College Knowledge Month

Happy College Knowledge Month!

Week #1 focuses on Academic Readiness: The ability to succeed in first-year, credit-bearing courses at a technical college, a community college or a four-year college or university. 

This week's College Knowledge activity is from the Ramp-Up to Readiness program, and it helps you to develop your Academic Readiness through exploring  goal-setting.

Goals are helpful for Academic Readiness because they help you reach your aspirations or dreams through smaller, manageable steps. You should set two kinds of goals: 

• short-term goals that you can achieve today, this week, this month, and this year (examples: get an “A” on your math test, make the swim team, read more often, be kinder to your younger sibling), and
• long-term goals that you want to achieve in the future like in middle school, in high school, and in postsecondary (examples: get accepted into the college of your choice, run a half marathon, start a college savings account, or become an officer in the military).

When setting goals, you want to make sure they are high goals for yourself and not something that will come easily, but you also want to make sure they are realistic and attainable. When people meet their goals, it empowers them and gives them self-confidence to succeed.

To complete the Week #1 College Knowledge Activity:

1. Watch this video about setting goals.

2.  Then fill out and submit this College Knowledge - Week 1: Academic Readiness form by 11:59 PM on October 3. You must complete all of the questions in order to be entered into the drawing to win a University of Minnesota water bottle. 

Good luck!

Week #2 focuses on Admissions Readiness: The ability to meet admissions requirements at a range of postsecondary institutions.

This week's College Knowledge activity is from the Ramp-Up to Readiness program, and it helps you to develop your Admissions Readiness by asking you to record what you know about college and also what you would like to know about college. 

There are many different kinds of college that vary in cost, degrees offered, focus, length of time it takes to get a degree, how classes are taught, etc. 

Here are 4 types of college and the kinds of degrees they typically offer:

• Technical or Career Colleges (usually between 1-2 years)
  • Certificate or degree for a specific job like carpenter, mechanic, chef, cosmetologist
• Community Colleges (2-year schools)
  • Associate Degree or certificate: leads to high skill careers such as dental hygiene, law enforcement web design, radiation therapist
• Universities and Colleges (4-year schools)
  • Bachelor’s Degree in areas like business, education, engineering, nursing, music, arts, biology
• Online Colleges--can earn up to a doctorate degree (depending on the degree pursued, can take up to 12 years)
  • Associate’s Degree or Bachelor’s Degree

To complete the Week #2 College Knowledge Activity:

1. Answer questions 1-7 (K and W) in the College Knowledge - Week 2: Admissions Readiness Google form.
2. Watch this video about different kinds of college. (Please note that this video mentions schools in Mississippi but other states have schools in each of these categories, too.)
3. Set a timer for 5 minutes, and spend this time reading this Big Future Website that outlines many different kinds of college.
4. Answer question 8 (L) in the Google form (see step 1) and submit it by 11:59 PM on October 10. Remember, you must complete all of the questions in order to be entered into the drawing to win a University of Minnesota water bottle.

Week #3 focuses on Career Readiness: The ability to identify careers that match personal, financial, and other goals and an understanding of the skills, credentials, and experiences required to succeed in those careers.

This week's College Knowledge activity is from the Ramp-Up to Readiness program, and it helps you to develop your Career Readiness by asking you to list your interests and skills and to see where these two areas overlap. Identifying what your interests and skills have in common can help you think about future career possibilities.

This week’s activity will also introduce you to career clusters, which are groupings of jobs that have similar characteristics. You will take a survey and find career clusters that match the activities that interest you. Your career interests may change during middle school and high school, just as the activities you enjoy have probably changed over the last few years, which is okay.

To complete the Week #3 College Knowledge Activity:

1. Fill out the College Knowledge - Week #3: Career Readiness Google Form.
2. Submit by 11:59 PM on October 17. Remember, you must complete all of the questions in order to be entered into the drawing to win a University of Minnesota water bottle.

Week #4 focuses on Financial Readiness: The ability to cover the cost of the first term of study at a postsecondary institution through savings, loans, and financial aid.

This week's College Knowledge activity is from the Ramp-Up to Readiness program, and it helps you to develop your Financial Readiness by asking you to watch a video about different ways to pay for college and then answer a few questions about what you learned from the video.

There are many benefits of earning a college degree, and one key advantage is the likelihood of making more money over the course of a lifetime. Some people question whether college is worth all the money it costs to attend. The short answer is that a postsecondary degree is worth it because graduates tend to earn a good salary over the course of their careers that allows them to pay back their college loans, plus they tend to earn more money over time.

The approximate costs for 2 years of community college is $8,000, and for a 4-year bachelor’s degree is $68,000. Colleges expect that families and students will cover a portion of the costs, but they know that most families are not able to pay for all of it. There are different ways students and families can come up with the money to pay for college. Financial aid is the name of the broad category of money that is provided to college students to pay for college. There are different kinds of financial aid, and the biggest difference between them is that some aid has to be paid back, and some aid does not.

Remember - never assume you will not be able to go to college because it would be too expensive. There are many ways to pay for college!

To complete the Week #4 College Knowledge Activity:

1. Watch this short video Smart Ways to Pay for College, which discusses different ways to pay for college. As you watch this video, keep these prompts in mind, as you will answer these after watching the video:

   1. What are 3 main ideas from this video?

   2. What are 2 new things you learned from this video?

   3. What is 1 question you have after watching this video?

2. After you have watched the video, fill out and submit this College Knowledge - Week #4: Financial Readiness form by 11:59 PM on October 24. Remember, you must complete all of the questions in order to be entered into the drawing to win a University of Minnesota water bottle.

Week #5 focuses on Social Emotional Readiness: The ability to set educational goals, make and monitor progress towards them, and create relationships with peers and adults that support academic success.

This week's College Knowledge activity is from the Ramp-Up to Readiness program, and it helps you to develop your Social Emotional Readiness by asking you to watch a video about asking for help in school, and then answer a few questions about when and how you can ask for help in the future.

Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness, but many people—young and old—find it hard to ask for help, and there are a variety of reasons why this is true.

It is wise for students to become comfortable asking for help when you need it because you will likely need to ask for help in middle school, high school, college, and in the workplace, too. Having some concrete strategies for asking for help can give you the courage you need to ask for help when you need it.

While teachers and many others are there to help you when you do not understand something in class or with other parts of your school life, it is your responsibility to start asking for help when you need it. Asking for help is not a sign that you lack intelligence–it is actually wise. Teachers want to help you - you just have to ask.

To complete the Week #5 College Knowledge Activity:

1. Watch this short video: Asking for Help in School, which discusses different reasons to ask for help when you need it. 
2. After you have watched the video, fill out and submit this College Knowledge - Week #5: Social Emotional Readiness form by 11:59 PM on October 31. Remember, you must complete all of the questions in order to be entered into the drawing to win a University of Minnesota water bottle.