Step by Step: College Awareness and Planning

Step by Step: College Awareness and Planning

Early High School Curriculum

Grades 9?11

STEP BY STEP: COLLEGE AWARENESS AND PLANNING: EARLY HIGH SCHOOL National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)

Introduction

Intervention in the earlier years of high school can put students on a successful path to college attainment and graduation. At this stage, a counselor's role should include:

? Encouraging students to see themselves as college bound ? Instilling the belief that college is accessible and attainable for everyone ? Building a strong foundation for students in and outside of the classroom by helping students choose a

college preparatory course schedule in high school and encouraging extracurricular involvement ? Putting together a plan for standardized testing ? Building a student's self-motivation to pursue college and helping him or her build a support

network of adult mentors to help reach that goal ? Helping students assess their career interests and aspirations and begin researching colleges

to pursue those goals. The following six-session curriculum lays a comprehensive foundation to address all of the above.

142

STEP BY STEP: COLLEGE AWARENESS AND PLANNING: EARLY HIGH SCHOOL National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)

Early High School Sessions

1 2

Session 1:

It Is All About Me! My Future Plans Start Today . . . . . . . . . . 144

Session 2:

There is a College for Everyone! . . . . . . . 158

3 4

Session 3:

Going to College Starts Now: Curriculum and Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Session 4:

Going to College Starts Now: Extracurricular Interests and Activities . . . 185

5 6 7

Session 5:

The College Search and Application Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Session 6:

Building Your Dream Team and Taking It on the Road . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Resources for Early High School:

Parent/Guardian Workshop . . . . . . . . . . . 238

143

STEP BY STEP: COLLEGE AWARENESS AND PLANNING: EARLY HIGH SCHOOL National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)

1

Session 1: It Is All About Me! My Future Plans Start Today

The purpose of this session is to encourage students to think about their academic and personal goals for the future, how they can reach them, and why college may be an important step for them to take. With their career goals in mind, the facilitator can demonstrate how higher education fits into their plans. Students will also learn about incentives to attend college, as well as the myths about financial aid.

Objectives

By the end of this session, students will: ? comprehend the importance of good decision-making ? have a better understanding of their short-term and long-term goals ? find that peers with similar interests can help them in the college search/application process ? learn how personal interests and activities can affect their college choices ? understand the personal and financial benefits of postsecondary education ? know how to find answers to questions about college costs.

Activities and Handouts

Activity #1: Common Interests and Connections Handout: College Bound Bingo Activity #2: What's Are Your Goals? Handout: Short- and Long-Term Dreams/Goals Activity #3: Why College? Handout: Personal College Counseling Questionnaire 1 Activity #4: College Cost and Increased Earnings Handout: Financial Aid True/False Quiz Wrap-Up: Paying for College is a Family Affair and How It Works

144

STEP BY STEP: COLLEGE AWARENESS AND PLANNING: EARLY HIGH SCHOOL National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)

1

Session 1: It Is All About Me! My Future Plans Start Today

Activity #1: Common Interests and Connections

Opening Discussion

Although the decision to go to college is a very personal one and each student needs to decide what is best for him or her, talking with other students who have similar goals and interests can be very helpful.

Activity/Handout

College Bound Bingo--an ice breaker activity to get the peer conversations started.

Instructions

1. Print and copy a bingo card for each participant. (Pencils or pens required.) 2. Participants circulate to find others who match descriptions in the bingo squares. 3. When a match is found, the participant writes the name of the individual in the square. 4. Different names must be used in each square. When participants have filled a row with names,

they yell, "Bingo!" 5. With the group, check the squares and identify the individuals listed in the boxes. 6. Continue the game for a second round, with the new goal of filling the entire card.

(May need to set a five minute time-limit and then award person who came closest.) 7. When participants have filled the entire card, they yell, "Bingo!" 8. Check the entire card, identifying individuals matching each description. 9. Read the card out loud and have all participants stand when a category applies to them.

145

STEP BY STEP: COLLEGE AWARENESS AND PLANNING: EARLY HIGH SCHOOL National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)

College Bound Bingo

Does volunteer work

Would like to go out of state for

college

Is a ninth grader

Speaks more than one language

Has been on the honor roll at

school

Has a leadership role in his/her high school

Is active in a church, temple,

or mosque

Wants to attend a small college

Wants to major in English or journalism

Whose parents or sibling

attended college

Wants to major in history or psychology

Was born in a country other than the US

Has visited a college campus in the last year

Participates in at least one extracurricular activity

at school

Has attended more than one

high school

Plays on a sports team

Has a part-time job

Is a 10th grader

Wants to attend a large university

Plays a musical instrument

Is part of an academic enrichment program outside

of school (like Upward Bound)

Whose parents didn't attend college

Wants to attend a community college

Wants to major in math or the

sciences

146

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download