The Competition for College: Out of Control

Just a few weeks ago I was participating in a college fair sponsored by a large company in New York. I was scheduled to speak to parents about “Applying to College” and had been told that the audience would consist of parents with college bound students. Following the session, I stayed around to answer the questions of many of the participants. One parent came up to me and apologized for monopolizing my time, but she had real concerns and wanted to ask me about what plans she should be making for her 3 year old.

This came to me as no surprise because over the last few years I have found a growing number of parents of elementary age children seeking information and suggestions on how to help their child prepare for college. Anecdotes abound about parents who race to enroll their kids on waiting lists for prestigious private schools months after the child’s birth. Parents compare the most effective strategies for giving their child an advantage and some have gone so far as to hold their child back from entering kindergarten to ensure this. They explain that a more mentally and physically developed child can have an advantage not only in the classroom, but also in athletic competition. If Junior is competing with other 1st graders in soccer, but is older, he has an advantage that wouldn’t be there if he was competing against 2nd graders. I have had parents describe in detail the extensive research they put into college athletic programs and scholarships to determine where the funding is and the sports where they believe their child will have a better chance of competing. Football is out while fencing is in. Even the requisite piano lesson now includes performances not just at the local nursing home, but at Carnegie Hall to underscore “real” talent. Dance classes abound with ambitious stage mothers who all insist their child must be on point by age 7. The under riding drive to ensure that one’s child stands out seems to be fueled by parents’ anxiety about the growing competition for college admissions and scholarships and a fear that their children will be left out or in some way be disadvantaged by programs that they believe favor other kids. And as their fears heighten, the steps parents will take to ensure their child’s place grows out of control.

With no relief in sight, parents struggle to keep up with the Jones, Johnsons and Smiths. Beleaguered parents find their weekday afternoons spent chauffeuring their children from soccer practice, Girl Scouts, Pee Wee football, dance class, piano lessons and a variety of enrichment programs, before returning home to wolf down dinner and finish homework. Everyone has a tutor or is enrolled in some type of learning center for homework help. Time spent watching Saturday morning cartoons has been supplanted by a schedule of Math and Science classes, athletic practice and competitions and, if you’re lucky, a trip to the museum or hands on science exhibit.

Now don’t get me wrong, many of these activities are important. They teach our children team work, reinforcing the values of hard work and sacrifice, and help our children build strong bodies and minds. The problem is that these activities are not prompted by interest or curiosity on the child’s part, but rather based on parents’ notions of what their child needs to be successful. The national curiosity and interest of childhood is not allowed to unfold based on the individual child’s development, but rather subject to the aspirations and expectations of the parent. Every minute of every day is scheduled and planned, to the extent that most children find little time to be a kid. They fail to learn how to amuse themselves outside of organized activities and often burn out before they reach adolescence. For every Tiger Wood, Mary Lou Retton or David Beckham, there are hundreds of kids who suffer stress related injuries due to athletics started too early. And while the stage parent may be ostracized for seeking personal glory in living vicariously through their child, we are okay with justifying that same behavior as it applies to college.

The problem does not just manifest itself in athletics and extracurricular activities. The community service requirement many schools have adopted to encourage students to look beyond their own need often ends up becoming another strategy for padding resumes. Many parents actively research unique and high profile opportunities that will make their child stand out. Very often, the work is completed by the parent who “steps in” to help out when the student finds him/herself overcommitted. Parents will often use their influence to convince others to arrange a position or vouch for service hours not completed. In effect, they are cheating, but all is fair in love and academics, right? The defending argument is, “It looks good on the college application and everyone else is doing it and it’s not like a real course that they are cheating on…” But if we compare that child to another child who takes time each week to help out at a local soup kitchen or clean up a park or visit the elderly, isn’t it cheating?

And the competition doesn’t end when Junior grows up. I know several parents in my own social circle who regularly respond to the inquiry, “How are you doing?” with a long list of each adult child’s accomplishments. They recount efforts to obtain valued internships, pass along resumes and use influence to find highly valued job and training opportunities and then brag that this was accomplished solely by their child’s own efforts. I am not arguing here that this is inherently unfair, after all nepotism has been around since...forever but lets not kid ourselves into believing that there is a level playing field for all. Some of the harshest critics of Affirmative Action will staunchly defend college legacy preferences. Is that a true meritocracy? Aside from the fact that this makes for rather boring cocktail conversations, the real problem is that the competition for college has gone off the deep end. Parents eager to keep up with the competition are doling out thousands and thousands of dollars to engage “experts” who guarantee admission to college. The degree that this assistance can go to ranges from strategizing about which colleges are good matches to assisting in the completion of application materials including suggesting topics, editing grammar and writing content for college essays. Again, advising a student about college may be perfectly legal, but providing content and assistance in the writing of a college essay is paramount to cheating when you think of what is at stake - scholarship dollars and college admission. And for many parents, “The ends justifies the means”…after all many of us have come to believe that getting into the right college is the most important goal to be achieved.

This value or lack thereof has serious ramifications for how our children approach competition and in part has contributed to grade inflation, as well as a rise in cheating and plagiarism at the high school and college level. Parents confront teachers and professors if their children don’t receive high grades and the standards for excellence often vary depending on who you are and what you look like. Parents not only flex their weight in the classroom and guidance office but in Admissions as well. Many parents see alumni involvement and financial contributions to their alma mater as a way of insuring a place for their child when they apply. Now don’t get me wrong, many alumni start out donating their time and money generously to the college out of loyalty and high regard for their education, but for some, it is part of a long term strategy to ensure a place for their child. This is especially evident when that same generosity stops if the child is not admitted.

