GO TO COLLEGE: STEP-BY-STEP When it’s time to think about college, here to assist you is a step-by-step approach--developed over almost 10 years--by the Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP). Just do and/or consider items that follow during this year and you’ll be off to college after you graduate from high school! 1) Undertake a career exploration to identify matches between your strengths/interests and various fields/occupations, emphasizing preparation required and job-opportunities. 1. Begin the career exploration by identifying your many strengths and interests-then seek careers that would make use of them.
2. When you do a career exploration, determine what preparation a certain field requires--and what job opportunities exist!
3. To read a blog-post entitled “10 Hottest Careers in America,” just click this link: http://moneywatch.bnet.com/saving-money/blog/college-solution/10-hottestcareers-in-america/2154/
4. For a pdf file of the actual report by the University of California, San Diego, click here: http://extension.ucsd.edu/about/images/careerReport.pdf
5. Perhaps the best question to ask yourself about careers is this: What job would you still love to do on a cold, dark, rainy Monday morning?
6. Note: You can view this point and the next one as an e-book at the following link: http://issuu.com/mvcap/docs/going_to_college
2) Begin a college search by determining which schools may best suit desired areas of study and academic programs as well as family finances. 7. Once you've determined your career interest(s), seek schools that offer your desired area(s) of study.
8. For information on colleges in Northeast Ohio, click this link: http://mvcap.blogspot.com/2010/03/41-colleges-in-northeast-ohio.html
9. You may be interested in reading the Huffington Post article by Steve Leveen, "College: It's not where you get in, but how you come out," at http://bit.ly/aP1M0x 4