Opportunities during the Pandemic Shutdown

Life has certainly changed. The way forward is unclear in many ways. At the same time, there are incredible opportunities that have opened up during this time.

SENIORS

March & April are busy times of receiving acceptances, scholarships, aid packages, and invitations to apply for additional awards. Many colleges have accepted student events and gatherings. With the campus closures, most, if not all, of these events are or will be modified in some way. Some schools have already announced that they will not hold students to the May 1 commitment deadline. Click the button below to get updated information on your colleges AND monitor your accounts, social media, and visit their websites for additional updates. Ask the admissions office to connect you with students who live in your area, then reach out to them in order to gather more information about campus life, both academic and social. Facebook groups and other social media is great but there's nothing like a one on one conversation to make connections and learn more about your prospective colleges. Reach out to professors in a limited way; most are overwhelmed with shifting their teaching to online modalities.

For the graduating Class of 2020 , this is a very unique spring. Not only are on-campus graduation ceremonies in question, but access to staff, faculty and on-campus academic and extracurricular resources have gone out the window for thousands of students. High school graduates need to plan to hit the ground running this August and need to maintain their strides, but now on a virtual setup. Help your senior stay on track this spring and summer in terms of academic advising, campus readiness, and post-degree planning, including grad school. A Personalized Action Plan plus one on one video consulting will propel your spring and summer 2020 forward.

JUNIORS

The April 4 ACT has been rescheduled for June 13th and the rescheduled March SAT and May 2 SAT have been cancelled. Registered students will receive refunds. Follow the College Board's updates here. Updates about the AP exams can be found here. The next update is expected on Friday, March 20. Use this extra time to prepare for these exams. I encourage you to use ePrep's Premium courses so you have 6 full practice tests as well as 6 months to prepare. Use the scheduler to double up now, while you have extra time, then adjust it as needed. To register with my 20% off discount, click here.

ALL STUDENTS

A global health crisis is also an incredible learning opportunity. We’re watching public health emergency and global responses unfold right before our eyes. In mid-February, the Imperial College London launched a free class on the Coursera platform: Science Matters: Let’s Talk About COVID-19. Are you fascinated by the mathematical modeling that predicts the progression of the virus and how social distancing and other efforts “flatten the curve”? If so, you might like UNC’s online course, Epidemiology: The Basic Science of Public Health, or Johns Hopkin’s online course, Data and Health Indicators in Public Health Practice. All three are available free of charge.

With schools across the country closing for a period of weeks, high schools are moving to virtual or remote learning. Since the traditional school day has been disrupted, I encourage students to take advantage of the time to deepen your learning and find ways to help those in your community who may be struggling. I also encourage you to take a little time to journal, pray, and ground yourself. We've all been through enormous upheaval during the past week.

Some ways to leverage your time:

• Take advantage of online courses on platforms like Coursera, EdX, MIT’s Opencourseware, Yale’s Open Courses and more. Check out this link to 450 online courses you can take at Ivy League schools for no cost. These free online courses are great opportunities to deepen your interests and keep your mind sharp.
• Use this free time to boost your writing abilities so that you can return to school on a stronger footing!
• Have you considered entering your work in writing, history, computer science, math modeling, and art contests? Since these can all be done remotely, this would be a great time to stretch yourself and submit your work. Do a little research and you'll find many contests you can enter.
• Start a virtual art and literary “magazine” for your classmates, homeschool community, or the senior citizens in your community. Encourage people to post stories, poems, artwork, and music all composed in this time of social distancing. Give a theme and help people get their creative juices flowing.
• Can you create and post instructional or “how to” videos on YouTube? Create a virtual homework club and offer it to a local library. Offer to help homebound younger students with their lessons. If you're homeschooled, help others in your area sort out how to organize their day and stay sane as they guide their children's learning for the first time, often while balancing their own work tasks.
• Launch a virtual PE class with your friends. Challenge yourselves with competitions you can do at home – pushups, sit ups, jumping jacks, etc. Organize a virtual dance party. Get creative!
• Explore prospective careers, colleges, majors, and more. Let's get you started! We'll have a consultation then go from there. Consultation fees will be applied to your prep program. Click below to schedule your first meeting at a time when both parents and the student are available.

CARING FOR YOUR COMMUNITY

Most importantly, look for ways to help those in need in your community. Check in regularly with your grandparents and older relatives, as well as older neighbors and others in your community. Write letters, make crafts to gift, lead an online class to teach younger kids to draw pictures for the older people in their lives. Is your community seeking volunteers to help keep food banks stocked? Can you volunteer to pack meal kits? If your older college-aged siblings are home, can you work together to deliver meals and supplies to those who are homebound? Can you work together to take care of the meals and other chores in your home so your parents can teach the younger kids?

