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Let's Talk About Your EducationConsider Furthering Your Education Consider Furthering Your EducationChoosing not to finish high school, or choosing not to go to college, does not automatically condemn you to a miserable life. However, if you choose to further your education, you are more likely to get a job that pays well and one that you enjoy. In 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau found that workers without high school diplomas earned an average of $18,734 a year, while workers with high school diplomas earned $27,915 a year. Workers with college degrees made an average of $51,206 a year. Even attending college and not finishing it is likely to result in a higher salary than if you never attended college. Choosing a Career to PursueThe Vermont Career Gateway Website, developed by VSAC and the Vermont Department of Labor, can help you learn to navigate the worlds of school and work—while still having fun! The road to career and education decisions starts here. Graduating High School is PossibleIf you are thinking of dropping out of high school, you should first take the time to consider what other options may be available to you. Speak with an adult that you trust, whether it be a guidance counselor, social worker, foster parent, or youth development coordinator. Ask them if they know of alternative options that may be available to you. Some options you might want to ask about include additional support from your school, tutoring, or alternative school programs. If you would like to do some research on your own, try starting at vermont211.org .Click on search the database or call 211 from any phone in Vermont (except out-of-state cell phones). If this doesn’t provide you with the information you need or you would like additional support finding information, please talk to an adult you trust. If they don’t know, ask for their help finding someone who does. Getting Your GEDIf you have already dropped out of high school, you should consider either going back to high school or getting your GED. The General Education Development (GED) tests include five exams that when successfully passed provide adults who did not finish high school with a scond chance to earn a high school completion certificate. GED testing services, which include study and tutoring assistance to prepare you for the tests, are available throughout the state. If you are interested in earning your GED, talk to your case worker or youth development coordinator, contact your local testing site, or visit the following website: http://education.vermont.gov/new/html/pgm_adulted/ged/testing.html. Each site's testing schedule is available by calling the site directly. Most sites test at least once a month and students can also travel to other sites if they want to take the test more often. In order to take the test you must:
Going to College is PossibleYou don’t need people to tell you how important college is, you hear that all the time. What you may not hear from people all the time is that you can go to college. You can find a way to afford it, you can find help applying to college, you can find a school that is right for you, and you can find help in your college classes if necessary. College is not reserved for youth with two biological parents who can help them fund an education. That is not to say that college will be easy. It won’t be. But it is absolutely something that you can do. There are many people willing to help you through this process, including your youth development coordinator, school guidance counselor, foster parent, and caseworker--to name just a few. Be sure to ask about special grants or services that may be available for youth in care or recent foster care alumni. There is also a Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) counselor at every high school in Vermont who is available to meet with you and assist you. Free Programs to Help You Get into College.Looking at CollegesChoosing the college that is right for you can be intimidating. Perhaps the most important thing you should keep in mind is that college is what you make of it. Yes, finding a college that meets your needs is important, but what is most important is what you do when you get there. If you become active on campus, if you pay attention in class, and if you seek help when you need it, you are bound to be successful no matter where you go! Some questions to consider when looking at colleges include: How big of a school do I want to go to? Where do I want to go to school? What do I want to major in? What are the housing options? How hard is it to get into this school? Choosing a College/MajorBelow are some links with helpful information about choosing a college/major. Remember, there are always guidance counselors, VSAC counselors, and youth development coordinators who are willing to help you make a decision. You are not on your own! http://www.quintcareers.com/teen_college.html There are also many helpful websites that describe various career fields, what they do, how much they pay, and how much education you’ll need. http://www.nextstepmagazine.com/nextstep/career-profiles.aspx Tests Commonly Required by CollegesThe SATs and the ACTs are two tests commonly required by colleges. The SATs have optional subject tests. The ACT has an optional writing test. It is important to call the admissions department of the schools you are interested to ask which test(s) they would like you to take. Most, but not all, schools will require you to take the SAT or the ACT. Community colleges will not require you to take either of theses tests. Both tests require a fee, but by seeing your high school guidance or VSAC counselor, you can have the fee waived. Speak with the VSAC counselor in your school, your high school guidance counselor, your youth development coordinator, or another adult in your life if you have any questions. The pSATsThe pSATs are not mandatory, and those scores will not be sent to schools to determine your acceptance. pSATs are good for practice, and taking them will send your information out to schools across the country. These schools will send you information about their programs, which is quite helpful. The pSATs are normally taken in your sophomore or junior year. They will give you an idea of what you might get on your SATs, and therefore they give you a good idea of what schools you are likely to get into. Taking the SATsYou can take your SATs as many times as you would like. Also, you can ask your school guidance or VSAC counselor for an SAT fee waiver. This will allow you to take the SAT for free, twice. It will also allow you to send your score to up to four schools for free. Finally, it will provide you with admissions waiver requests, which you can give to the admissions department of the schools you are applying to so that they will consider waiving the admissions fee. If you have a disability (including ADD/ ADHD) you might be eligible for testing accommodations (e.g. longer time limits, frequent breaks, different setting, etc). See http://www.collegeboard.com/ssd/student/eligible.html for more information. How to study for SATs Finally, your local and/or high school library has books on how to study for the SAT, with practice questions. Just make sure that the book or any information you find about how to study is not from before 2005. The test changed in 2005, so if you study from a book from 2000, you will be studying for the old test. There are also courses available through programs such as Kaplan, where you can pay to take an SAT course. These courses can be quite expensive. Speak with your VSAC counselor or an adult you trust about your options. It is likely better to participate in a free program or to find someone who can help you study from a library book. Where to take the SAT / How to register Taking the ACTsYou can take your ACTs as many times as you