Your High School Years
Real talk: the best preparation for your college search is to do your best academic work throughout high school and take advantage of activities that are meaningful to you. This starts basically Day 1 of freshman year.
However! If youre a junior or a senior, dont worry if your high school résumé isn’t perfect. And if youre a freshman or sophomore, dont go thinking the whole point of high school is getting into college. Your high school years are an important part of your intellectual and personal development, and spending too much time focused on college minimizes how much you get out of them.
Regardless of what year you arefreshman, sophomore, junior, or even senioryou can make the most of high school by doing the following:
Besides doing your best throughout high school, your college search will primarily unfold over your junior and senior years.
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When you hear people say, best colleges, best is a code word for hardest to get accepted to. Rest assured, there are no absolute best schools. The right college for you is not the right college for someone else and visa-versa. With any list of schoolseven of the most competitive institutionsthere are ones that suit your learning profile, academic interests, needs, and aspirations better than others!
When Do I Declare A Major
Typically in your sophomore or junior year, but the answer varies across schools and programs. Some colleges ask you to list your expected major on your college application , but don’t require you to declare definitively until later.
If you are interested in a major that requires a lot of classes, or classes that are limited to students in that major, then it is better to declare early. Some majors demand a strictly regimented order of courses, and if you fall behind, you may have to extend your college stay by a semester or two.
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Youre Not Alone Or At A Disadvantage
Most seventeen-year-olds dont have a clue about majors, thinking instead about the subject in which they received the best grade. People find jobs by being in the right place at the right time or knowing someone. A student who graduated with a degree in Philosophy and now works at a radio station another graduated from a highly acclaimed business program and is building houses. Engineering students move into computer science, art students to web design, and Hydrology majors become math teachers. In the end, your education is about giving you the ability to think critically and make intelligent decisions with the resources your undergraduate education has provided.
Director for College Readiness Programs & InitiativesProject GRAD Atlanta
The 11 Step Guide To Choosing The Right College For You
- talk to an expert
Selection of the college can be really stressful for most of the students. Moreover, taking the right decision can often be a daunting task. Rarely its an unquestionable Yes when it comes to selecting the right college. But, despite this anxiety, the rigorous selection process can be made fun if planned well.
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Are There Job Opportunities On Campus Or Nearby
Many students need to work while they attend school. If you dont already have a job but plan to get one, look at the opportunities that are available. Some schools offer on-campus jobs and work-study placements, but those spots might be limited or restricted to students with financial aid. Look at the surrounding area to see if many businesses hire students. As a nursing student, be on the lookout for nearby hospitals, nursing homes, or other medical facilities with openings for aspiring nurses.
How Long Will The Program Take
Your own time frame and goals will be major factors when youre looking at programs. Do you want to enter the field as soon as possible, or do you want to earn an advanced degree before you begin working? Various programs will have differing outcomes and lengths. Some typical commitments for new nursing students are:
- 1824 months: If youre looking to become a registered nurse , an associates degree in nursing is all you need to earn your license.
- 4 years: RNs who want the chance of better job opportunities or to specialize in a particular area often choose to pursue a bachelors degree. These typically take 4 years, though some accelerated options might be available.
- 23 years, after a bachelors: If you want to work in an advanced nursing specialty, youll need to earn a masters degree. This usually means spending an additional 23 years after youve completed your bachelors.
Your timeline might look a little different if youre already a nurse who wants to go back to school. There are many schools that allow nurses with ADNs to earn a bachelors in as little as 1 year, or those with bachelors to get a masters in 18 months.
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How Do You Want To Learn
Most universities offer some sort of hands-on learning, which allows you to better understand concepts by seeing them in action. Some students learn better when they get to perform a task themselves.
Hands-on learning can include experiences such as labs, field trips, student teams, study abroad, co-op and internships, studio courses, and more. When researching universities, look for details about what experiential learning opportunities you’d be able to benefit from. This will allow you to filter your list of potential programs based on whether or not they offer a more traditional classroom style of learning.