This is not the first pandemic. Great things can happen, even under these unusual circumstances. During a pandemic in 1665, Isaac Newton found himself with down time when the University of Cambridge sent students home (sound familiar?). Later, he called the year he spent away from school his “year of wonder.” It was then that he famously noticed an apple fall from a tree and came up with the ideas around gravity.

So, even as you practice social distancing and good hygiene, you can continue to stretch yourself academically and make a positive impact in your community. Who knows? You might discover some new passions and hidden talents!

Let's move your college preparations forward. Let's meet! Just click on my name, Katherine O'Brien, and select a good time for the parents and college bound student(s). Once you have scheduled your hour long personal meeting, I'll send you further information.

A Bible/Journal

A Book Review by Katherine O'Brien, MA CCPS

The Tyndale NLT Catholic Inspire Bible doesn't have a catchy name.  This Bible is part Bible and part journal.

Writing in your Bible is helpful for taking notes, jotting down how you've been inspired, and helping you as you prayerfully reflect on the Word of God.  This Bible takes that to a whole new level!  Beautifully bound, the NLT Bible uses the new living translation, which is very readable.  A team of Catholic scholars evaluated the translation and it was deemed correct; this Bible has both an imprimatur and the nihil obstat.  (The nihil obstat is a formal declaration that a text contains nothing in conflict with the teachings of the Catholic Church.  The imprimatur is an official license to print a religious or inspirational text.)

The Inspire Bible features over 450 beautiful line drawings which can be enjoyed as they are or colored in.  The inside cover pages can be colored with markers; the text pages are the thin paper typical of Bibles so colored pencils are recommended.  The margins are two inches.  Those not featuring a drawing have lines for notes. Coloring the drawings, which are word art of verses, is a great way to meditate on the texts, even memorize them.  In addition, many find coloring to be a great practice to reduce anxiety.  What better to color and focus on than the Word of God!

The cover is light pink; the edge of the pages, rather than gold, are colored with a beautiful drawing of flowers and butterflies.

It's only $33.  I highy recommend it!  Buy it from Amazon here.

Financial Aid Awards - Evaluate, Consider, and, maybe, Appeal

Evaluate.

It is essential to understand the net cost at each school. Unfortunately, it is often the case that financial awards are incomplete so additional research is often needed. First, what is the COA, the total cost to attend for one year? This includes tuition, fees, room, board, books, personal expenses, and transportation to and from campus. Each college has an official COA. Your personal cost of attendance will vary. To normalize the COAs, adjust them so the same amount is included for books and personal expenses at every school.  For your own calculations, adjusting the transportation allocation will give your family a more accurate idea of your actual net costs. Keep in mind, however, the official COA is the one which come into play should you appeal the award offer.

COA – Grants – Scholarships – Tuition Reductions = Net Cost

COA – Grants -Scholarships - Tuition Reductions – Work Study – Student Loans = Current Out of Pocket Cost

Do not subtract parent loans.

Consider.

After having calculated the net cost, can you afford it? Remember that this is the cost for only one student for only one year. How many children do you have? What is the graduation rate at each school? (How likely is your child to graduate in four years?) CollegeData.com is one site where you can research 4-year graduation rates. Be aware that some programs, like architecture, are 5-year programs. Engineering or other schools which have many students participating in cooperative education or internship programs which delay graduation beyond four years may also have high graduation rates. If your student’s college  is of this type, take this into consideration as you consider award offers.

Note which scholarships are renewable. These will be renewed as long as the student takes enough credits each term and maintains a specified GPA. (These can be great motivators to keep your student using top study skills once on campus, too! For many, losing their scholarship means losing their ability to continue attending that college.) Once lost, these types of scholarships cannot be re-qualified for. Scholarship award letters and notices specify whether a scholarship is renewable and, if it is, for how many terms.

Appeal?

Circumstances that warrant an appeal letter:

1.     Change in family size. Should a family member die or move away, parents’ divorce, or a new child (or more!) arrive, it is important to notify the financial aid office immediately as you have likely grounds for an appeal. Such a change in circumstance may result in additional expenses, a loss of income, and other significant changes in the family.