would like. Also, you can ask your school guidance or VSAC counselor for an ACT fee waiver. This will allow you to take the ACT for free, once. It will also allow you to send your score to up to four schools for free. If you have a disability (including ADD/ ADHD) you might be eligible for testing accommodations (e.g. longer time limits, frequent breaks, different setting, etc). See http://www.act.org/aap/disab/ for more information. How to study Where to take the tests/How to register Applying to Colleges.Once you have an idea of what schools you want to apply to, it is time to start applying. It is a good idea to start this process as early as possible so that you are not rushing to complete it at the last minute. Starting early will give you the chance to create a quality application that really reflects who you are. Each application will have an application fee, but this should not deter you from applying to a school. Most schools, if you call up the admissions office and explain your situation, will waive the fee. You will likely need to gather your high school transcript, letters of recommendation, SAT/ACT scores, and your resume. You will also likely need to write an essay. Contact the admissions department at your school of choice to double check what you need. It is especially important to start gathering your transcript and recommendations early, as it may take awhile for you to receive them. Your transcript is available from your high school guidance department. You will need to ask your teachers (or depending on the application, a boss or guidance counselor) for a Letter of Recommendation. The best letters of recommendation come from people who know you well and who can evaluate your ability to succeed in college. Most teachers and guidance counselors are more than willing to write a letter, but you must give them sufficient notice. If you approach them the week that your application is due, you are not likely to get a friendly response or a well thought out letter. Try, if possible, to give at least a one month notice. Remember, you do not have to go through the process of applying to college on your own. If you need any help choosing a college or proofreading your essay, your youth development coordinator, guidance counselor, VSAC counselor, and other adults can help you. Finding Financial AidThe FAFSA To fill it out, you will need your social security number, your tax forms (W2 and 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ), and your bank statements; and maybe those of your parents. If you are submitting your FAFSA online, you will need to sign up for an electronic pin number www.pin.ed.gov. If you are currently in state custody or if you were in state custody at the age of 18, you do not need to provide your parent's information. Otherwise, you will need to provide this information. Foster parents, guardians, and grandparents do not count as parents unless they have legally adopted you. The following are the government websites for the FAFSA. Remember, help filling out this form is available to you. You do not need to complete this process on your own. http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov/ School Financial aid Scholarships and grants Work Study Loans The Perkins loan has the lowest rate, and if you enter into a profession in a high need area, it can be forgiven (you won't have to pay it back). Different states have different rules about which professions are eligible for loan forgiveness, but the Perkins loan is the most likely to be forgiven. The subsidized Stafford loan does not have any interest while you are in school. The unsubsidized Stafford loan will charge interest while you are in school, but you can choose to let the interest build up until you are out of school. You can also choose to add the interest to the loan amount once you graduate. This means you don't have to come up with the money right away, but you will end up owing more money in the long run. Vermont scholarships The Vermont Chafee Education and Training Scholarship is available to youth under the age of 21 who were in care during their 18th birthday or who were adopted from foster care after turning 16. VSAC counselors are available to help you with this application. There are also Vermont incentive grants, based on financial need, which are available to all Vermont students. These grants range from $500 to $9900. VSAC also has a list of over 150 scholarships available to Vermonters. For more information on any of these scholarships/grants, you can contact the VSAC counselor at your school or call 1-888-253-4819 or e-mail info@vsac.org. You can also visit http://services.vsac.org/ilwwcm/connect/VSAC, click on pay for college, then click on scholarships. National foster youth scholarships Other scholarships What will be Different about CollegeCollege will be different than high school because you will be treated as an adult. If you choose to skip class, to hand in papers late, or to blow off assignments all together, there will be consequences. However, unlike in high school, these consequences will be reflected solely in your grade. In other words, your professor is not going to call anybody to tell them that you are skipping school. In addition to being treated as an adult, you will be expected to act like one. Email your professors if you accidentally miss class or if you know you are going to miss a class. If you find that you are having trouble in a class, let the professor know. They are normally more than willing to meet with you to help you. College will also be different because your time will not be structured for you. You can choose your schedule and you will have a lot of time in-between and after classes that will be unstructured. It will be up to you to manage your time. The key to success is being able to balance your schoolwork and your social time, especially now that you won't have anyone telling you that you have to do your work. It is a good idea to get involved in some clubs, the more involved you are, the less isolated you will feel. Community service clubs in particular are a good idea, because they will look excellent on your resume. Also, there are plenty of academic support services available to you but you will need to contact them yourself. If you don't let anybody know that you need help, you are likely not to receive it. However, if you speak up, there are excellent services available to you for free. Some Thoughts About Housing During BreaksDuring regular school breaks (winter break, spring break, summer break) most on-campus housing will be closed. Many students go home, spend the break with friends, or go on vacation. Some schools even have sponsored vacations, called alternative breaks, where you do community service. These vacations are often VERY cheap. If you decide that it is best to stay on campus during breaks, you will need to plan ahead. Many schools have what they call “break housing”, but policies on how much it will cost and who is eligible to stay vary from school to school. The best advice is to start planning early, and be prepared to advocate for yourself. Let the front desk manager of your residence hall know that you will need break housing and why. If they say you are not eligible or if you think break housing will cost more than you can afford, contact a residential life manager. If you still cannot get access to break housing or if it costs too much, keep contacting people. Write an email to the president of your school. Ask your academic advisor, your youth development coordinator, a professor, or any adult that you trust to help. Don’t be afraid to advocate for what you need. It is important for schools to understand the unique needs of foster youth, so they can meet those needs. If nothing else, you will be forcing the system to think about the effects of their policies. If they don’t know that there is a problem, they can’t fix it. |
