Slides from our first program in the College Prep Series. Explore your options and expand your horizons!

1. What do I want to do?
Getting yourself ready for what lies ahead

2. Why do I need to plan now?
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Scholarship opportunities
Registration and College Entry Essays
Avoid the mid-college switch
Get the most out of your time

3. What are my options for
school?
• 4-Year Degree
• Associate’s Degree
• Master’s Degree
• Ph. D.

4. Associate’s vs. Bachelor’s
• “A two-year degree, meaning that for most
people, it takes two years of full-time study to
earn this degree. When you have your associate
degree, you will have completed your freshman
and sophomore years of college.”*
• 60 Semester Credits (approximately 20 college
courses)
• Takes half as long, cost half as much
• Many Technical and Trade Careers only require
associate degrees for entry and advancement
*http://www.geteducated.com/
• “A four-year degree. It typically takes four years of
full-time study to earn. In these four years, you
will complete 120 semester credits or about 40
college courses.”*
• Usually more than half consists of general
education or liberal arts classes (English, critical
thinking, psychology, history and math)
• Approximately 30 – 36 credits focus on your
major area of study
• You cannot attend a professional graduate school
in law, medicine or teaching unless you have a
bachelor’s degree

5. Trade Schools
Beauty School
Business School
Design
Health Care*
Media Arts
Culinary School
Skilled Trades*

6. Beauty Schools
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Cosmetology
Nail Technician
Esthetician
Make-up Artist
Hair Stylist

7. Business School
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Accounting
Administrative Assisting
Event Planning
MBA

8. Design Schools
• Interior
• Fashion
• Graphic

9. Health Care*
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Dental Assistant
Dental Hygienist
EMT / Paramedic
LPN (Licensed Practical
Nursing)
• Massage Therapy
• Medical Billing and
Coding
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Personal Trainer
Pharmacy Assistant
Phlebotomy
Physical Therapist
Assistant
• Registered Nurse
• Substance Abuse
Counselor
• Surgical Technologist
• Veterinary Assistant
• X-Ray Tech

10. Did you know?
The projected
percentage increase of
jobs requiring a postsecondary vocational
award is 13.6% and
those requiring an
Associate's Degree is
at 18.7%?
http://penncommercial.edu/?id=37

11. Media Arts
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Film/Video Producer
Graphic Design
Music Producer
Video Game Designer
Web Design
Web Development

12. Culinary School
• Culinary Arts
• Baking & Pastry
• Hospitality Management
• Restaurant or Foodservice
Management

13. Skilled Trades
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Auto Body/Collision Repair Technician •
Auto Mechanic
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Carpenter
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Diesel Mechanic
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Diving
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Electrician
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Environmental Careers*
HVAC Technician
Motorcycle Mechanic
Plumbing
Underwater Welding
Welding

14. Environmental Careers
Green jobs are either:
1) Jobs in businesses that produce goods or provide services that benefit the environment or conserve natural
resources.
2) Jobs in which workers' duties involve making their establishment's production processes more
environmentally friendly or use fewer natural resources.
http://howcanihelpsandiego.com/green-pages/jobs/

15. Colleges and Universities
“A university training is the great ordinary means to a great but
ordinary end; it aims at raising the intellectual tone of
society…It is the education which gives a man a clear
conscious view of his own opinions and judgments, a truth in
developing them, an eloquence in expressing them and a force
in urging them.”
― Cardinal Newman

16. In-State vs. Out-of-State
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Residence Tuition
Familiar with the location
Close to home
Fewer options
Close to home
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Pick anyplace you’d like
Expand Network
Larger pool to choose from
Higher Tuition
Travel Expenses

17. Careers Requiring College Degrees
• Engineers
• Personal Financial Advisor
• Teachers
• Software Engineer
• Market Research
• Social Workers
• Advertising

18. TRUE or FALSE
I have to know what I want to major in when applying for college
FALSE!
“Most college students declare their major toward the end of their sophomore year of college.”
- Eric Furda, dean of admissions, University of Pennsylvania

19. Take new classes and explore new options.
High school students should not feel compelled to have their intended major selected
for their college applications. Most college students declare their major toward the end of their
sophomore year of college. This sense of 'undecidedness' or 'undeclared' can come from a
strong interest in multiple fields, so you may want to speak to those interests or check
multiple boxes on the application. Most faculty and departments in the liberal arts and
sciences will encourage you to explore your interests by taking courses not even
offered at most high schools and you may discover new fields of interest, even if you
"know what you want to study." Feel free to keep your mind open and work with
advisers once you are in college to explore the curriculum.
- Eric Furda, dean of admissions, University of Pennsylvania

20. Be open to new possibilities and be ready
to change
Some colleges admit by major; others allow you to be undecided or change
later. Most estimates say 80 percent of college students will change majors at
least once. That flexibility is one of the best features about our education
system. I had a college friend who was in the hospital for a long time. Bored, he
read the course catalog from cover to cover. When he got out, he changed his
major from computer science to sociology, because those courses sounded
most interesting. Having a major in mind is fine, but be open to new
possibilities and be ready to change.
- Ralph Figueroa, director of college guidance, Albuquerque Academy

21. It's okay not to know what you want to
study in college but…
You should be aware that when you commit to a major on your application, colleges
will pay particular attention to your grades in the academic areas most associated with
that major. You want to major in architecture, but you're a consistent "C" student in
standard level math courses and you haven't taken any drafting or CAD courses even
though you could have. This is a problem. If your transcript does not demonstrate that
you are adept in these areas, then your candidacy may be seriously questioned. If
you're not sure, don't force it. It's still OK to apply as "undecided.“
-Don Fraser Jr., Director of Education and Training, National Association for College Admission
Counseling (NACAC)