2.     Loss of job or income.  One of the most powerful reason to appeal a financial aid award is that there has been a significant loss of income since the filing of the FAFSA or CSS PROFILE form. If this is due to a circumstance beyond the family’s control, this circumstance is one which enables financial aid officers to adjust the student’s aid package. The financial aid office will want to know the date of the change and the circumstances. They also will want to know the amount the earnings have been reduced and any reasonable estimate of how long it might be until a new position is procured or the income is restored. Whenever possible, provide documentation of your statements.

3.     Significant non-discretionary additional expenses.  A serious injury or illness in the family, or needing to move an elderly family member into your home, or a natural disaster that results in damage to your home, vehicle(s), or family members are all events which can be grounds for an appeal. Document your expenses as best you can.

4.     Better offer from a similar school. Some schools will adjust their offer in the event your student has received a more generous aid offer from a competing institution. It is important that the schools be similar to the one you will be appeal. Enclose a copy of the competitor school’s award letter with your appeal letter.  This sort of appeal can be even more effective the later in the season it is, as colleges scramble to fill their classes. At the same time, very popular schools tend to fill their class early so being prompt will be more beneficial in those cases.

Important Guidelines for Writing a Financial Aid Appeal Letter.

Should you determine that an appeal might be helpful, check each school’s financial aid page on the website to see if instructions about how to appeal are listed. Some schools have a form they required to be completed.  Most schools, however, do not have appeal instructions online. In those cases, give the office a call and ask how they would prefer you present your appeal.

1.     It is perfectly acceptable for parents, rather than the student to communicate directly with the financial aid office. This is not the case with the admissions office. However, it is fairly common for the financial aid office to require your student to sign a FERPA waiver giving them permission to speak with you.

2.     However, it is ideal, especially if this school is your child’s first choice school, for him or her to write a note to attach to your letter saying that this is his/her first choice school and that s/he has asked his/her parents to appeal for more financial aid to enable him or her to attend that school. Have the student include a statement that s/he will attend the school, if the finances can be worked out.

3.     In all communication, clearly identify the student by legal name, date of birth, high school, whether a first year or transfer applicant, and the application round (early decision, early action, regular decision). Clearly identify yourself and your relationship with the student.

4.     I encourage you to express some sort of happiness or gratitude that your child was accepted into the college and express gratitude for any grants and/or scholarships which have already been offered.

5.     Early in your letter, identify it as a letter of appeal.  Ask them to review their offer of financial aid in light of the information you are providing in your letter.

6.     State your information concisely.  Let your appeal be based on clearly stated numbers, dates, and events beyond your control.  Proofread your letter to ensure that the situation(s) you are describing are presented in a way that someone completely unfamiliar with them can understand them and that how they affect your ability to pay for college is evident.

7.     If possible, make it clear what you are asking for.  If you need the grant to be raised to $10,000 in order to make your child’s attendance at that school affordable, state this clearly.  If this amount makes the net cost at your child’s top choice school the same as a rival school, state that clearly as well. Reiterate your child’s comment and state that you’ll agree to their attending this school if your appeal is approved.

8.     If you can visit the aid office, mention in your letter that you would like to arrange a meeting as soon as possible after they have had a chance to review your appeal.  Otherwise, let them know that you will be following up in a few days by phone.  It is easiest to say no to someone in a letter, more challenging by phone, and even more difficult in person.  When you meet, be courteous and that them for their time.

9.     Finally, be sure to thank them for taking the time to review your case.  Explain that your family’s finances play a significant role in determining which college your child can attend. If this school is the first choice school, be sure to state that as well.  And express your hope that they can make it possible for him or her to attend.

For assistance with evaluating, negotiating, and appealing your financial aid award, please contact Katherine at kob@celticcollegeconsultants.com

Are AP Classes Worth It?

What are AP Classes?

AP classes are "Advanced Placement" courses.  They are certified as such by the College Board, the company that produces the PSAT, SAT, SAT subject, and AP exams.  They are completely Common Core aligned.  There are 38 AP courses in subjects ranging from English, Research, Math, Computer Science, French, Japanese, German, Spanish, Chinese, Italian, Latin, Government, History, Art, Psychology, to Science.

Students can take them at any time during high school, although there is a typical pattern and progression for many of them.  While AP level courses are not required for graduation, they do fulfill graduation requirements.  For example, a student can take English 9, English 10, English 11, and English 12 to fulfill a 4 year English requirement.  Or s/he can take English 9 honors, English 10 honors, AP English Language & Composition, & AP Literature.  Both sets of courses, along with many other variations, fulfill the HS graduation and college admissions requirements for four years of English classes.

Why take AP courses?

