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In today’s job market, it is becoming increasingly important
that students pursue education after high school. You should
begin to work with your student toward this end before he enters
high school. Preparing early gives you time to gather all the
information you will need, focus your student’s interests
and goals, and plan what courses he should take.
The following outline summarizes tasks that should be completed prior to graduation.
This list should be used as a guideline only. You may find as you approach graduation
that some requirements should be added or deleted. We have included recommended
times for taking the various college tests. Pursue these at your discretion.
For descriptions of the various tests, see the summary
of college exams.
This outline is designed primarily for college entrance, though it may be used
in preparation for a trade school or other vocational program. For military entrance
requirements, contact your local military recruiter.
1.
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Contact a local junior high
school for registration information and test dates
for the EXPLORE test.
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1.
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Begin to gather information on your student’s interests and goals, both vocational and
spiritual. Plan for high school electives accordingly.
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2.
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Register, prepare for, and take the EXPLORE test.
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1.
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Begin gathering information
on your student’s preferences for college. Things
to consider include: college type (e.g., public, private,
Christian), school location (i.e., in-state, out-of-state,
overseas), and size of campus and student body. Keep
a list of your possible choices.
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2.
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Become familiar with the various college testing services—especially
the ACT, SAT
I, and
SAT II. Compare their cost, subjects tested, and method of scoring.
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3.
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Contact a local public high school or ACT for registration information
and test dates for the PLAN test.
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4.
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Review your student’s career plan goals and course choices; make changes
as needed.
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1.
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Register, prepare for, and
take the PLAN test.
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2.
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Begin narrowing your list of colleges by considering additional factors,
including: cost, requirements for entrance, which college test (ACT/SAT)
they accept, length of program (2-year or 4-year), composition of the student
body (coed or single sex), and emphasized fields of study. You should contact the admissions office of schools high on your list to find out their admissions policy for home school students. (HSLDA has an article on this topic).
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3.
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Begin gathering information on financial aid, scholarships, and college
savings plans. Check with the colleges on your list and with any independent
sources such as major businesses and regional organizations. Most major
libraries carry information about financial aid.
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4.
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You can search for scholarship and financial aid information online. However,
extreme care should be taken since some sites will inundate you with advertisements
and cookies. Some may even change your home page (and who knows what else).
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5.
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Contact a local high school or the college testing services for registration
information and test dates for the PSAT, ACT, SAT
I, and SAT
II tests.
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6.
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Review and adjust your student’s career plan goals and list of course choices as needed.
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1.
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Register, prepare for, and
take the PSAT, ACT,
and SAT
I tests. The PSAT is only offered in the fall,
so it is usually best to take the ACT and SAT I tests
during the second semester.
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2.
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Consider taking the SAT
II if a specialized course of study has recently been completed. If
so, register, prepare for, and take this test. Remember, some subject tests
are offered only once or twice a year. Take this into account when planning
your test date.
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3.
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Begin visiting the colleges on your list. Official visits usually must
be booked in advance. Attend any available college fairs. Afterward, narrow
your college choices down to no more than three.
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4.
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Apply for all available scholarships and financial aid packages.
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5.
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Review your student’s career plan goals and course choices; make changes as needed.
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1.
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Apply to the colleges on your
list during the beginning of your school year.
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2.
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If you have not already done so, register, prepare for, and take the ACT and SAT
I tests.
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3.
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Consider taking the SAT
II if a specialized course of study has recently been completed. If
so, register, prepare for, and take this test. Remember, some subject tests
are offered only once or twice a year. Take this into account when planning
your test date.
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4.
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Consider retaking either the ACT or SAT I if you did poorly or believe
you could improve your score.
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6.
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If you are accepted to more than one college, choose the one you will attend.
Check with that school to see if you must meet any last minute requirements.
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7.
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Plan for graduation. Allow at least three months lead time before your
projected graduation date so final grades and diploma can be processed.
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8.
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Review your student’s career plan goals and make changes as needed.
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Career planning is not something you should attempt without
your student’s knowledge or help. Although you can
perform some of the steps involved, much of the decision
making needs to come from the student. It is, after all,
his future you are planning. As the parent, your primary
objective is to guide your student through those decisions,
offering: suggestions when options are overlooked, ideas
when none can be found, and encouragement during the frustrating
times of indecision and doubt. You may also find it necessary
to do some of the initial information gathering so that this
process gets started.
It is important for both you and your student to realize that no plans must be
set in stone. You are merely planning a direction to pursue; one that can change
as skills and interests develop.
Collecting information on your student’s interests
and goals can be time consuming and difficult— especially
if your student is unsure of what he wants to be when he “grows
up.” Remember, he does not need to determine at this
time what his occupation will be; only in what direction
his interests lie. Some students may state this as generally
as “I like interacting with people,” or “I
want to write.” Others may be more specific, stating
they want to become a doctor or a scientist. Some may actually
state a particular occupation they wish to pursue.
