College Prep, Yet Not...

I turned 13 years old on April 22, 2015, almost six months ago from the day. I’m in the eighth grade, and next year I’ll be in high school. Four years from then I will be off to college. In five years, 88% of us will go to college, the other 12% of us will stay here, live in our parents basements and figure out what we want to do with our lives. The 88% of us that do go to college must pick a major, decide if we want to go law school or to med school. 46% of us will fail out of college, 38% of us because of financial pressure, 28% of us because of academic disqualification. These numbers are not just numbers, they are people, people whose families struggle financially, people who don’t think they’re good enough, people who are making decisions that will affect the rest of their lives. Today, I am asking myself one question: What can we do to change this?

My proposal is to invent a class that can help teens determine their futures. This would be a high school class, offered to all ages; freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. In this class, students would find their strengths, and recognize their weaknesses. Students would then be able to work on improving their weaknesses, and use their strengths to their advantage.

The first step would be to plan:

• What college do you want to go to? Students would have the option of looking into colleges, the courses colleges offer. By doing this, they will be able to find the best fit. A fit that fits both their academic needs and their financial needs.
• What are your career choices? Which best matches your strengths? Can you argue well? Get a law degree. Do you teach others? Get a teaching certificate. By finding what career you want to go in you can also find a college that offers courses needed to qualify for that job.

The next step would be to put the plan into action:

• When your college courses are narrowed down, work on/send out college applications.
• You need money to apply for college applications, this course would help you look into ways to get this money.
• Take the SAT’s; though the number of schools that require SAT scores nowadays is lower, there are still many schools that require them. (Plus, you have to take the SAT in high school anyways…)
• Start seriously thinking about your career. Do internships at local law firms or hospitals, observe and learn from this.

The final step is to prepare (this step is mostly for college):

• When(/if) you get accepted into college, where are you going to live? Are you going to live in the dorms or in an apartment close to the campus? If you live in the dorms, this class will help you obtain some dorm tips. If you’re going to live in an apartment, you can learn about independent living.
• Maybe you need a little more money to pay for college, get a job! This could be a serious summer job, or just working at a pizza place; either way, this class will help you look at options for jobs.
• Supplies. What do you need for college? New clothes, a mini fridge…
• Dorm decorating tips (for college students).
• How to deal with being away from home. Do you get homesick easily? Look into ways that you can keep in touch with your family, find coping tips.
• Pick a major. This step contributes to your future after college. When you pick a major, it can affect what career you ultimately go into.
• Set goals. Where do you want to go? This is the time to set your goals. You know what college you’re going to, you’ve learned everything from this class, you know what career you want to go into, set goals. How well do you want to do in college? By what year do you want to be a lawyer, be practicing medicine, be banking?

This class will be offered to students of all age. However, this class is most likely recommended for high school juniors and seniors. It is like a college prep course, and works that into its curriculum, but it has different aspects to offer as well. Careers, and your future AFTER college. So, if you want a little guidance on what to do with your life, this is the class for you!