Further Education Adapted from The Complete Idiots Guide to Getting into College

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Further EducationAdapted from The Complete
Idiots Guide to Getting into College

• Junior/Senior Seminar
• Hatboro-Horsham High School

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1. What defines further schools and why should
you attend?

• What do you think college is?
• Whats in it for you?
• Why go?

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Further Education ADDRESSES YOUR NEEDS???

• Choose one of the following answers to the
  question What is college?
• A place to develop certain academic and social
  skills.
• A place where I can meet people I might not
  otherwise meet if I didnt attend.
• A place where I can earn a degree.
• A place to spend between 3 7 years of my life.
• A place generally different from a University.
• All of the above.

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A Place to Develop Certain Academic and Social
Skills

• You can explore many different academic subjects.
• You can improve your thinking, writing, speaking,
  and study skills.
• You will gain your own sense of independence.
• You will be learning and living with people of
  diverse ethnic, cultural, and social backgrounds.
• You will learn to cope with peer pressure.

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A Place Where I Can Meet People I Might Not
Otherwise Meet

• Absolutely true!
• Socially, ethnically and economically diverse.
• Students come from every corner of the colleges
  state, sometimes from across the nation, and
  sometimes from around the world.

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A Place Where I Can Earn a Degree

• You CANbut be aware
• Approximately 60 to 80 percent of students who
  begin their college careers at a particular
  college leave that college before earning a
  degree.
• Why? Some transfer to another school, others
  feel they have enough experience and go on their
  merry way. Yet others are dismissed for academic
  or behavioral issues. Some leave because they
  cant afford to continue.
• Graduating from college requires a higher level
  of work, commitment and discipline than high
  school.

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A Place to Spend between Three and Seven Years of
My Life

• The amount of time you spend in college varies
  based on your academic focus, scholastic ability
  and social and academic interests.

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A Place Generally Different from a University

• Generally speaking, colleges have fewer students
  than universities.
• Many universities divide academic programs into
  groups and refer to them as colleges (College of
  Education, College of Engineering, etc.)
• The main difference is that most universities
  offer graduate programs and most colleges do not.

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So Why Do You Want to Attend?

• Remember this
• College can mean different things to different
  people.
• Its time for you to figure out what college
  means (or is going to mean) to you.

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2. A Field Guide to Colleges

• Two Year (AKA junior and community colleges)
• Four Year--offer Bachelors degrees (B.A., A.B.,
  B.F.A., and B.S.) Some also offer Masters degrees
  (M.A., M.S., M.Ed., etc.) Doctorate degrees
  (Ph.D., Ed.D., etc.), and Professional degrees
  (J.D., M.D., etc.)

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Two-Year or Junior/Community College Advantages

• They are far less expensive than 4 yr colleges.
• You may be able to live at homeif you consider
  that an advantage.
• You can try on the idea of college without
  making a big commitment.
• You may be able to attend part-time while working
  full or part time.
• You can improve your academic skills before
  tackling a four-year college.

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Four-Year Colleges (Bachelors degrees)
Advantages

• You may have the chance to live on campus with a
  variety of people.
• You can focus full-time on your intellectual and
  social development.
• You may be able to enroll in different,
  interesting subject areas while you earn the
  degree that best fits your future goals.

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One Size Doesnt Fit All

• Small colleges (20 to 3,000 students)
• Everybody knows everybody
• Class sizes are small so everyone gets to
  participate (no one can hide either!)
• Local examples Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore
• Mid-sized colleges (3000 to 10,000 students)
• More social and academic options than smaller
  colleges.
• Class size for intro classes larger than small
  colleges.
• Local examples Villanova, St. Josephs, West
  Chester

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One Size Doesnt Fit All (continued)

• Large colleges (with 10,000 or more students)
  generally offer more of everything more
  classmates, more courses to choose from, and many
  more extracurricular activities.
• Local examples University of Pennsylvania, Penn
  State University (Main Campus), Temple University

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A (Dorm-) Room with A View(the environment
around the campus)

• Urban collegeslocated in a major city
• Theres always somewhere to go, something to do,
  something to distract you from studying.
• Some urban colleges NYU, Penn, Drexel, Temple,
  Boston University

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Environment (continued)

• Suburban collegesnear but not in the middle of a
  city.
• More campus atmosphere, many social and cultural
  opportunities are available nearby.
• Examples University of Richmond, Villanova, St.
  Joes

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Environment (continued)

• Small-town collegestypically in close community
  with the local community.
• Most social and cultural activities are on
  campus.
• Kutztown, Millersville, Lycoming, Bucknell.

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Theres No Place Like Home

• A college less than one hour awayusually less
  expensive. Students that have strong connections
  to home find this desirable.
• Between 1 5 hour drive homeis great if you are
  seeking more independence but want to come home
  on a weekend once in awhile.
• Far awaya plane ride. Great if you are looking
  for a whole new set of experiences (climate,
  atmosphere, traditions, and local flavor.

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Other Flavors to Consider

• Liberal Arts Colleges
• Provides a strong balance of courses in the
  humanities, social sciences, and physical
  sciences.
• They are interested in developing your breadth of
  knowledge, not career preparation.
• Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, Haverford.

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Other Flavors to Consider

• Comprehensive Colleges
• Offer a mixture of liberal arts programs and
  pre-professional programs (business, engineering,
  education)
• Georgetown, Purdue, Syracuse.

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Other Flavors to Consider

• Specialization or Pre-Professional Colleges
• Arts (Julliard School, Rhode Island School of
  Design)
• Business (Bentley College, Babson College)
• Engineering (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology)

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Other Flavors to Consider

• Womens collegescommitted to the personal,
  social and academic development of women.
  Extensive opportunities for leadership and
  independence.
• Smith, Bryn Mawr, Wellesley

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Other Flavors to Consider

• Mens collegesfocus on the personal, social and
  academic development of men. Tradition is
  critical in this environment.
• Hampden-Sydney College, Wabash College,
  Northwestern College

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Other Flavors to Consider

• Religious Collegesbasically liberal arts
  colleges with varying degrees of required
  religious course-work and extra curricular
  religious activities.
• Grove City College, Brigham Young, College of
  Holy Cross

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Other Flavors to Consider

• Black colleges
• Focus on the personal, social and academic
  development of African-American students.
  Extensive exposure to the culture. Strong focus
  on civil rights, equality and justice.
• Howard, Morehouse

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Other Flavors to Consider

• Military/Service Academies
• Primary focus is on military and science-oriented
  fields. Physical fitness and training are
  strongly emphasized. Government pays the bill!
• West Point, US Naval Academy

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Training Schools

• Schools designed to learn a specific trade
• ATCAutomotive Training Center
• CHIComputer Training
• Court Reporting Institute
• Polley InstituteReal Estate Training

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Whats Your Style?

• Select criteria based on your interests, not
  those of your friends, your teachers, or parents.
• Be aware that you must carefully start to explore
  the many different types of collegesSOON!