Make A List Of Occupations To Explore
You probably have multiple lists of occupations in front of you at this pointone generated by each of the self-assessment tools you used. To keep yourself organized, you should combine them into one master list.
First, look for careers that appear on multiple lists and copy them onto a blank page. Title it “Occupations to Explore.” Your self-assessments indicated they are a good fit for you based on several of your traits, so they’re definitely worth exploring.
Next, find any occupations on your lists that appeal to you. They may be careers you know a bit about and want to explore further. Also, include professions about which you don’t know much. You might learn something unexpected.
Schools Fall Into Four Different Categories:
1. Reach: You would really really like to go to this school, but your chances of being accepted are small.
2. Possible: Your chances of being rejected are higher than being accepted, but the school does accept some students with your credentials.
3. Probable: Your chances of being accepted are higher than your chances of being rejected.
4. Solid: You will almost certainly get in. The school rarely rejects students with your credentials.
Include at least one solid school, one probable or possible school, and one reach school in your final list. Note that Ivy Leagues and other schools with admissions rates of less than 15% are reaches for all students, even those with a 4.0 and perfect test scores.
To figure out your chances of acceptance manually, look up the SAT/ACT score and GPA ranges for the schools on your list. Most schools provide a range for the middle 50% of SAT/ACT scores for accepted applicants. If you scored significantly higher than the high point of that range, then that school can be considered probable or solid.
The same applies to GPA statistics. If your GPA is in the top reported range for the latest class at the college, youre likely to be accepted. Cappex also will give you your chances of admission at each school if you fill out a profile with your scores and GPA, so you don’t necessarily have do all of this legwork yourself.
Amherst College…what are they REALLY hiding behind all those trees? You’ll have to visit to find out.
Ethnic Cuisines And The Importance Of Keeping An Open Mind
Do you like Nepalese food? Guyanese? Turkish? Youve never tried it? Youre willing to go on faith that you might like it if you had the opportunity to try it? Hold that thought.
I think its kind of funny that we ask 16 and 17-year-olds what kind of characteristics they want when they choose a college when theyve had, at best, limited exposure or experience with many of these variables to be able to respond in any kind of educated way.
So, Sam, do you want to go to a big school or a small school? Even kids who go to exceptionally large high schools cannot fathom what campus of 20,000 or more might feel like. Sitting in an introductory biology course with 400 students or engaging in an upper-level recitation class with only a small handful of other students can both be wildly intimidating experiences. But how could your high school junior predict this? They may say they want to be far from home, but on the 4th hour of an 8-hour drive, it hits them exactly how far, far really is. Theyre likely never to really know any of this, until theyve tried it, much like Nepalese cuisine.
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The Quality Of Department:
How does the college rank in the major you want to study? Universities/ colleges are stronger in some areas and not equally good in the others. So explore the department When was it formed? The professional background of head of the department? How long has it been functioning? All this will help you know the state of the department in that college.
How To Choose A College: A Complete Guide
Choosing a college is part science: making sure they have the academic major or extracurricular activities of your choice in the location you like and with the opportunities you seek.
But, choosing the right school for you is also very much an art. I often see students who search the Internet and find a place that, by all counts, seems to be the perfect fit only to find that they just arent really jazzed by it once they get to campus. Similarly, a student will visit a place about which they were lukewarm in their initial research only to fall in love with it once they visit. You will spend a great deal of time at this place and with these people, so make sure you like it!
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Get Clues From Your Core Classes
Every college has courses that are required for all students regardless of their major. Most students try to take the bulk of them during freshman and sophomore year. Going that route allows you to get a sampling of different subjects, and often times, it’s how students come to discover the right major for them.If you end up realizing that you made a mistake, all is not lost since you do have the option of changing to something else. Keep in mind, however, that changing majors can potentially delay your graduation date, so don’t do so impulsively, but don’t wait too long either if you know in your heart a change is necessary.By putting the time in early on to figure out the right path for yourself, you’ll be better able to choose the major that’s right for you from day one.
