With the school year half way through, many seniors at Sentinel High School are facing the stresses of college and all of the decisions that come with it. Many colleges require specific applications and information, but there is also a large amount of generalized information that can be helpful in the process of graduating and applying for colleges as well as scholarships. With so many different messages about what students should do before college, many find themselves uncertain about their next steps.
Before graduation:
The Sentinel counseling website has many resources for students, including transcript requests and help for letters of recommendation. Before graduating, seniors should work with their counselors in order to send both their transcripts, as well as their ACT/SAT scores to their chosen university if applicable.
The last few years have seen a rise in test optional schools, so how do students know if they should send their test scores? The answer lies in the college. Students with scores above the average score of their chosen school should submit their scores, while students with scores under the 50th percentile should prioritize extracurriculars and/or grades in their application.
Another important step for any college bound seniors is to fill out the FAFSA (free application for federal student aid), which can be used to get financial support as well as predict college costs for students. While not every student will receive aid from the FAFSA, a majority of colleges prefer students to submit an application.
For students who have taken AP/dual credit courses, it is critical to obtain scores and communicate with an admissions counselor to get credit for those courses. This can be done with the help of a school counselor and the institution the course was taken through.
How to pick a college/major:
Some of the biggest questions seniors get asked is ‘where are you going to college?’ or ‘what are you going to study?’, and for many, these major life decisions seem overwhelming. With thousands of options, how does anyone decide what to do after high school?
There are many resources designed to help students find a college that best fits their goals such as niche and appily, but the process can be broken down into a few steps.
Identify a few hobbies or subjects that are particularly interesting and do some quick research on jobs in those fields. A ‘good’ major is nearly impossible to define as it changes based on an individual’s goals, but usually students should look for growing fields with high job opportunities. Another aspect is versatility. Looking for majors that can be qualifiers for a broad variety of jobs will ensure that students can join the workforce after college.
Most colleges have a wide variety of majors, so a student may want to look into the top colleges for their major, but more likely than not, the decision will come down to other factors. Some of those factors to consider are location, cost, and community. Students should decide if they want to be close or far from home and consider how that will impact their experience. They may also want to consider the weather and geography of a location. Many students also look for universities in communities with similar values to their own or in which members of their family live.
For many students, sports teams may also play a role in the environment of their college experience. Athletes can plan directly with the athletics department/coaches to find a school with the right team for them.
Once a student has determined their ideal environment, they can decrease the number of colleges they are considering and search in a specific area or parameter.
College board is a resource that many students have used for AP classes or other school related projects, but very few know that college board also has resources to aid students with choosing schools, finding scholarships, and exploring careers. They display both need based and merit based scholarships and also have resources to help students write application essays. Using College Board and resources like it, students can take career quizzes and connect with advisors in order to gain advice on the coming years.
Next steps:
Once students have a list of schools, they can create a pro and con list and apply to their top schools. Some students will apply to a large number of schools while others may only apply to a select few, but every student should apply to a “safe school” as a backup plan. This means a school usually nearby that will have low tuition and high acceptance rate. In this way, students can ensure that they will get into at least one university or college.
Common app is an application for colleges that students can fill out once and use to apply to multiple colleges. It is beneficial to students who are applying to multiple colleges, as it can decrease the number of applications that a student has to fill out. It is used by almost every college as an accepted form of application.
After getting accepted into a university, if students can afford it, most institutions encourage potential students to visit campus and explore in order to get a feel for the school. Doing this can help a student decide if they want to spend their next four years there. If students cannot afford to visit in person, many campus websites have virtual tours designed to help students visualize the campus.
The final hurdle: scholarships.
Every student dreads the application process, but scholarships are one of the most important aspects of preparing for college. Usually, universities have a scholarship portal for accepted students in which students can find scholarships that apply to them, as well as a general scholarship form.
Another option for students is to find scholarships that are unassociated with their chosen school. These may be beneficial as they can stack on top of school specific scholarships. This means that if a student got a tuition scholarship from their college and they also got a tuition scholarship from an outside organization, they could use both instead of choosing one.
Finding these, however, may be difficult. Students who are involved in extracurriculars should look at the websites of their extracurricular institution for possible scholarships. There are also many online platforms to connect students with scholarships in Montana, such as apply montana, WGU, and other platforms for different states.
Overall, the world is brimming with resources to help students find the right path for them and while they may be difficult to navigate, students have a large number of people, including teachers and counselors who are available to help them.
