Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil, IA
12-11-07
Higher Learning: Area students discuss the next academic step
Dennis Friend, Staff Writer
- Editor's note: This is the first in a three-part series on college preparation.
Chris Schultz will push, prod and encourage the seniors at Abraham Lincoln High
School to attend college. She calls herself a "post-secondary strategist," and she
steers juniors and seniors towards programs, scholarships, schools, Web sites
and networks.
"We try to have them apply to two or three colleges by Christmas," she said.
"Some students are ready now, and some don't have a clue yet."
Students can be encouraged and supported, Schultz said, but ultimately they
have to do the work themselves.
*****
At Abraham Lincoln, seniors Jonathan Prosser, Kenneth Thomas, Kyle and Ryan
Willis and Angel Vasquez are looking into college. Prosser, 17, said he has
always been expected to go, while the 17-year-old Willis twins said their parents
have emphasized higher education since junior high. For Thomas, 17, and
Vasquez, 18, the idea became a possibility only recently.
Prosser wants to attend a university out of the area, because "I'm used to my
independence," he said. "College has always been expected of me, and I know
there's a lot I can get out of college."
Thomas began thinking seriously about a higher education in "just the last couple
of months ... because almost every job requires college."
The Willis twins agree that college is important. They have both been accepted at
Iowa State University, but Ryan has been accepted at University of NebraskaLincoln, as well.
The thoughtful and soft-spoken Vasquez said he only began thinking about
college in the past six months. His family is from Moreles, Mexico, and told him a
degree would offer him a chance at "a better life and more money. My parents
want me to go. They didn't get to go to college."
*****
Morgan Wolff, Amanda Goeser, Kristen Schweer and Hannah Hopson are 17year-old seniors at Lewis Central High School. They are members of the National
Honor Society who can produce a laundry list of activities in which they
participate.
"I have applied to, and been accepted at, Iowa State, Drake and Grinnell," Wolff
said. She has the highest grade point average in her senior class.
Goeser said, "I have always been aiming for college. It's always been part of my
plan."
Schweer wants to go to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, "and I've been
accepted."
Hopson has not decided where to go but considers college "very important."
*****
Alexander Hedrick and Brianne Duncan are both 17, and they're both seniors at
Thomas Jefferson High School. They agreed that students face a certain amount
of pressure today to go to college, but they also agree that college is a necessary
next step.
"College is such a widely accepted idea," Duncan said. "There doesn't have to be
the pressure."
"The schools and teachers always say how important college is," Hedrick said.
"Fewer people get hired right out of high school today."
Duncan scored 29 out of a possible 36 on her ACT. She has been accepted at
the University of Iowa, and her tuition will be paid for four years through an
Advantage Iowa award.
Hedrick admitted he is very competitive. His ACT score was 32, and, "I really like
school. I've always wanted to go to college. There was never any doubt."
He has been accepted at Iowa, Drake University and Creighton University.
"Creighton gave me $10,000 a year for the first four years, and I got direct
admission to the University of Iowa," Hedrick said. "I'm leaning toward Iowa."
*****
The students are all different, but the possibility of a higher education and a
better future holds weight for them. They are part of the next wave of seniors
taking the step from high school to college, and make no mistake: They take the
prospect seriously.
*****
Lewis Central High School counselor Kurt Mace said students have a lot of
homework to do before packing their bags for college.
"There's affordability," Mace said. "There is money for grants, loans and
scholarships out there, but they have to go through the process, learn what can
be done."
Some students aren't sure which factors to consider when choosing a college. A
reputation as a good "party school" is not a reason to plunk down thousands of
dollars in tuition, Mace said. Students should instead decide what is important,
make a short list of colleges that fit the criteria, then get information, go to college
fairs, collect literature.
*****
There are Web sites available to aid in the college search. The Iowa Student
Loan College Access Network has information about college, college preparation
and financial aid. So does Fastweb.com.
Schultz and Mace recommend both sites, and Schultz emphasized that "waiting
until the last minute may mean a student misses out on some financial aid or
scholarships."