College Quiz: Which College Is Best For Me
Are you in a dilemma about which college would be right for you? Where would you be best able to nurture your knowledge and education? This college quiz will help you with this. From the prestigious University of Oxford to the multicultural University of British Columbia, there are some great universities globally. Take this quiz to find out which college is right for you!
- What is your favorite kind of weather?
- A.& nbsp
Pink
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Animal Farm by George Orwell
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Top Tip #: Take A Reality Check
Now that you have found your dream, lets just stop a minute and make sure its realistic. Can you afford the flights, tuition and cost of living? Do you need to have certain qualifications first English language proficiency, GMAT scores? Dont get discouraged a pathway program may be all you need to cross those hurdles. If this really is your passion, prove it in your scholarship application and you may get some financial help.
This is also the point where you need to realistically think about long you want to study for. To help you decide here are some example study durations for full-time study:
- Postgraduate Certificate 6 months
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Check The Course Content
You can check the course content on the university website. If theres an area within the subject youre particularly interested in, check whether the university has it on its menu or not. Alternatively, you can contact the university directly, and I am sure they will be more than happy to answer any questions you have.
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Two: The Important Characteristics What Are Your Deal Breakers
Start by creating a list of whats most important to you in a college a list of deal makers and deal breakers. These are the characteristics that are consistent as you look at a variety of schools.
Here are some questions to ask yourself as you form a list of important college characteristics:
- Are you interested in a certain study program or major?
- Are you interested in playing a certain sport or in a drama or music program?
- Do you feel more comfortable in an urban, rural, or suburban setting?
- Is there a particular state or region in which you want to be or maybe a region you want to avoid?
- How much does the school cost?
- What are your chances of earning and available opportunities for scholarships?
Sometimes its unclear exactly which characteristics are most important to you. So as you research schools, take note of what schools youre drawn to what characteristics do they share?
Once youve narrowed down schools by these characteristics, does your list reflect a variety of admittance percentages? Based on your grades, test scores, the general paper version of you, do you have some schools that are a bit out of a reach, some schools where you are pretty well located in the median, and some schools where you exceed their standards? You want to apply to a range of schools to improve your admittance chances.
Choose Your Top Priorities
What factors are the most important to you about your future college or university? Do you want small class sizes? Specific academic programs? A good sports program or active Greek community? Is distance from home an issue? What are your housing options at each potential college? Revisiting these and other pertinent questions can help you highlight the pros and cons of different colleges and universities, which can make your decision more clear.
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Do Your College Research
Once youve worked through the list above and made decisions about whats important to you in a college, begin your preliminary research. Look up college lists, books, and college websites to find out admissions requirements, major and course offerings, tuition, housing options, class size, ranking, student demographics, study abroad opportunities, and where students end up post-graduation.
Make Sure Youve Chosen The Right Subject
It is fundamental to be 120% sure about your subject. You will spend your next three to six years studying it, and then the next 40-50 years working in the area. If you have doubts about your choice, read as many things about it as you can. Check job options, course contents, salaries Google is your friend. But you definitely do not want to realize after two months of studying that you want to be a dentist instead of a mathematician after all
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What A Great Problem To Have
If you are accepted to more than one college and you are torn about deciding among them then congratulations! Congratulations on your admission and congratulations on intelligently designing your college search so that you now have wonderful options. That said how DO you choose? I highly recommend visiting each of the campuses and attending admitted student events. Also check out the admitted student Facebook pages and Twitter feeds for each of the schools. You can learn much more about a school once you are an admitted student and this added information can be extremely helpful to you deciding on which lucky school gets to count you as a student!
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Explore The Occupations On Your List
At this point, you’ll be thrilled you managed to narrow your list down to only 10 to 20 options. Now you can get some basic information about each of the occupations on your list.
Find job descriptions and educational, training, and licensing requirements in published sources. Learn about advancement opportunities. Use government-produced labor market information to get data about earnings and job outlook.
