If Sarah was a sophomore, we would have already been thinking about what her future might hold, but we would definitely start doing more research and preparation. Does she want to go to a 4 year school? a 2 year school? start working?
If she wanted to start working, we would be looking at areas she is interested in working in, job opportunities in those areas, training needed for those jobs, etc. Sarah would probably also be thinking about some part time jobs she could obtain during these high school years, so that when she graduates, she'll have some work experience under her belt. At this point, Sarah does plan to go to college. A route we are considering for Sarah is to take her first two years at an A+ College and then transfer to a four year university. Of course this depends on scholarship opportunities she may earn in her senior year, but if a lot of scholarships aren't available to her, we'll go the 2 year school route. The point is, she needs to qualify for A+ just in case. That means her sophomore year, she needs to make good grades and have excellent (at least 95%) attendance. When planning for her junior and senior schedules we also need to make sure peer tutoring is in at least 1 semester. **I encourage every student to try to qualify for A+. Some Missouri 4 year schools offer small A+ scholarships. It completely pays for 2 years of TUITION at approved Missouri colleges. AND many students who plan to go to work end up needing some form of training for their job. This training might be from an A+ school, so it's good to have just in case. A+ requirements--proficient on the Alg I EOC or at least a 15 on the math portion of the ACT, good GPA, at least 95% cumulative attendance, excellent citizenship, 50 hours of tutoring. Sarah is planning to take foreign language during her 1st two summer school sessions, so those will be out of the way, but if she hasn't actually taken those, we will be putting one of those classes in her next schedule. Most 4 year universities require 2 foreign language credits. During her sophomore year, Sarah will probably do the history for dual credit in the spring. This is a reason why we would have already been researching different college programs. Some programs need the American History instead of the World History, so maybe that is what she would take. **Sarah doesn't want to go into health care, but some of those programs don't require a history credit, so if that's what you're thinking about going into, make sure it will count as a requirement or elective before you take it. *** It is important to note that most of the dual credit classes offered do count as a general education requirement at many colleges. Only a few of the classes are major specific, but even those should count as electives. I'm always torn on advising students about dual credit. Dual credit classes are cheaper and sometimes easier than college classes at the college. However, if a student is using A+ or will have several scholarships, their college classes may be completely free. Every student/family has to decide for themselves what is best. The other thing I would caution about is that the dual credit and foreign language classes are completely on your own. If students are not disciplined to complete assignments every day, these classes might not be the best for them because grades plummet quickly with missing assignments! These are weighted classes--they have a greater impact on GPA, good or bad, so it is very important students work hard in these classes. We do offer regular high school weighted classes, so if a student is not self-disciplined, one of those may be a better route. Sarah is a good independent worker, so throughout her high school career, she will probably take these dual credits (if she listens to her mama. . . ): American History (Spring of Sophomore year) Psychology (Summer before Junior year) Sociology & Public Speaking (Probably Junior year) Political Science & Maybe something else? (Probably Senior year) Because Sarah plans to go to college, these things listed above will be what we are focusing on, but there are other things to think about as sophomores begin to think about scheduling for junior year: Which electives will Sarah enjoy? There aren't a ton of choices in the freshmen and sophomore schedules. They have 4 cores, freshman/sophomore enrichment class, and maybe a sports or music requirement, so it doesn't leave a lot of room for anything else. However, things begin to open up in junior year, especially with Votech. Votech: 2 year Votech programs allow students to earn certifications for trades after high school. They can also waive or substitute a science, math and/or English credit, which relieves some of the scheduling pressure and allows them to take other classes applicable to their lives after high school. I try to reinforce to students the importance of finding something in high school that they really enjoy and that will help prepare them for the future. If students are college bound, they might be thinking higher level high school courses, and/or dual credit and weighted classes. Maybe that thing to get students excited and engaged is ag and FFA, maybe it's sports, maybe band or choir, maybe the FCCLA cooking classes, like Prostart or the Industrial Arts Cabinetry. I think they can never go wrong with computer/business classes because they will need these no matter what they go into. Basically, I want students to find value in their education because I really do believe that a rigorous, applicable, well-rounded education can lead to wonderful life opportunites! And now, on to the grade I've been putting off--If my kid was a FRESHMAN--because she's ACTUALLY going to be one!!! How is this possible??? I should be sending her to kindergarten, not high school. Coming soon--What the counselor and her kid are doing because she's going to be a FRESHMAN. :)
0 Comments
It's hard to imagine Mason as a senior, but I know it will be here in a very short time!
