During second semester, many seniors can be seen walking through the halls wearing lanyards, t-shirts, and jackets from the colleges they will attend in the following fall. After three and a half years in high school, they will be moving to a new school environment of their choice, studying the things the want.
The process by which these seniors chose their majors and colleges, however, started long before. For some, the journey begins in freshman year.
Julie Kampschroeder, PHS’s college counselor, prompts students in their freshman and sophomore years to start exploring the types of careers they might have interests or strengths in. Kampschroeder also encourages students at this level to choose classes wisely.
“Students should not be picking classes below their abilities,” she advises.
Instead, Kampschroeder suggests that students choose the most challenging classes they believe they can do well in.
Stacey Leonard, another PHS counselor, shares this sentiment. “The more rigor you can take, the better it’s going to look on your applications,” she says.
If students are looking to go to a 4-year college following high school, Leonard explains that they will need to take four years of every core class–math, science, english, and history–as well as two years of a foreign language.
If students need sources to begin their searches, the PHS College Counseling website offers a plethora of information pertaining to college. For a more detailed guide, click here. For college search engines, click here.