How To Choose A Major That's Right For You:
College Planning Association
believes there is a better way to navigate career exploration and
the college planning process. According to the
U.S. Department of Education, when considering college, there are
two areas of concern that a family should be aware. The first is
that of careful financial planning; second is career
exploration along with proper high school course selection.
Let’s briefly discuss the area of financial planning. The U.S. Department of Education states, "Start saving early: Saving money is the best way to prepare for meeting the costs of college. Set aside money each month, starting now, to build a college fund. Think about where your child might attend college, how much that type of college might cost, and how much you can afford to save. The earlier you and your child begin saving, the smaller the amount you will have to set aside each month."
The bottom line: planning needs to start as soon as possible after the birth
of a child. The Department of Education's recommendation makes sense because time is on your side,
which means you can put away smaller amounts of money
for a longer term which will grow into a significant significant
college savings account thanks to compound interest.
The second area of successful college planning involves planning for their career choice, class selection and transitioning from home to campus. The Department of Education recommends planning as early as middle school. Introduce the idea of attending college while your child is in sixth grade, making it clear that you expect them to earn a minimum of a bachelor's degree.
It is very important for every student to set goals for college from a young age. What a student does in middle school will have a direct effect on the courses they may select in high school. By setting goals and visualizing themselves in college, a student can find inspiration when challenged with difficult courses or heavy homework loads.
If a student follows and successfully completes an approved Advanced
Placement (AP)/Honors Program, they could save an entire year of college as
well as tuition costs.
AP courses typically satisfy general-study courses such as
freshman English and mathematics.
But there is so much more to college planning. Many families make the mistake of starting their planning too late due to lack of experience or knowledge of the process.
College Planning Association's motto is "Knowledge Conquers All!" A family that is educated about the process and prepared to do what is necessary for their child's future is empowered to have the best outcome possible.
Let’s look at our vision of college planning and preparation as compared to the "typical way" as described in "Ed's Story - A Major Decision".
So, how does a student know which colleges they may attend?
The 'best way' to plan for college:
The student starts out by taking assessments to review their likes, dislikes and their personality. From the assessments, the student starts exploring possible career paths. After identifying career paths, they will explore, investigate and narrow down to the few that most interest them.
Having identified their potential career paths, the student explores the different types of degrees needed for a particular occupation. Many students are surprised to find that one occupation could have several degrees that may be used in that career path. This diversity in degrees allows the student to choose the path that is right for them.
Having identified several degree choices, the student begins to investigate various colleges nationwide to see which ones offer the degree program they are considering. They will also consider demographics such as size, student body, location and various other aspects to be certain the school matches their desires. With the list of colleges in hand, a high school course selection plan can be made to match the college choices.
The student’s plan should be updated on a regular basis to be consistent with their high school progress as well as any changes in their goals. As their plan changes, so will their class choices. We never want to see a student be denied the opportunity to attend a college simply because they failed to plan ahead.
The process we’ve just described above is only a small part of the services that College Planning Association offers to our families. We encourage you to contact one of our local advisors to see how we can help you and your family prepare for this life-changing endeavor. It is our goal is to provide you peace of mind so that you may know that you did your best to empower your student for this life event.
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