Hopefully, by this point in his senior year, Mason knows where he is going to college and all of the application/admission stuff is settled. However, if it isn't, Mason would apply at any of the colleges he might be thinking about attending. Once we saw where he was accepted, he would need to narrow down his options and make a decision so we could start looking at scholarship opportunities. (This really should be done much earlier in the senior year, but just in case. . . ) By this time, a lot of scholarship deadlines for university scholarships have passed, but some have not. Once he was accepted, he would be filling out applications for anything he qualified for that hadn't already been due. I'm sure we'd be in a real struggle right about now, because he won't want to write those scholarship essays, but I will INSIST!!! What would you do for $1,000, right??? In addition to the incoming freshmen scholarships from his university, Mason would be filling out ALL of the local scholarship applications. He would look at the Google Sheet shared by his counselor to keep track of all the scholarships he qualifies for. You can "Make a Copy" of that sheet so it can be edited to delete the ones he isn't eligible for and any we find on our own and keep track of which applications have been submitted and which are in progress. I don't like "sayings," but again, I'm sure "the struggle will be real," because he won't want to do any of this. WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR $1,000???? The online local scholarships that are administered by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks are due on Sunday, March 12th. The local scholarships that are paper copies handed out by Mrs. Palmer are due Tuesday, March 14th. In addition, if we were thinking about sports, music, or other activities at the college level, we would have been working with our coaches/sponsors and college staff to try to find a good fit in school, program, and scholarship. At this point in the year, hopefully those details would be falling into place. We would have made sure he met any college requirements for these things much earlier in his high school career. Probably, Mason will have already taken the ACT, but just in case he doesn't yet have the score he needs, he could take it again in April. We would sign up for that before March 10th. If he didn't score proficient on the Algebra I EOC, Mason would need at least a 15 on the math portion of the ACT. One good thing, post COVID, is that colleges are accepting ACT scores from test dates later into the senior year. We would need to look at Mason's intended college to see which date is the last score they will accept. For many, it is the April test. For A+, seniors can continue to take the ACT into their Fall semester. If/when they receive the required math score, A+ will apply--even if the next Fall semester has already started. And as with any class, in any semester, in any year, Mason would be expected to keep his grades up. Seniors often get "Senioritis." It's spring. The weather starts to get warmer. There are 6,000 school activities, contests, etc. It can be a bit distracting. However, the GPA needs to stay as high as possible because class rank isn't determined for Valedictorian, Salutatorian and top 10 in the class until after the last senior grade is recorded. This struggle may be real also. :) It's spring scheduling time, so at this point in her junior year, Sarah would be making sure she was scheduled in everything for her senior year that she would need for college.
Some of those things might be: College English: If she took English III in her junior year, Sarah would be signing up for the College English class taught by Mrs. Michaelis. This is a dual credit class through MSU-WP. A requirement for this class is that a student scores at least an 18 on the Reading part of the ACT test. **If Sarah doesn't take English III her junior year, that is what she would take her senior year to be ready for College English during her first year of college. Peer Tutoring: I want Sarah to be sure to qualify for A+ and peer tutoring is a requirement for that. There are several core requirements for junior year, so we would probably save this for her senior year. If there is an ELE or JH teacher she would like to peer tutor with, she would make contact with that teacher to find out if she is ok with having Sarah peer tutor for her. Once school starts in the fall, Sarah would need to let Coach Reed (A+ coordinator) know who that person is. He keeps track of all peer tutoring assignments and hours. Foreign Language: Most 4 year universities want students to have 2 foreign language credits. I actually plan to have Sarah take these 2 credits during her Freshman and Sophomore summer schools, but if by some chance she doesn't, we'll put this in her senior year. Dual Credit: Depending on what Sarah has had before, she will probably take some dual credit that will serve as general education requirements at most colleges. Sarah will probably take Psychology and Sociology during her junior year, I'm thinking, so the next classes she will take will be Public Speaking and Political Science. However, Drury and MSU-WP both offer several other choices that would fill requirements, as well. **These classes are semester classes, so students sign up for 1 in the Fall and another 1 in the Spring. Any other required credits: Sometimes students wait to take Personal Finance/Health and/or a Technology class (or other fine/practical arts) until their senior year. If Sarah's transcript is missing anything, we'll add that in. Votech?? Sarah has mentioned being interested in education. Because of this, we might consider the Teaching Prepartation program at Votech. This is a one year program, in which students get classroom practicum experience and education dual credit hours in this program. I don't know for sure if Sarah would do this, but we would at least look into it. SIGN UP FOR THE APRIL ACT!!! Sarah will for sure take the April ACT during her Junior year, because it is the ACT test geared for Juniors. We aren't offering this test at Hartville this year, so she will sign up for Lebanon, Marshfield, or maybe Ava. Registration deadline is March 10th. * If students don't score proficient on the Algebra I EOC, they need to score a 15-17 (depending on GPA) on the math portion of the ACT. *Students who plan to take College English need to have at least an 18 on the reading portion of the ACT. Maybe that's it for now. If I think of more, I'll make additions! Mrs. Palmer
|
AuthorJessica Palmer is the high school counselor at Hartville High School in Hartville, MO. She lives in Hartville with her husband, Jeff and 2 kids, Sarah and Mason, and her dog, Hershey. ArchivesCategories |