What Interests YOU?

                                     


                           


Click HERE To watch a little clip about identifying your interests. Why is important to know what your interests are from a college or career standpoint?
You may be able to take classes NOW in High School that will help you with your goals. You can save $ and time by finding out what careers/classes DO NOT interest you. 

Utahfutures.org has a great assessment that you can take, that will help you identify some careers that MAY interest you. CLICK HERE
From UtahFuture "Does Career Cluster Inventory tell you what you can be or should be? NO!
No software can do that. Only YOU can decide what to do with your life.
Career Cluster Inventory can help you narrow down your choices. Here, you rate 80 activities on how much you think you would enjoy doing them. Most of these activities are things you have done before. Think back to when you did the activity (for example, asking someone to sponsor you in a walk-a-thon). Did you like asking that person to donate money? Rate that item for how much you liked it.
Some of the activities are things you have not done before. For each activity, take a minute to imagine doing it. For example, what would it be like to act in a school play? Would you like it? Would you dislike it? Not sure?"

Here is a great tool to use on how planning a head can help you.

When looking at this worksheet we talk about why it is important to look at different career paths.

You may not know exactly what you want to do with your life and that is OK. When you look at different jobs then you can start to identify areas that are more important to you and find the thing that you will feel fulfilled doing for a time in your life. (remember the average American now changes Careers 3-5 times in their lives) Some things to consider when looking at careers are....
What are your natural talents?

What’s your work style?

Where do you like to work?

Do you enjoy social interaction?

How important to you is work-life balance?

Are you looking to give back?

Are you comfortable in the public eye?

Do you deal well with stress?

How much money do you want to make? 

Once you identify some careers that interest you it is a great idea to talk with someone in that field ask them various questions about the job atmosphere, hours, pay, job security, etc. this way you will know if this particular career fits into your goals in life. 

College Readiness-Figuring out what school to go to!

AHHHHH some of us have been there, some are there now, and more will be there soon. The question EVERYONE seems to ask (even if they don't know you) when you are a senior; "What college are you going to?" Its not that you haven't thought about it, you have. It takes up most of your day and slips into your brain when you are trying to sleep. You have tried to decide but you are just not sure. Maybe you don't know where to even start in your decision process. Do you want to stay home and go to USU or do you want to be out of the house? In State or Out of State? How will I pay? What do I want in a school? Do I need/want my college experience to have college football/basketball (fill in sport)? Do I need to my degree to be from a top University? Will I make more money or get a job faster if it is? What are the best schools for the degree I want to go into? I don't even KNOW what DEGREE I want to go into!!!! I know it can be overwhelming, that is why I am here to give you some advice and hopefully help you on this life changing journey.

First take a deep breath and count to five then exhale. We don't want you to loose consciousness!

Ok you feeling good now? K, lets head over to  Utah Futures webpage.  Login so you can save all your information that you are going to find. Go all the way down to the bottom where it says "Find Training Programs and Education" Click on it.

Now it drops down a menu this menu is awesome it has links to A LOT of scholarships (which we will talk about another day) Today lets look at the three other options

1. Programs of Study
2. State Schools
3. Schools Sort

Programs of study- click on this one if you know what program you are wanting to study in college.
This link will talk to you about the degree and what type of schools will give you access to concerning this degree. It also gives you info on program admission, typical course work and things you should know about that program, as well as other resources that they can connect you to. 

It will then show you different schools that offer this program.  Look to the left. Do you see it?
It says "State Schools" if you want to stay local or "US Colleges and Universities" From there you pick a state and it will give you Colleges and Universities that have that program and more information about those schools.

State Schools- Click this one if you are wanting to stay in Utah. In here it gives you different types of schools that are here in Utah. Look at them all if you are not sure if you want or need to go to University or College for what you are wanting to do in life. From there it gives you a list of schools in Utah click on them to find out more information.

Schools Sort-Here you will click on Undergraduate Schools since you are now working on you Bachelors Degree VS. Masters. School Sort uses your preferences to find schools that interest you. It is an exploratory tool that can be used more than once to create lists based on different criteria.

• Select the criteria that are important to you. It is not necessary to answer every item.
• Click on Get My Results at any time to view a list of schools.
• Change your criteria to modify your list.
• Organize your list and research the schools that interest you.

