Counseling for College Prep

Lesson 1

Current Trends in College Decisions

In this lesson, you will discuss the culturally driven, overarching concept of the college-going culture. You will explore ongoing trends that help manifest the college-going culture. You will consider fiscally responsible paths for many students and the need for early intervention in this substantial decision-making process. Finally, you will look at current trends in business and industry that may drive different decisions from those our generations made for these young, soon-to-be graduates as they move on into college and other educational paths.

Your Role in Preparing Students for College

Now you will clarify your role as a professional in helping students prepare for selection and admissions processes for post-secondary school. You will solicit community engagement and outreach networks for resources to support your students. You will consider ethical and legal considerations for your role in this process. Finally, you will summarize the key aspects of your role in understanding and explaining financial aid and funding sources to help your students achieve their post-secondary school vision.

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Model

This lesson delves into the American School Counselor Association’s position on the role of a school counselor and a model for school counselor programs in schools. It will help you better understand the ASCA model and the role of a school counselor. You will review insights, information, and best practices for establishing a graduation and career-preparation culture. You will discuss the model and create a plan for assessing your school’s current graduation and career-preparation culture and identifying gaps between that and the desired future vision. You will finally discuss how to engage internal and external resources to support improvement in graduation and career preparation advocacy.

Supporting Special Student Populations in the College-Going Culture

This lesson expands on the need to build a network and a toolbox to support your students’ college aspirations. This process includes connecting with professionals in local educational institutions. In this lesson, we will dig a bit deeper into best practices for navigating a college-going culture. This will include adding to your toolbox with real examples of what your peers are doing to build a college-going culture. You will discuss supporting students from different demographic populations and special populations. Finally, you will learn about military options and resources for your students.

Community Colleges as an Alternative

This lesson will help you understand the origin of the community college. It will also explore reasons for current-day community colleges. It will help you understand what they currently offer for your students so you can have more efficient college-going decision conversations with your students. Finally, it will discuss and help you discuss the financial investment and return of a community college. The goal of this lesson is to help you add to your network and toolbox to help students for whom a community college is a great option.

Exploring College and Alternative Choices

In this lesson, you will learn about college visits and fairs. You likely have some experience or knowledge of these events. However, this lesson will look a bit deeper at the logistics of setting up your fairs and coordinating with local institutions. You will also explore how to use these events to set up financial workshops to help your students and families understand and plan for the economic requirements of college. You will consider how to also partner with local U.S. military recruiters to set up similar events for your students who are interested in that path. Finally, you will assess your toolbox for coordinating these events and add to it as you work through the lesson and assignment.

Connecting Students to School and Community Resources

In this lesson, you will learn about connecting your students with community resources that can help them prepare for college. You will learn about national and local community resources that can help them and you in the process. You will discuss the barriers your students will face in connecting with and gaining support from community resources. You will consider how parent engagement strengthens these connections. Finally, you will explore ways to help your students bridge the gap between where they are now and where they want to be post-graduation.

Post-Secondary Preparation for Students with Developmental Disabilities or Social-Emotional Challenges

In this lesson, you will learn about helping students with disabilities prepare for and transition to post-secondary aspirations. These considerations include life skills, college, and careers. You will look at how the law changes when they leave high school. We will discuss case management and the transition to college or other post-secondary goals. You will consider the student’s desired plan and discuss how to help them achieve it. Finally, we will discuss students who are challenged with social-emotional obstacles during high school. Specifically, we will look at those kids that were possibly underrepresented during high school.

Preparing Students for Post-Secondary Success

In this lesson, you will learn to examine the study habits of students who were successful in college or post-secondary education. You will distinguish study techniques used by students preparing to attend trade and apprenticeships that may be similar to or different from those attending a four-year college. Finally, you will consider the academic habits and study methods used by students who successfully navigated a proprietary or licensing institution.

Early Exposure to College and Post-Secondary Programs

In this lesson, you will learn about the early and ongoing exposure of elementary, middle, and high school students to post-secondary planning. We will discuss experiential processes and models to help younger students consider career and college conversations throughout their entire educational experience. Finally, we will explore strategies to help parents or guardians with resources to help with the college-going and career conversations and planning.

Planning for College and Alternative Educational Expenses

In this lesson, you will learn about investment conversations and strategies when determining how to finance a college or post-secondary educational experience. You will consider the financial implications of financial instruments intended to support the college-going experience. You will look at the world of scholarships and ways to help students achieve a college degree without decades of debt. You will compile lists of resources that will help your students and their families when making these often life-changing decisions. This is a time that students and their families need a host—they need you and other professionals to support this journey.

Advocating for Special Populations

In this lesson, you will learn about assessing your post-secondary education planning programs, toolboxes, and networks. You will consider how your current process supports diverse populations of students who will face inclusion and equity issues in the college selection and admissions processes. You will explore how your current programming and toolbox are prepared to support diverse student populations including commuters, in-resident, and distance-learning post-secondary college-going situations. You will look at how effectively your program is set up to support students with disabilities, adult learners, and student-athletes. Finally, you will consider the unique needs of international and transfer students as well as first-generation and dually enrolled students. This lesson will ask you to analyze your current program and commit to improving it in areas that may be deficient.