College Countdown
College Countdown
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When You're On Your
Own or
(Click here to go to these sections)
You’re
in high school. For whatever the reason you are on your own or close to it. It
may be that no one in your family has ever gone to high school so you receive
little or no support in search for a better or higher education. It may be that
you are on your own, or close to it, financially. It may be up to you to keep a
roof over your head and food on the table and still go to high school. You may
even be responsible for younger brothers and sisters or your own child. Is
it fair that you are going to have to work harder to succeed in high school,
college and in life? No, it’s not. But it is the fact. You will need to
acquire a strong set of survival skills to attain your goals. But especially, if
you do not have a strong support structure around you, you will have a lot of
extra work to do on your own. The
main things you are going to have to do for yourself is to ask for help
and find an adult you can trust to help you through the tough spots -- to
be your cheering section. Ask till you find someone who you trust and is
willing to help you.
If
you are presently in a dangerous living situation – get out. Find someone you
trust – get out and get safe. Besides
your local public library, there are other resources for you. Go to the local
YMCA, your neighborhood youth clubs, Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs for support and
help. Try
and get some sleep and try and get good nutrition as best you can. You have a
lot going on, but little or no sleep means not able to study as well or
efficiently as you would otherwise. Junk food means your body and your brain
aren’t going to function as well as they could. Also not chronic not enough
sleep and proper nutrition is setting yourself up to get sick. Check into your
school’s free breakfast and lunch programs. If
you are concerned about your quality of education, there may be a charter school
in near your neighborhood that may be able to meet your needs. Charter schools
are public schools – they are free to you. These schools operate independent
of local school districts and are often geared to a high level of academic
achievement and success. Other
options that may be open to you are private schools that may be in your area
that offer scholarships to goal-oriented kids looking for other options. If everything falls apart, not all is lost. Go to your local library and find out where the closest GED classes are held. These classes are free. Your GED can be your ticket into college. Just don’t give up.
How
do you get through high school and then college and how do you then gather the
tools you’ll need to take out into the world after college? ·
Be a class act. ·
Go to class all the time and be on time.
Participate in discussions – this is your ownership in the course.
Believe that you can do it.
Surround yourself with people who also believe you can do it. ·
Be a cheerleader to those who need it. ·
Be a good friend. ·
Find a strong support structure. ·
Study – no one is going to give you anything for free. ·
Get the best grades possible. ·
Get to know your professors. ·
Learn from your experiences. ·
If you are active in a religion, try and stay involved. ·
Work on making good life choices regarding: relationships, sex, alcohol,
drugs, ethical questions, ·
Be yourself – but you have to know yourself first. ·
Learn to resolve conflicts constructively.
Actions have consequences – good or bad positive/negative.
If
there is no one who can be tough on you to keep you on track, you’re going to
be tough on yourself. Keep on track. Of yourself, expect the best. Of others,
expect and demand the best. You deserve it.
If
your school can’t afford advanced coursework, a way to manage it may be to
take those classes over the Internet. Since the school district can’t’
afford entire classes, they may be able to afford the Internet classes. And you
should be able to take these classes at school -- even if you have to sit in the
counselors' office to do it. If not, get yourself to your public library.
What
happens if you are not in a high school situation that offers you the
opportunity to engage in a rigorous academic environment? What if you live in an
area that is so economically depressed some households don’t even have phone
service? It
won’t be easy. It will take true dedication and persistence. First, make your
public library your new home. Spend every spare minute there and read. Why read?
Because it opens you to the rest of the world and helps you build a strong
vocabulary. Get a dictionary and have it be your new best friend. Use the
reading list given in the survival section of this site as your basic plan. Reading
is the most important skill you can gain. Do everything you can to gain that
skill and then improve it every day. Reading is the key to the rest of learning
and gaining important knowledge and skills. If
the act of reading for comprehension is a problem for you, ask the librarian for
learning to read (literacy) help. There are people in the world who want to help
you. You do, though, have to take the first step by asking. If
reading is just impossible, see the section on Learning Disabilities earlier in
this book and then ask your guidance counselor to get you some help. A
side benefit of spending a lot of study and reading time in the library is that
it is warm in the winter and cool in the summer. As
you become more comfortable with your reading list, expand it to include topics
in history and science. Get math books from school and ask for help if you need
to bring your math skills up.
The International Reading Association Your
local public library in most probability will have Internet-connected computers.
If you can’t get time on your guidance counseling office’s computer, the
library might be your best bet. You can do homework, you can study, you can do
test preps and college and scholarship searches. Libraries
often have kid-story and/or activity times. If you are responsible for younger
children, find out the times for these activities and bring the kids and study
while they learn too. Will
this be easy? No! There will be many who will tell you it’s impossible so
there’s no use in trying. There will be lots of extra work. When you are old,
how do you want to look in your memories? The choice is yours to make!
Testing,
the question of testing -- Over the years there have been arguments pro and con
if standardized testing is fair to kids who don’t have a lot of advantages in
life. The bottom line is no matter what the answer ends up being to these
societal issues, you have to deal with standardized tests to get into
college. So how do handle these tests if you don’t think you’re going to be
properly prepared by your school? All of the test prep books are in the public
library. They’re also in your guidance counselor’s office. Your public
library and/or guidance counselor may also have prep information on CD or
computer games that can also help. Your school may even have before or after
school mini-test prep classes for you. It is going to take extra work on your
part. It is going to take more time on your part, perhaps time you don’t
really have. You need to try and give it your best shot.
CLICK
HERE TO cc TO CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE "ABC'S OF TESTING" PORTION
If
you need remedial work by the time you are searching for colleges, What
remedial courses does college have? How many
remedial courses will you need to take? Are there
special courses or sessions for:
Test taking skills
Study and time management skills
Find out how the tutoring program works.
Ask about group study and individually-paced
study sessions.
Ask about specialized academic counseling and planning
Go
to the library and check out College Countdown and go to “Chapter 5: If
Only Money Did Grow On Trees – Paying For College.” This chapter will give
you the basic information to find your way through the finances of getting to
college. You
will need to spend every spare minute you have looking for scholarship dollars.
Again, it’s hard work, but it will be worth every minute when you walk in the
doors of a college and a few years later you have graduated. Another
strategy is to consider going to your local community college for one or two
years. It will get your feet wet and set the stage for a transfer to a four-year
college later. This strategy will also help you if your grades aren’t up to
par for a four-year institution right away – a community college will provide
the start to jump you forward.
CLICK
HERE TO GO TO THE "COLLEGE BILL WOES" PORTION OF THIS WEB SITE
Internet Resource Sites Boys
and Girls
Clubs Boys
Town USA Childhelp
USA Community
Technology Centers Network Friends
of the Children mentoring program Points of Light Upward
Bound YMCA YWCA
© 2003[Wildwood Country Press]. All rights reserved.
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