Once you pick a school you want to look at go to the left hand side and it will give you all the information you would EVER need in the school. I suggest writing down in your college portfolio the information that is important for you to remember.....application deadlines, GPA and ACT Requirements, Tuition cost (full year or by semester) ect. 

This is a great one to go through, they will bring up questions that you may not have thought of. As you answer them really think honestly about what you are wanting in a school. This is going to be a BIG part of you life for a good amount of time and you want to enjoy it to the fullest!

Alright now that we have looked at Utah Futures, lets talk about some things you do want to think about when you are deciding which school to go to. (MAN I feel like I am writing a NOVEL. You get 5 brownie points for sticking with me)

HERE is a great list of things to think about when choosing a school that is just right for you.

College Fairs
Go to College fairs are a great way to learn about schools you are interested in and even find out about schools you may not have considered. To find college fairs sponsored by schools in your area, talk to your school counselor.

Visit Schools

You can read a school's brochures, take online virtual tours, and live chat with current students, but the best way to know if a school is right for you is to visit it. You can learn a lot on a campus visit that you can't get from a brochure. A visit to the school itself is a helpful way to see if it will meet your needs, whether it's a 4-year university or a school offering short-term programs.

I know this was a lot to take in and such a long post, but these are things you should/need to be thinking about. If you have questions leave a comment I would love to help you out. Check out these great links they can really help you decide what you want out of post secondary education. Talk with ya soon! Happy College and Career Planning!!!!

College Portfolio

Hey everyone! For College Readiness this year we are working with Utahfutures.org. Let’s talk about how to get ready in order to apply for colleges and scholarships. This can/needs to be started in 9th grade. That way when you are a senior you are not scrambling to gather information and remember everything you have done in the past 4 years, since you have been doing a lot of amazing things. Here is a list to help you build your own Portfolio!

Checklists (click on link to print off your own!)

Personal Information Checklist

Academic Information Checklist

Extracurricular Information Checklist

Job History/Community Service Checklist

Quick break down of what is included in each checklist

Personal Information Checklist

• Yours and your parents most recent income tax return, W-2 information, and records of untaxed income. This is needed for FASFA and to prove income so you can apply for certain scholarships and fee waivers for various college applications.

•  Driver’s License number

• Birth Certificate

• Social Security Number

• Immunization Records (if any)

• Special needs and modifications

Since all this information is sensitive and you do NOT want the wrong person to get a hold of this information, always keep this at home and in a locked section on your computer.

Academic Information Checklist

• Sample assignments (some of your best work!)

•  Test scores, including TAKS, PSAT/NMSQT, SAT, and ACT

• Teacher or counselor recommendations (remember to give the person writing a letter of recommendation at least 2-3 weeks to put together the letter, you want them to write a good one!)

• Examples of improvement (Example: I got a D in Chemistry but took summer school and was able to understand it more and then get a B+)

• Complete high school transcript, including course grades, GPA and class rank, advanced courses, and diploma date; include college or university transcripts if you have taken dual credits (Talk to your counselor to get this)

•  Academic Recognitions

•  Academic Camps and summer/college courses

Extracurricular Information Checklist

With these remember to write up a brief description of activities. This way when they ask you about them and ask for a description you already have it all written out! EASY PEASY!

• CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS

• STUDENT GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATION

•  COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

• PARTICIPATION IN SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS, ATHLETICS, BAND, ETC

•  Educational Travel

• Leadership Roles and Comments about Accomplishments

Job History/Community Service Checklist

•  Work recommendations and employee evaluations

       o   Names, Emails, Phone, Addresses

• Community or school sponsored service projects

        o   Favorite TEAM projects

        o   The projects you led

        o   Detailed descriptions

• Special recognition or achievement

        o   Who gave it to you

        o   When did you receive it?

        o   Description on what it was for and how you received it

• Skills learned and reflections on possible career interests

One final thought…..

It is a really good idea to have this all in hard copy format (if you have not received a file folder for these from TEAM talk to Kayla or Katie) AND an electronic file format. Most applications are online now a day and you do not want to rewrite EVERYTHING, EVERYTIME you go to fill out an application. I suggest Googledocs since you have access to them anywhere you are and on any computer. If you need help with this leave a comment and I can help ya. Happy College and Career Planning!