AP courses are not required for high school graduation.  They are more challenging than regular or honors level high school courses.  Some say they are equivalent to college courses.  This is difficult to evaluate since they are structured completely differently than college courses.  Schools that weight grades weight AP courses, sometimes at one point higher than regular classes, and sometimes two points higher.

Admissions offices consider the courses taken by students, as well as their grades.  Seeing a rigorous course load, especially one including AP courses is desired.  Selective colleges expect to see AP courses on high school transcripts (or dual enrollment, more on that later).  The more selective the college is, the more rigor required in order to be accepted.

Additionally, if the student scores well enough (at least a 3; each college has its own rules about what it will accept for credit, if they accept any), they will be able to get college credit and/or college course requirements waived.  This can lead to significant savings on the cost of a college degree!

Can Homeschoolers take AP Classes?

Yes!  The Pennsylvania homeschoolers offer all the AP courses online.  For more information, see their site here.  They also offer some pre-AP/AP run up courses.  Their courses are also approved by the NCAA.  Homeschooling families will need to make arrangements with brick and mortar schools to take the tests.  Do this early.  The testing coordinators must order the tests by mid-November (for the May testing season).  Homeschooled students from all over the world take these excellent online courses.

How do AP Classes Relate to AP Tests?

Students are not required to take AP classes in order to take AP tests.  Conversely, they can take the AP course but not the test.  However, students cannot get college credit for AP classes without taking the test.  Credit is related to the test score. Yes, students who don't take AP classes but do take AP tests can get credit if their scores are high enough.

AP Tests are given each year in May, on a schedule set forth by the College Board.  All students taking a given AP exam will take it in the same time period on the same date.  For example, all AP US History exams are given on the same morning (or afternoon) of the same date, no matter where in the world the student is taking the exam.

What is an AP Test?

Most AP exams have two sections.  The first is a multiple choice test, where students are scored based on their correct answers.  Wrong or skipped answers do not count against them.  The second section of the exam features various types of free response questions, including essays, verbal/conversations, problem/solution formats.

There is a fee of about $100 for each AP exam.  The College Board currently charges $94/test.  Some schools add a small administration fee to offset their costs.  If there is financial need in the family, a $32 fee reduction for each test is available.  The testing coordinator will assist with that process.

What are AP Scores?

AP scores range from 1 to 5.  5 indicates the student is "extremely well qualified" in that subject and is the best score.  A score of at least 3 "qualified" is required to receive college credit.

Is taking AP Courses and Exams Worth it?

By and large, yes.  Raising your GPA, improving your class rank, impressing college admissions, and learning to handle a demanding workload are all important benefits.  However, if a student is not strong in a subject area, taking an AP level course in that subject could lead to failure or a poor grade and great frustration so it is advised to take AP classes in strong subject areas.

What if our Curriculum is not Common Core Aligned?

There is significant information available from the College Board's website about the material covered on each exam.  Use that to compare your student's curriculum to the tested material in order to determine if there is adequate overlap to enable the student to be well prepared for the AP exam.  There are also CLEP exams available.  While they are also produced by the College Board, they are college equivalency exams so are not Common Core aligned.  These exams can be taken in many places around the country at any time of year.  They are accepted almost as widely as AP scores; full information can be found on the College Board website here.

Is AP or Dual Enrollment better?

Admissions officers don't tend to comment on this.  In my experience, taking actual college courses is better preparation for the student.  Additionally, it makes it clear to the colleges that the student is already able to successfully handle college courses so will likely transition to university very smoothly.  However, there are legitimate concerns about having high school students mixing with college students.  Parents and colleges have these concerns.  Some colleges require parents to be present in class if the student is under a certain age, or for the professor to approve the student's presence in the class.  Check with any college to learn their requirements.

Students will need to be mature and able to handle the behavior and comments of college age students in order to be successful.  There are many considerations involved.  Parents know their children best so are best suited to make this determination.  Students will also need some coaching, since college courses are structured differently from high school classes and have different academic expectations.  Grading is handled differently as well.

Early Tests, A Look at the PreACT, PSAT, and CLT8&10

CLT8 & 10

The CLT8 is designed for 7^th and 8^th grade students and evaluates elementary mathematical, grammatical, and logical reasoning.  It shares the same format at the CLT and CLT10, which helps students become familiar with the style of these tests.  It is currently offered in March and May.  Some high schools use it as an entrance exam. The exam takes two hours and tests for grammar, literary comprehension, and mathematical and logical reasoning. Students take the CLT8 on school or home computers, and receive their scores the same day.

