How to Get to College

Do I have to go to College?

Education Level Average Income Male Average Income Female

Less than 9th grade $20,789

($10/hr)

$15,978

($7.5/hr)

Some high school but no diploma

$25,095

($12/hr)

$17,919

($9/hr)

High School Diploma/GED $34,300 $24,900

Some college, no degree $40,300 $28,697

Associates degree (2yr) $41,952 $31,071

Bachelors Degree (4yr) $56,334 $40,415

Masters Degree (2 more yrs) $68,322 $50,139

Professional degree (3 more yrs)

$99,411 $58,957

Doctorate degree (4 more yrs) $80,250 $57,081

How to Prepare for College

• Preparing for College starts your Freshman year of High School!

• College will look at your body of work from Freshman year forward.

• Grades, failures, retakes, summer school, suspensions from every year show up on your transcript

• Colleges will look at the entire transcript

•Education and training is required

•Job Description

•Where is the work done?

•Is the work dangerous or physically demanding

•Work hours, overtime, travel?

•What classes can I take in H.S., college or vocational school to help prepare me for this career?

•Is part-time work available in this occupation

•What rewards and satisfaction are likely to be found in this occupation?

•What are the opportunities for advancement in this occupation?

•What is the employment outlook in this occupation?

•What is a typical starting salary in this occupation?

•How much do people who have been in this occupation for 10 years occupation usually earn?

How to Decide on a Career and Major

Select one of the occupations you are interested in and conduct additional

research.

– Career Net (http://www.career.org/) – Fastest Growing Occupations

(http://www.census.gov/stat_abstract/img/occ.gif) – Salary(http://www.salary.com/)– Swivel (http://www.swivel.com/data_sets/show/1007892)– Sacramento State

(http://library.csus.edu/guides/rogenmoserd/general/salaries.html)

GPA• Grade Point Average (A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0)• To Colleges, this is what defines you!• It tells them how hard you worked and if you can sustain

hard work and project completion over the course of a semester and a year!

• Every grade you earn is averaged each semester, each year.

• GPA’s are a weighted average. The body of work over the years controls the average.

• The goal is to keep your grades up in your high school year.

How GPA is Calculated

Course Grade Point Credit Total

Math A 4 1 4

Art A 4 1 4

English B 3 1 3

Band B 3 1 3

History C 2 1 2

PE D 1 1 1

17/(6classes) 2.8 GPA

College AdmissionsWhat do they Look for?

• Magic Formula: GPA, ACT score, class rank– Most important thing to some colleges.– If GPA is low, you must offset with strong ACT score.– Scholarships decisions are made using this formula

• Rigors of course work: How hard were the classes you took, how is your HS ranked– Its good to be in the top 10-15% of your graduation class– Personal Statement– Recommendations (teachers, employers, pastors, youth

leaders)– Extra-Curricular Work– Leadership, Volunteerism, Employment

Some Questions to Ask or Research when deciding on a College?

• Does the school have the majors in which you are interested? Does the school allow you to minor in another subject?• Does the school have a strong program in your major? Are the professors published? Did they write the text book for the subject?• How well does the college help students from your major find jobs after graduation?• Do you learn better in a small class room or can you thrive in a large class? • Which extra-curricular activities are you interested in? • Do you want a school that is dedicated to public service and volunteerism? • Do you need a school that will look at more than just your ACT score to decide on your admission?• Do you need a school that will factor in your GPA, class rank and activities if your ACT score is not up to par?• Do you want to go to a four year college but have bad grades and a low ACT? What schools have an open admission policy?• If you have to start at a two-year college, do you have to stay in Chicago? Which two-year colleges have dorms?• Do you want to join a fraternity or sorority? • Do you want to stay in town? Get out of Chicago? Go out of state?• Can you and your parents afford to go out of state? Will the out of state schools offer you enough financial aid? Can you get a

scholarship?• What about the school newspaper or radio station? • Do you want a party school or do you want to stay away from schools with a rep for heavy partying and drinking? • Do you want to play intramural sports (sports for fun) or do have what it takes to play sports competitively for your school? • Do you care about the dorm rooms, their size and what they look like?• How good is the cafeteria food? • How pretty is the campus? Do you care? • Do you want to attend a college with a diverse population? • Do you care if you are the only minority in most of your classes? Maybe not if they give you a good financial aid package. (consider what

happened at University of Chicago and their Straight Thuggin Party)• Are you interested in a Historical Black College or a college with a large percentage of Latinos? • Do you need a campus that has an outlet for religious expression? • What about a campus that is accepting of alternative lifestyles. • Also, don’t forget about money. What percentage of students get 80-100% of their financial need met by the school so that they can

afford to go there.

How Do you Chose a College

• Know what you are looking for in a college• Know if your parents can contribute to your

tuition expenses.• Go to Guidance Counselor’s office and use

college books (Petersons, College Board, etc.)• Use websites: www.petersons.com,

www.collegeboard.com• Make a spreadsheet to input research data and

compare colleges.

General Information School 1 School 2 School 3 School 4 School 5

Location

Rank information

Web address

Size

Applying School 1 School 2 School 3 School 4 School 5

Admissions address

Admissions telephone

Contact person

Application fee

Date application due

Send transcripts to

Date application mailed

Accepted?

Accept or decline by date

Requirements School 1 School 2 School 3 School 4 School 5

SAT minimum score

ACT minimum score

Other standardized tests

Grades

Advanced placement (AP) scores?

International Baccalaureate (IB) credit?

Essay requirements

College Applications

The College Planning Calendar• 11th Grade

– October take PSAT– November-Talk to college counselor

• Let them know you want to go to college• Make sure you take courses colleges want to see

– 4 years of Math (Algebra, Ad. Alg, Geom, Trig/Pre Calc or Calc)– 3 years of Science (Bio, Chem, Physics)– 4 years of English– 2 years of Foreign Language– 2 years of computers

– December-Identify what you want in school, February-get list of schools• Schools that will probably accept you• School you like• Go to Website, complete “Interest Form”

– March-Study for ACT• Average ACT in Chicago public schools is 15• Average ACT required for admission to moderately selective schools is 20-22• Take practice test, use test prep software

– April: Take ACT– Summer: visit any campuses you can, talk to parents about getting to and from school

(via Amtrak, Greyhound or if they can drive you)

The College Planning Calendar• 12th Grade

– September: Register to retake ACT/Ask counselor for application, fee waiver– October-Write personal statement– October: pay senior dues and any back fees because you can’t submit

transcripts to college if you owe H.S. money– November-December: Complete application, take to Guidance Counselor-have

her/him send off with transcripts.– December-Ask parents to do taxes in January, take parents to Financial Aid

workshop (ask HS or college if they have one)– January-Apply for Financial Aid (www.FAFSA.gov) FAFSA report will be mailed

to all schools and you within 6 weeks– February-Start looking for scholarships, both outside and school based)– March-April-Letters of acceptance, wait list or rejection come in. Talk to college

admissions reps, find out how much money they can put together in grants, loans and scholarships. Wait for financial aid award letter from school.

– May-June: Make final Decision. Call school with acceptance– June-July: Buy things for school (Linens, supplies, laptop, personal care products

and work out transportation)– August: Start college