Get more insight into choosing your university path
Retention & Graduation Rate
High graduation or retention rates suggest the schools good qualities. They indicate that the students of this school are succeeding and that the institution is committed to their success. Retention is a shorter-term view of success and refers to the percentage of First Time in College students who finish one year of their studies and then come back to continue studies the following year too. On the other hand, the graduation rate is a long-term view of success that expresses the percentage of FTIC students who complete their bachelors degrees.
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How Do I Choose The Right Career For Me
The first step in choosing the right career for you is to figure out how you learn best. There are a couple of different types of learners, and Im going to discuss each one in hopes that it will help you identify how you absorb information!
Visual Learner: If this is how you learn best, reading about how much certain careers pay or what the job entails probably isnt helpful for your learning process. You need to see pictures or colors instead of words when absorbing information!
Auditory Learner: The exact opposite of visual learners, auditory learners benefit more from hearing things rather than seeing them. If youre an auditory learner, how-to videos on YouTube about how to do your job would be more helpful for you!
Kinesthetic Learner: Kinesthetic learners learn by doing and moving around. You might be a kinesthetic learner if you cant sit still very long or enjoy physical activities as part of learning.
Once youve figured out how best you learn, you can use that distinction to pick a career path. For instance, kinesthetic learners work well in physical jobs, auditory learners excel in jobs where transcription or translation are needed, and visual learners work well in jobs where images, presentations, or graphics are important.
Theres No Rush To Declare But Start Researching Early
Most students cant confidently pick a major when they are eighteen years old therefore, most colleges wont penalize you for applying as undecided. Far more important to most admissions officers is a students ability to communicate clearly about his or her current passions. Figuring out your college major takes time, thats why most colleges give students four semesters to pick a major. Start conducting online research during your freshman year in high school. The Internet is full of information describing the diversity of college majors. Less time spent on Facebook now can help you pick the right college major later.
Independent College Search Consultant & Transfer Admissions Advisorwww.CollegeCoachDeb.com
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Most College Students Change Majors One Two Or Three Times
Dont worry many, if not most, high school seniors dont know in what they want to major. Truth is, except for a few fields such as Architecture and Engineering, colleges dont usually ask students to declare a major until their junior year. Use your four years in college to explore what content, activities, and possible careers really grab you, taking advantage of counseling and career centers on campus to help. If you want to identify a major, base it on what high school courses and topics interest you the most, but try to stay away from oversubscribed, very popular majors.
Owner & DirectorIvy College Prep LLC
Campus Visits In Your College Search
Imagine buying a house. You would inevitably do research online. You might even take virtual tours of the homes that appeal to you. But before you sign on the dotted line, you will need to actually walk through the house yourself. You need to step inside to see if it feels like home. And if it’s worth the investment.
Its similar with colleges.
In spite of the depth and breadth of college search tools you have at your disposal, they are no exceptions to visiting campus in person. So, after you have narrowed your college list to a manageable number, its time to think about visiting their campuses.
A successful college visit will give you a real sense of what your life might be like if you enrolled thereand whether it matches what you want. Often, youll know instinctively how you feel about a campus within moments of setting foot on the quad. If you hate it, note the things that really turn you off, so you know what to look for at the next school.
The best time to visit is typically when classes are in session, the college is alive with students, faculty are accessible, and the campus is buzzing with activity. Of course, for many students and their families, summer is a much more convenient time. That’s okay too. Maybe you can make some campus stops on your way to the beach, amusement park, or family reunion. A summer visit is better than no visit at all. Most schools will have special summer visit hours too.
Keep reading:
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Settling For A Career: Helping You Choose The Right One
Choosing a career can be one of the most daunting tasks in life. What if you never find your passion? What if you dont like how much money it pays? We all want to make sure that when we choose our careers, they are perfect for us.
But how do we know what will be best for us? This blog post discusses how to figure out which career is right for you and how to start preparing for it!
Top Tip #: Where Would You Like To Study
There are really two parts to this. Where is the best country to specialise in this subject area? Maybe its a country with plenty of internship and graduate work opportunities in that industry. Or a city that has access to specific resources. If youre interested in marine biology, why not head straight to the worlds largest coral reef in Australia and learn right at the source?
