require you to fill out the FAFSA in order to be considered for them. Grants are considered gift assistance – they give you money and you do not have to pay it back. Loans which can come from a wide variety of sources – the federal government, the college, and private banks is money that you are required to pay back. Work Study programs are on campus job opportunities that the government helps find that allows you to earn money for college through working on campus. The big difference between Merit Based and Need Based aid is that Need Based aid is that the type and amount of Need Based aid you will receive depends upon the amount of financial need you have.

And, yes, just to add to the confusion – there are some scholarships that will consider financial need as a criterion. They are still awarding the scholarship based upon some specific aspect of who you are it is just allowing them to narrow down the potential applicant pool.

One last important reminder - NEVER pay to be considered for a scholarship! That is a scam. Don't waste your money!

Seniors, hopefully you have started making progress on filling out your FAFSA.  Don't forget that you need to submit it prior to your first college's priority deadline.  If you have any questions you can always call the financial aid offices of the schools where you are applying as they are true experts in the field. I am also happy to try to help in any way that I can.

Worthington Industries Workforce Partnership

I have been posting a lot about college lately, but the reality is there are some students who are not interested in pursuing college directly after high school.  Worthington schools has established a partnership with Worthington Industries to help meet the needs of students looking for a strong work option. 

I blogged about the new Worthington Industries partnership back in August.  Here is that information, but we wanted to give all of our students and parents every opportunity to learn more directly from the Worthington Industries staff.  There will be an information meeting on Monday, October 28th at 6:30pm in the WKHS Counseling Center conference room to give you a chance to learn more about the internship experience that Worthington Industries will provide to interested students.

Working at Worthington Industries is a great opportunity for students to have a solid, well paying job after high school.  If you are not looking at college, please consider exploring this opportunity.