Tips for High Schoolers Beginning Their College Exploration
Going to college is an exciting experience that many students look forward to. But you should start preparing for college early on by taking advantage of career counseling in schools.
Going to college is an exciting experience that many students look forward to. But you should start preparing for college early on by taking advantage of career counseling in schools. Even if you don’t have a career counselor or fail to schedule a one-on-one meeting with the professional, you can always use an online tool designed to deliver results when it comes to career counseling for high school students. But why should you start early?
The more effort and time you spend preparing for college, the easier your transition from high school to college will be, which will let you get a lot more out of the experience.
Not sure how to start your college exploration? Here are the top tips you should keep in mind.
1- Decide between college and university
Whether you get enrolled in a college or university, there are advantages to both. But at first, you’ll need to know the difference between a college and a university. Typically, most colleges offer undergraduate or bachelor’s degrees, while a university may offer graduate degrees together with higher degrees, like master’s degrees and doctoral degrees. Additionally, when it’s a large university, you’ll often find colleges within it, such as the College of Engineering, the College of Business, the College of Arts and Sciences, etc. And individual entities within that university will be in charge of overseeing that specific academic area.
You can get a clear idea of these and other differences by talking to your counselor during career counseling in schools.
For example, when it comes to exposure, a community college would have certain limitations, while a university will have varied options for you to take up and explore. You may use an online career counseling tool like CounselHero to get detailed information to understand what benefits colleges and universities will offer, especially with respect to the field of study or courses you want to choose.
2- Check courses on offer
From deciding what majors you want to take up and scheduling your course load to checking the faculty, library facilities, and other educational resources and opportunities on offer, you need to focus on the key aspects that will make your college education worth it.
Remember that all these aspects together make your education and experience count.
For example, choosing just a course of your choice won’t help much if the faculty isn’t that good or has no industry ties and can’t help bring updated know-how in the classes that will help you get job-ready. Again, a college that strictly believes in academic texts and doesn’t have programs that encourage hands-on learning like workshops, industry visits, mentoring, etc., may not support you or help you get ready for the workplace. The key is to research the college courses and then some more when deciding which one you’ll finally be opting for.
Virtual tools for career counseling in schools can help with such research by making the relevant information readily available.
3- Consider affordability
Whether you can fund your college education completely on your own or will need financial aid is a crucial thing to consider. Additionally, deciding if you’ll opt for out-of-state or in-state colleges or universities is vital. Cash-strapped students should opt for state universities or community colleges rather than the ones that are privately funded with steep fees.
To help find answers to all these crucial questions, you should definitely attend career counseling for high school students.
