These days, the stress around applying for college can be overwhelming.
As a college-bound student, you are required to take standardized tests, think about what college you might want to attend, what you want study there, make sure you fill out all of the application paperwork correctly and then, figure out how to pay for it all. Whew!
Going to college can create a lot of opportunities for you that may not have been available otherwise. New friends, new knowledge, new experiences, a degree –– they all put you in contact with more of the world than you could ever imagine.
Maybe you have had your heart set on college since you were a little kid and maybe you haven’t, but either way putting yourself in place to make it an option will be a move that changes your life. It’s going to require good, hard work, but the payoff will be tremendous.
Major: History
Year: Senior, Class of 2008
Hometown: Castleton
Honors: Editor-in-Chief, The Vermont Cynic; Honors College; John Dewey Honors Program
NU:What does a typical day look like for you?
ED: I usually wake up around 10 a.m. And then my day always starts with a big cup of coffee – always. Beyond that? There's the usual assortment of email-checking and facebooking, classes, time at the newspaper office – usually too much time – and I keep odd hours so I start my homework and reading around 10 p.m. I'm usually asleep by 2 a.m.
The Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) is your “one-stop shop” for assistance in paying for college.
We offer:
Vermont state grants
Public and private scholarships
low-cost federal education loans for students and parents
Private education loans for students
Loan consolidation
Grants, Scholarships & Loans
Grants and scholarships are gifts of money to pay college expenses. Unlike loans, they are not repaid.
If you want to go to college, you'll need to take the right courses in high school.
To graduate from high school in Vermont, students must attain or exceed state standard. This usually means completing the following:
4 years of English
3 years of math
3 years of science
3 years of social sciences, including 1 year of U.S. History and government
1 ½ years of physical education
1 year of the arts
any local graduation requirements
Most colleges want to see:
4 years of English
State Universities
Academics:
Typically these institutions offer four-year (bachelor’s) degrees in a broad variety of fields. Class sizes can often be large but dwindle down as you reach upper level courses. Many offer post-graduate programs and can be a good choice if you wish to stay in one
place for your entire educational career.
Cost:
Generally less expensive then private institutions, especially if you attend your home state’s university where you will receive “in-state” tuition rates.
Campus Life:
Thinking you want to end attending college after you graduate from high school, or at least want to leave the option open? Getting accepted to college is certainly obtainable, but it’s not a walk in the park. The choices you make now, while in high school, will help determine whether what level of colleges are viable options for you when you graduate.
Top five things to keep in mind
1) Develop a relationship with your guidance counselor
The better the guidance counselor knows you the better he or she can tailor the advice he or she gives you
“You Can’t Judge A Book By It’s Cover”
While this cliché can be applied to a great number of situations in life, it shouldn’t necessarily be applied to the experience of visiting a college campus. Even still, you may arrive at a campus and feel that you are being forced into just “judging the cover” of the campus, especially when going on a guided, preplanned tour. Here are a few ways to make this best of this sort of situation.
Picture this – you're a struggling young design engineer with a couple of hot ideas up your sleeve. One evening, you're out for a stroll on the beach when you bump right into Paul Comey, Vice President of Environmental Affairs for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. Excited by this lucky turn of events, you tell him about your concept for machine that disassembles K-Cup coffee containers for easy recycling. Not only does he love the idea, but he wants you to present a prototype at the next company board meeting.
Only trouble is, that's just five short days away.
Whether you're beginning your junior year or just starting your senior year, you've probably got some variety of standardized test looming ominously on the horizon. Even though these tests are hardly the most enjoyable part of the application process, they are an important part, and you will need to be ready for them. Once you learn the nuts and bolts behind standardized testing, it will be easier for you to register for the tests, prepare for the tests, and finally ace them without trepidation.