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The Steps For Choosing Colleges:
1. Do a self-assessment2. Consider broad factors that might affect your choice3. Consider more specific factors that might affect your choice4. Research schools5. Make a list of schools based on your top priorities6. Narrow down the list so that you have a balance that includes at least one solid, one probable or possible, and one reach school
If youre honest with yourself and do some serious research, youll end up with a list of amazing schools that offer all the opportunities you’re looking for in your next academic journey.
How Do You Interpret Rankings
What makes one college better than another? Is UCLA better than UNC ? Is Colgate University any better or worse than Rice University? College Raptor is obviously not the only place to find rankings of colleges. This in and of itselfthat many different sources may provide different rankingsis a telling consideration. Each site or publication likely uses its own combination of factors, with different weights placed on each one, to come up with their own rankings.
Rankings can certainly be valuable in understanding how colleges and universities stack up against each other. But, even metrics that seem straightforwardlike ACT/SAT scoresmay not be quite as telling as they seem.
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After Acceptance: How To Finally Decide On One School
Did you receive multiple college acceptance letters? Heres how to settle on that final school.
Congratulations! Getting acceptance letters to more than one school is a great problem to have. As a reward for all of your hard work in high school, you now have a big decision to make. Heres how to narrow down your choices and find that perfect college or university:
If colleges and universities know that you have been offered more competitive packages at other schools, they may be willing to offer additional financial aid.
Your Personal Interests Strengths And Experiences
This combination of factors is probably most important in finding the right major for you. What are your passions? Where do you thrive? What have you achieved in both your academic and extracurricular life? While you can certainly change course in college and try something new, your background can play a pivotal role in shaping your path forward.
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Find A College That Meets Multiple Interests
If youre interested in several different disciplines, look for colleges that offer good programs for some or all of the options youre considering. That way, if you switch your major to another alternative, youll still receive a quality education without needing to transfer schools.
For example, if youre interested in studying Spanish and marketing, look for a school with a good language and business program. You may have to pick a school thats less renowned in one area to find a school that has decent programs in both fields youre interested in.
Finding Out More About Courses Colleges And Universities
Once youve got a shortlist of courses that appeal to you, its worth looking at some of the other sources of information about them like independent reports. These provide information on the numbers of students who finished the course, student satisfaction and more.
You might also want to take time to look at information on the college or university’s performance. The Discover Uni website includes results from the UK National Student Survey which can give you an insight into what students think of a university or college.
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When Do You Declare A Major
Generally at most four-year colleges you dont have to decide on a major until the end of your sophomore year. This gives you time to try a couple of classes and see what you like before you decide, and earn general education credits that count toward your degree. Keep in mind, certain fields and programs require an early commitment so you can take all the required classes and graduate on time.
Write A Career Action Plan
Put together a career action plan, a written document that lays out all the steps you will have to take to reach your goals. Think of it as a road map that will take you from point A to B, then to C and D. Write down all your short- and long-term goals and the steps you will have to take to reach each one. Include any anticipated barriers that could get in the way of achieving your goalsand the ways you can overcome them.
This may sound like a lot of workand it is. But it’s much easier to forge a career path when you know what you want. Taking these steps early will save you a lot of struggle and uncertainty in the long run.
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Three: The Superficial Characteristics What Would Be Nice
Superficial characteristics are just that things that it would be really great or really nice if a school had but not essential to your decision to attend or not. Lets imagine that you have made a great list of schools with varied admittance percentages. You have thought about the important things and made your list accordingly. But now you have to narrow it down how are you possibly going to decide? Well, this is where the superficial list comes in.
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As you research and visit schools, keep a list of things that strike positively or negatively about the schools and no judgement about how minor these aspects are. Maybe you notice that the dorms of one campus are nicer or the food is better or there are more trees you never really thought a lot about trees, but man, those trees sure are nice! You are not making the pretty significant decision about where to go to college based on trees but maybe trees are going to help you decide between two schools that you really like.