Student Preparation for College
It is never too early to prepare for college. That means you must set up a long-range plan for your future so that, step by step, you can make informed decisions about your education, do well academically, learn about colleges and careers, and find the best possible opportunities for your growth.
Remember, the more you learn, the more you earn.
Visit the links below for “checklists” – one for the student and the other for the parents – designed to help toward preparing for college.
The most important points you must remember are:
- Develop and maintain strong study skills.
- Imagine a career for yourself. Who would you want to be? Don’t worry if you have to change your mind later.
- Start saving for college if you haven’t already.
- Start thinking about which middle and high school classes will best prepare you for college and your career.
- Get to know your career counselor or guidance counselor, and other college resources available in your school.
- Take challenging classes in English, mathematics and science (especially physics). A good preparation in physics and physical science can prepare you for almost any career. See here for a few examples.
- Keep saving for college.
- Continue talking to your career counselor or guidance counselor.
- Talk to adults in a variety of professions to determine what they like and dislike about their jobs and what kind of education is needed for each kind of job.
- Look at available jobs in newspapers, magazines and on the Internet so you know what kind of preparation you need to get the job you may be interested in, to make the kind of money you want to make.
- Prairie View A&M University has strong partnerships with a lot of schools. Check with your teacher or principal or counselor or coach if they can set you up with a mentor at the university.
- Keep saving for college.
- Take advantage of opportunities to visit colleges and talk to students.
An excellent resource site for a Texas to know about preparing, applying and paying for college or technical school. Three billion dollars is available every year to help Texans attend college!
http://www.gocenter.info/ (Go Centers)
What is a Go Center?
Go Centers are a grassroots network of community-managed college recruiting centers located in communities across the state of Texas. Prairie View A&M University is establishing Go Centers at several partnering high schools, such as Bellville HS and Royal HS. Each Go Center has a G-Force (http://www.gocenter.info/gforce/), a group of peer educators that manage the center. Student G-Force Members are college and high school students selected to serve as peer educators to encourage students to prepare for and pursue college education. For information about and pictures from the first Go Center meeting at Bellville High School, visit here. Through the Go Centers, G-Force members will focus on the three foci of the Go Center: Attitude, Aptitude and Access, required to successfully transition from high school graduation to post-secondary education.
How is the Department of Physics Working with the Go Centers?
The department supports and enhances the Go Centers via a variety of activities:
- Act as a local and regional communications agent to support the operation of a network of Go Centers and G-Force members;
- Provide mentoring activities designed to support G-Force members in their efforts to assist their peers in developing the three foci – Attitude, Aptitude and Access;
- Arrange visits for Go Center members (students, teachers, parents and community members) to the department;
- Arrange visits for department faculty and staff to the Go Centers;
- Collaborate with Go Theatres www.getheatre.org/ in designing, developing and performing sketches and monologs relating to scientists and their lives; and
- Periodically arrange meetings for all stakeholders to assess the progress of activities and explore new directions for growth.
This is an excellent site that described various concepts in physics but also discusses career options and career choices for these concepts.
Listen to what others like you have to say about preparing for college, choosing a college, declaring a major, or applying for a scholarship.
Higher Learning = Higher Earnings, What You Need to Know About College & Careers, a report (Higher Learning = Higher Earning) of the Center on Education Policy and the American Youth Policy Forum (www.aypf.org).
The National Teaching and Learning Forum