The CLT10 is an alternative to the PSAT10 and the ACT Aspire and is designed for freshmen and sophomores.  It is preparation for the CLT exam.  There is not trigonometry included on the CLT10.  The questions of the highest difficulty level are also not included on the CLT10.  Students who score in the top 1% are eligible for a $2,500 scholarship through the National Association of Scholars. Register here: https://www.cltexam.com/register/clt10  It is currently offered in February and April.

PSAT tests

All of the PSAT tests are only offered at and through institutional schools.  Homeschooling families must contact formal schools to arrange for your child(ren) to take the test on that campus.

The PSAT8/9 is a version of the PSAT for 8^th and 9^th graders.  The material covered is scaled down to the appropriate academic level for them.  This test familiarizes students with the PSAT/SAT style of test.  It is common Core aligned, like all of the PSAT/SAT related tests.  Like the PSAT10 and NMSQT, it includes a reading test, a writing and language test, and a math test.  While the PSAT8/9 is typically given in early spring, the date of this test is set by the school and can range from September to April.

PSAT 10 is the same test as the PSAT/NMSQT but is taken during October of the sophomore year.  It provides students the opportunity to take the PSAT and learn how their score stacks up in relation to other students across the country.  This score is also extremely helpful during the college list building and scholarship search processes.  Lastly, for many students, the sophomore PSAT score is a strong motivator for them to work at improving their scores during the junior year.

PSAT/NMSQT is taken in mid-October of the junior year and serves as the national merit scholarship program’s qualifying test.  The top 1% of students in each state will be semi-finalists. The PSAT is a Common Core aligned test which includes a reading test, a writing and language test, and a math test.  There is no penalty for wrong answers so skipping questions is not advised.  There is a practice test available on the CollegeBoard.org site.  The student search service has an opt-in question on the PSAT registration page.  Information about the various affiliated scholarship programs is available on the College Board website.

            The 50,000 top scorers are acknowledged.  34,000 will be commended scholars, while 16,000 of the 1.6M students who take the test will be named National Merit Semi-Finalists. These students will be invited to apply to compete for National Merit Scholarships. In February of their senior year, 15,000 of them will be named National Merit Finalists.  In March, 7,600 of them will be named winners of National Merit $2,500 scholarships, corporate sponsored scholarships, or college sponsored scholarships. An additional 1,100 students will be special scholarship recipients.  They will be notified in March of their senior year.

Pre-ACT

The PreACT8/9 is a shortened version of the ACT.  It is now scored on a 1-36 scale and provides 8^th and 9^th grade students a short practice for the ACT. It also gives students some idea how they scored in relation to students across the country, thus pinpointing strengths and weaknesses in their academic program so far as well as feedback regarding how their grades correlate with their scores.

The PreACT is taken by sophomores and provides students the opportunity to take a shortened ACT and learn how their score stacks up in relation to other students across the country.  This score (1-36) is also extremely helpful during the college list building and scholarship search processes.  Lastly, for many students, the sophomore Pre-ACT score is a strong motivator for them to work at improving their scores during the junior year.  It can be administered on any date between September 1 and June 1 and is only offered through institutional schools.  Students also receive a personalized view of college and career possibilities based on their answers to the ACT interest inventory.

Major Shifts in the World of College Admissions Testing

With recently announced changes to the ACT, instability in SAT scores from one sitting to the next, and the strong showing of the new CLT, students need to re-think their approach to college admissions tests.

 

The ACT

Beginning with the September, 2020 national ACT test date, students who have taken the ACT will have the option to retake individual sections of the test, rather than the entire exam.This new option will enable students to fine tune their scores, especially combined with the new policy to begin superscoring the ACT, thus providing students with the highest possible ACT composite score.

In September of 2020, students will also begin to have the option to take the ACT online, with faster test results, but only on national test dates.    At first this will only be available at selected test centers.  Eventually all testing centers will offer students the option to take the test on paper or online.  Online testers will also see their scores in two days, rather than the typical two weeks.

For further information, see the ACT's announcement here.

The Newcomer, the CLT or Classic Learning Test

The CLT (Classic Learning Test) is in its 5^th year.  It has a verbal section and a math section (no calculator).  The test is roughly 2/3 verbal and 1/3 math.  Since the top score of 120 is 5 points higher than the CLT score that correlates with a 36 or 1600, top students can (and are!) differentiate themselves from the others also scoring perfect scores on the ACT or SAT.