The following are four major areas which should form the basis of a possible
career direction. This list is by no means definitive.
1.
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Based on grades and classroom
experience, make a list of subjects in which your student
enjoys and/or excels. Note that students usually most
enjoy the courses in which they excel.
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2.
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Ask your student what kinds of extra-curricular activities and hobbies he undertakes and enjoys; also, what does he do in his spare time? What kinds of skills are being used in these activities?
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3.
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Find out what he would like to become—what vocation he would like to pursue.
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4.
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Ask how your student’s relationship to God affects his goals in life and his career plans. This perspective can affect the student’s ultimate career direction (e.g., working as a doctor in a suburban hospital versus overseas through a missions organization). It can also help in determining which secondary, special-interest courses should be chosen.
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If you have not already done so, look at the skills involved
in the chosen general career direction. If you are unsure
what skills are needed for a certain career, ask someone
involved in that field or check your local library for more
information. Once you know the skills required, you can determine
how to lay out the courses to be pursued for each grade level.
When choosing your courses, it is usually helpful to lay out a plan that covers all of your remaining years of high school. This will allow you to incorporate any necessary prerequisites, balance your course load, and make sure everything “fits.”
Try to balance out each grade level to around 5.0 to 5.5 credits. Although a student may have as many as 7.5 credits in a given grade level, a course load this heavy should be reserved to those who have had experience homeschooling and are able to put in the time that will be necessary to do well.
First select those courses that will meet CLASS graduation requirements. Then, add any Additional Courses that are considered necessary for the career direction you have chosen. Finally, if your schedule allows, pick a few that you would take simply for enjoyment.
Remember to list your Additional Courses in the order you want them, since a number of limiting factors may prevent your student from taking all of the courses requested. These limiting factor include:
1.
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The student selected too many courses and has exceeded our maximum 7.5 credit limit.
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2.
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The student’s standardized test scores do not show a level of proficiency necessary to take a desired course.
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3.
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Prerequisites prevent the student from taking a desired course.
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4.
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The course is no longer offered by Christian Liberty.
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Many subjects require knowledge of certain
ideas and formulas before they can be properly studied.
Preliminary work—prerequisite coursework—is
needed to introduce foundational concepts and prevent knowledge gaps from occurring. For example:
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John, an eighth grade student who is currently taking
Algebra 1, wishes to pursue a science degree and needs
as much math as possible. He decides that calculus
would be the best course to meet his goal. However,
calculus could not be taken at the ninth grade because
it requires a foundation in several math skills that
John has not yet mastered. If he took the course now,
he would fail it. In order to properly attain this
foundation, he would likely need to follow the progression
listed below:
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| Algebra 2 |
Geometry* |
Trigonometry* |
Calculus
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Note that if John was currently taking a general
math course instead of Algebra 1, he would not be able
to take calculus before graduating because too many
prerequisites precede it. He would likely only reach
geometry under the following progression.
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| Pre-Algebra |
Algebra 1 |
Algebra 2 |
Geometry
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Each course offered under High School Choice lists the prerequisites that must be successfully completed prior to taking that course. Remember to check each prerequisite course to see if it also has its own prerequisites.
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A proper education is not limited to what Christian Liberty offers.
Independent coursework, internships and apprenticeships, and on-the-job
training are all a part of a well-rounded curriculum.
Information on colleges can be obtained from high
school career centers, libraries, the Internet, and
the colleges themselves. If you are unsure which
institution to attend, you should first visit your
high schools and libraries and peruse their books
that list all colleges by geographical region. Then,
after you have started selecting institutions, contact
those colleges for information on their: campus,
entrance requirements, statement of faith/philosophy,
financial aid, scholarships, etc. If you have specific
questions, include them with your information request.
Also, make follow-up inquiries if needed.
Your first contact with colleges should be during your late sophomore or early
junior year. This should provide ample time to gather all necessary information
yet also leave you time to take any college testing that they require. Except
for those situations where it is easier to visit a college than to correspond
by mail, you need not visit a campus unless you are seriously considering attending.
The following Web sites may prove useful in your search for college testing and financial aid information, as well as provide background on the colleges you may wish to attend.
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www.collegeanswer.com
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SallieMae’s college planner – Prepare and select the college that is right for you. Includes financing options and scholarship search.
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www.collegetoolkit.com
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Loan comparison and consolidation, scholarship and college searches, career profiles, payment calculators, and more
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www.collegeview.com
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Information on loans, grants, and scholarships; the college search process; and understanding financial aid. Also includes a section on Christian colleges and universities.
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www.educationplanner.org
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Find career assessment tools, choose a college or university and apply online, and explore financial aid options
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www.insidecollege.com
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Search for colleges based on criteria you select. Includes a list of scholarships available from each school, as well as the ability to search for others.
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www.scholarships4school.com
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Provides the tools needed to make imformed decisions about obtaining scholarships and other forms of financial aid.
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