College. Hard to get there. Even harder to finish.
I'm lucky enough to spend my work life helping students do both. My first years in education were spent in the classroom as a high school English teacher and what I found out was that I really loved advising students. Teaching them about Huck Finn, the writing process, and new vocabulary word was great, but what made me really passionate were those conversations I had with students about their goals and hopes for the future. I loved helping them think about how to plan out their college essays and even as ninth graders, think about where they might want to be in 5 or 10 years. So, the short of the long is that I made a shift. Now, I work with high-acheiving low-income students and help them navigate getting to and through college starting in 8th grade.
For low-income students, the process of applying to and choosing a college is often more complicated than their more affluent peers. I'll be using this blog to write on topics that are about the resources that are out there for low-income students to apply to and successfully make it through college. While this tiny little space can't house all of the information out there, it certainly can provide others with some great ideas, opportunities, and resources that I have been able to come across during my work.
First stop in the next post: fee waivers for standardized tests.
I'm lucky enough to spend my work life helping students do both. My first years in education were spent in the classroom as a high school English teacher and what I found out was that I really loved advising students. Teaching them about Huck Finn, the writing process, and new vocabulary word was great, but what made me really passionate were those conversations I had with students about their goals and hopes for the future. I loved helping them think about how to plan out their college essays and even as ninth graders, think about where they might want to be in 5 or 10 years. So, the short of the long is that I made a shift. Now, I work with high-acheiving low-income students and help them navigate getting to and through college starting in 8th grade.
For low-income students, the process of applying to and choosing a college is often more complicated than their more affluent peers. I'll be using this blog to write on topics that are about the resources that are out there for low-income students to apply to and successfully make it through college. While this tiny little space can't house all of the information out there, it certainly can provide others with some great ideas, opportunities, and resources that I have been able to come across during my work.
First stop in the next post: fee waivers for standardized tests.
The process of getting into college has really changed over the years. I knew exactly where I wanted to go to college and it was expected I would go there. My daughter visited five different colleges, looking for one that suited her. We were fortunate that we could afford to make those trips. It can't be easy! Yet every student deserves the same chance to look around and visit.
ReplyDeleteJune, It's nice that you are helping students in this capacity. It seems like you have a lot of experience in this area. I read your section on traveling expenses and test expenses. I'd be interested in hearing more of your perspective as to why affluence and poverty are factors for students trying to get into college. In addition, do you have any insight on how money impacts these two groups of students as college students?
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