The CLT has doubled the number of test sites for the December 7, 2019 test date.  Many of the sites are colleges – and many of those are offering lunch and a campus tour after the test! During the test, students have 40 minutes for the Verbal Reasoning section, 35 minutes for Grammar/Writing, and 45 minutes for Quantitative Reasoning, for a total test-taking time of 120 minutes, not including the optional 30-minute essay. There is a 10-minute restroom break between the Grammar/Writing and Quantitative Reasoning sections. Students take the exam on their own laptop or tablet, and receive their scores the same day, which they can then share with colleges of their choice at no charge. Register here. (The deadline is 12/3). The CLT also offers an optional 30 minute essay (admissions will be able to read the essay, thus offering them a glimpse at a writing sample which is unedited and untouched by anyone other than the student).  There are over 400 testing sites all across the US.

The classic in Classic Learning Test refers to its use of the greatest and most enduring texts that have informed and shaped society. Although these texts are featured prominently in a classical education, the CLT instead emphasizes intellectual aptitude and achievement, by no means limiting itself simply to a classical curriculum. All students are welcome to take the CLT, whether for self-evaluation or to send results to colleges. The list of authors whose work is cited on the CLT is available on the CLT website (cltexam.com) and includes Christian, pagan, Muslim, and other authors.

At the moment, the CLT is accepted in lieu of the ACT or SAT at over 170 colleges and universities.  Top students are submitting their CLT score along with their ACT or SAT score to set themselves apart from other top scoring applicants.

Prep

The CLT offers free practice tests for the CLT and the CLT10 exams.  Test examples can be downloaded from https://www.cltexam.com/practice-home.  A practice CLT8 test is also available on that page.

The SAT

The SAT hasn’t been as consistent from sitting to sitting as the ACT has been over the years.  The recent dip in scores after the August 2019 sitting has left students unsure of whether their scores will accurately reflect their abilities.  For full information, see the article here.
The SAT and ACT are standardized; students are held to the same standards and compared to each other, which is what college admissions officers want to see. However, that also means that raw scores are converted to that 1600-pt scale using a curve that depends on the difficulty level and performance of students on that particular test administration. 

Here's how Jed Applerouth explains it: "On the scales that the College Board provides for their official practice tests, a student who missed one question in the Math section would normally expect to score 790, a student who missed two would score 770-780, and so forth; on most practice tests the College Board provides, a student could miss as many as eight questions and still score in the low 700’s. The August test was different. From what we could find out from our own students, a student who missed one question dropped to 770 and a student who missed two dropped to 750. Missing eight questions dropped a student to 660, rather than the low 700’s." 

That sort of anomoly has understandably made many students concerned about what will happen in future administrations.  After all, thousands and thousands of scholarship dollars, as well as admissions decisions, are tied to these scores.

With all of these changes happening, it's time to re-think testing strategies.  I'd be happy to help discuss this as well as all your college prep questions.  Schedule your one hour private (via Skype or FaceTime) consultation (normally $250, recently reduced to $100) here.

Programs for Career Exploration

by Katherine O'Brien, MA CCPS

With half of college students changing their majors, many of them adding one or more years to their path to a bachelors degree and about $50,000 of dollars to the cost for each extra year it takes, it is very important that students take time during the high school years to explore possible careers.  Having clear goals enables teens to be able to identify and seek majors and programs that will prepare them for work in the field they have identified.

 

The Boy Scout program offers 137 merit badges, many of which are designed to allow Scouts to explore various careers.  Some examples are welding, landscape architecture, robotics, animal science, astronomy, automotive maintenance, engineering, entrepreneurship, soil and water conservation, game design, cooking, environmental science, sustainability, graphic arts, crime prevention and computing, medicine, moviemaking, nuclear science, oceanography, plumbing, public health, fish and wildlife management. Additionally, once the Scout has attained the Life rank he or she can organize and lead an Eagle project.

Some high schools have DECA groups.  The mission of DECA is to prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management.  Some of the DECA program happens in the classroom, some happens in applied learning situations.  DECA hosts competitions in business administration, team decision making, personal finance literacy, business operations research, entrepreneurship, marketing, professional selling and consulting.

Girl Scouts also offers some career exploration opportunities in their badges: engineering, computer science, space science, robotics, mechanical engineering, financial literacy, healthy relationships, car care, textile arts, website designer, novel writing, business etiquette, programming and designing robots, ecology, government, cooking, jeweler, and photography.

Junior Achievement also offers Biztown experiences and classes which allow young people to explore various business roles including store owner, entrepreneur, and financial professional.