Its also a good idea to ask yourself: where in the world would you love to live for a few years? This is an opportunity to learn a new language and a new culture, make new friends, and experience a different way of life. And if youre happy in your life, youll be happy in your study.
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Student Review And Testimonial Sites
Review websites, just like Yelp, exist for higher education too, and they can be a great way to get to know your potential colleges a little better. That being said, they can also be a hotbed for stressed-out and misinformed students , so take what you read with a grain of salt. Use multiple review sites and look for patterns to get a sense of what life is really like at a collegebeyond what they tell you in a picture-perfect brochure or on an official campus visit.
College Confidential is a popular option, but youll also find student reviews on sites like Niche, Unigo, and Cappex.
Mixed Message On Choosing A Major
Few 17 or 18 year olds have any idea what their major in college should be. For them college becomes a time to assess their options and figure out the major that has the most appeal and will be beneficial when choosing a career. Fortunately most schools dont require that commitment until end of sophomore year in college. However, if a student knows what excites them and can verbalize it in their college applications they will have an advantage in their college admissions, i.e. women in engineering, a field where women are outnumbered significantly. Females with outstanding math and science grades and similar interests in high school are frequently sought after by colleges and universities. Also a significant number of parents would like their children to identify a major prior to entering college believing its more cost effective than having their son or daughter drift aimlessly through college. For these students career assessments and exploration can be beneficial. Even entering college with a chosen major it is well known that many students frequently change their majors.
Founder & PresidentCollege Connections
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What Is A Major Whats The Difference Between A Major And A Minor
A major is a specific subject area college students specialize in. Typically, between one-third and one-half of the courses youll take in college will be in your major or related to it. Some colleges even let you design your own major!
A minor is a secondary field you can study in while completing your major degree program. Its a specialization that requires fewer courses than a major. Minors are only required for certain degrees.
Visit A Starter College
Campus visits are an incredibly important part of your college search . However, if youre just starting and arent quite sure what youre looking for in a college, spend an hour or two walking around the closest campuseven if youre certain its not the right college for you. It can get your imagination going and help you gather your thoughts.
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Arts And Science Majors Have Careers Too
Major in what interests you, but make contacts and gain experience through internships and summer jobs. Most jobs can be handled by people with many different majors, and after you gain experience on your first job, your college major may not matter at all. Who you are and how well you perform on the job usually mean more than what you studied. An articulate, broadly educated person may outperform the narrowly focused. I know people whose majors/job fields are classics/e-marketing, music/publishing, history/health administration, philosophy/medical assisting, art/film production, education/sales, and more.
Co-FounderCollege Circuit
Choose The Right College: Get To Know Yourself
Think about it this way: You’re trying to match two elements–yourself and a college. While it can be tempting to start looking at different schools right away, take some time to get to know yourself better. This involves taking stock of more concrete things like your academic standing, and thinking about the more intangible parts of you: your personality, your likes and dislikes, and what makes you comfortable or uncomfortable. If you begin your search with a solid understanding of yourself, it will be easier to figure out what you should look for in a college.
Figure Out Your Academic Profile College is about more than just academics, but taking classes, doing well, and learning is a significant chunk of what you’ll be doing. And you want to make sure that you go to a college that challenges you without being overwhelming. When the admissions officers read through your application, they’ll also be thinking about this and will be trying to figure out how well you’ll be matched up with the college’s academic profile. Other criteria will be important as well–your involvement outside of class, your drive and ambition, and the diversity of your experience–but how well you do in school and on standardized tests are important considerations.
Here are some questions you should consider. Their purpose is to get you thinking about where you stand academically and what college environment will be the best match for you:
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How Much Time Is Spent In Clinical Rotations
Youll need to complete clinical rotations no matter what type of degree you earn. The time and type of these rotations can vary however, depending on your program. For example, some schools might offer evening clinical rotation hours for students who have day jobs while theyre attending school. Some important considerations for clinicals include:
- What hospitals does my program work with?
- What types of units can I do clinicals in?
- How much total clinical time is part of this program?
- What days of the week are clinicals held on?
- Can I do my clinical rotation hours with a part-time schedule?
- Step 2: