Have you looked at colleges and degrees and decided that that is not the path for you? Are you more of a person who wants to work with their hands and have a heavy labor job? Well, good news, there are still many non-college options you can do. One of the most popular options is to go to a trade school. You can go to trade school for many things like cosmetology, welding, electrician, and construction, just to name a few. If you are interested in doing that then you should look into ICC, Midwest Technical Institute, Midstate College, or one of the many cosmetology schools in the area. These all have many options available for education and experience in your field. You will be able to graduate with a certificate and go straight to the job. Another option would be to join the military, which will offer a great amount of experience in your chosen field. The last option is you can get a job right out of high school without having to go to college for it.
College visits and researching colleges is a very important part of senior year. One of the best parts is getting out of school to go look at prospective colleges. One place I went to was Western Illinois University. I went to the Macomb campus, and it was a very beautiful place! The campus was very large, so during the college visit there was a lot of walking. Western Illinois has many great offers for students, like a locked in tuition fee, where most colleges tuition raises each semester for the student. There cost guarantee is not the only thing that appealed to most students, but also there wide variety of majors. Along with that, out of all the colleges I have had the time to visit, WIU has the best dorms and food choices. Some other great colleges to take into consideration of visiting would include Monmouth, Illinois State University, and Bradley University. Senior year can be a scary time, but have fun exploring colleges and looking for somewhere to spend your next four years.
With the first quarter now behind us and already two weeks into the second quarter, there is much going on around the school, but more importantly, many deadlines approaching.
Seniors – believe it or not, scholarships are available now and some are due EVERY DAY, you just need to go out and find them. Check out websites like myscholly.com and scholarships.com for tons of scholarship opportunities. Also, a financial aid informational meeting will be held in December for anyone with questions and concerns. FASFA will also be coming up shortly in January, so be sure to keep a lookout for that. Lastly, don’t let senioritis happen and affect your grades! Your grades during your senior year will determine what scholarships and grants you can get, so keep those grades up! Juniors – As some of you may already know, the school will not be providing the ACT for you all this year, so make sure to sign up for a test date and STUDY, STUDY, STUDY!!!! Mrs. Wenzel will be coming around later this month to help you all sign up for a test date. Sophomores – It’s never too early to start prepping for college, so now is a good time for you to research schools and a possible field you would like to go in to. Make sure to keep those grades and your GPA up though, but most of all, keep involved in school and your extra-curriculars. Freshmen – Congrats, you have made it through your first quarter of high school. How did you like it? Are you having fun? Make sure to keep involved in high school and try to have some fun while you are at it. Also, although it seems so far away, keep your grades up because what you do freshman year affects what colleges you can get in to and what scholarships you can receive during your senior year. |