I am encouraged when I speak with parents who elect to not join in the competition, although they worry about whether their noble choices will prove harmful when it is time for their child to go to college. As I return to college for Alumni days and reunions, I find two growing camps of alumni - those with legacy admits and those whose kids have gone elsewhere. “Poor So and So’s child didn’t quite make the grade.” And it’s hard not to wonder whether being the rebel is somehow a measure of having failed as a parent. Is that what it means to be successful? Getting your child into the right school, gaining the best job, making the most money? I think as parents we need to take a close look at what we want for our children. In the crazy world we live in, helping your child to become an adult who is healthy, honest, responsible, happy, educated, and free of life-crippling addictions to alcohol and drugs, seems like a lot. Must they be highly educated and wealthy too?

In the coming months it is not just the high school senior who sits with baited breath waiting for that letter to come from the college of choice: A nice fat envelope that says “Mom and Dad, you did a great job!” For parents, it will be a couple of tough months until the answer comes. Often it is the parent nervously watching the mail or checking on line for information on acceptance and rejection rates.
Even scarier is how those same parents will deal with their disappointment and manage their child’s feelings of rejection if the offer letter doesn’t come.

I suggest that parents use this time to really figure out what they believe in, whether they have communicated those beliefs to their child and will those values be helpful to them as they advance through life. If the message has always been about success, what will you say when they finally face failure? If you’ve told them that winning trumps everything else, what laws or ethics will they trample later in life? And if they fail in spite of all the strings you pull, how will they approach competition in the future?

At some point, things will have to change. They have to, because the world is changing and as much as we all want to hold onto the slice of the pie that we feel entitled to, that slice is getting smaller as more people demand a space at the table. Will our kids be able to live and compete in that world? Or will they contrive new and better ways to hold onto what they believe is theirs by birthright? Maybe we should stop telling our kids that the world is their oyster. Maybe the message should be that life is tough and full of both success and failure and that they will experience both. Maybe we should also let them know that they are loved and valued for who they are and not what they become and that happiness is not contingent upon success, fame or popularity, but a state of mind that only they can define. Maybe we should start valuing all people, poor and rich, young and old, educated and illiterate and stop making distinctions among the groups. How much easier would our jobs be as parents and how much happier would our kids be. We have turned high school graduation, an achievement in its own right, into a high pressured, stressful year-long event, full of anxiety, competition and disappointment. Instead of celebrating our children’s achieving their majority, their opportunity to venture out into the world to pursue higher education or careers, we cripple them with self doubt, fear of inadequacy, and a lack of confidence to make sound decisions and take responsibility for them. They in fact are being defined by the schools they get into rather than the achievements of the last 12 years. How many of us still remember that letter saying we just weren’t smart enough to be selected? How much did that hurt? I hear that in many parents’ voices when they discuss their dreams for their child to attend the school they failed to be admitted to. A rejection letter says nothing about the student, their talents, dreams, ability or potential. At best it is a measure of how much they stood out or failed to stand out in an applicant pool the size of a small town. At worst it was an arbitrary decision based on factors beyond the student’s control. And it is a process that does not serve to build character and confidence in our children. In the coming months, as parents of seniors, juniors or younger, let’s think about the messages we send them. After all, when we buy into this competition today, we do our children a disservice in the long run.

Parents waiting to hear from college admissions offices take heart. The fact is that getting in to that one special school says little to nothing about ability or success. The fact that the competition has become a foot race between parents who can use enormous financial resources to gain an advantage is unfair. But the fact is that schools are wising up to this and beginning to scrutinize applications more. While the number of kids competing for a limited number of highly popular and selective schools continues to rise, many students are becoming savvy and opting to apply and look elsewhere and in the process discovering that there are many diamonds waiting to be discovered. Ultimately, this competition will have to burn itself out as tuitions increase and parents opt out of the competition. Ultimately those kids will graduate and have to compete in a world where connections and influence can only carry so much weight. Without the experience of sacrifice, hard work and the experience of failure and disappointment, they will be less prepared to compete for the bigger stakes.

Picking a College: Finding the Right Fit

Just about this time every year I find myself talking to young people about the sacrifices they and their families will be making to go to college. And each year, that number increases as more and more young people realize the value and necessity of earning a college degree. For many young high school graduates, the decision has been made years ago and the question becomes one of which school becomes the top choice. Reasons for a particular choice abound and it is all a matter of where one enters the competition for highly sought after Ivy Leagues, Flagship State Universities, small select private colleges, National Service Academies and the thousands of junior and senior colleges located around the country. While the number of students attending college is impressive, only 55% of these students will complete their degree in 6 years. The reasons for such a low retention rate are complex and sought after by college administrators across the nation. Understanding how students choose a particular school as well as how they fair once they attend their school of choice provides important insight for us all. It is equally important to understand what factors go into a student dropping out or failing to complete a course of study. Given the cost and time invested in a college education by both the individual and their family and through federally supported grants and loans, it is imperative that we gain some understanding into this phenomenon.

Often we will point to a student’s poor college performance or lack of adequate preparation at the high school level to explain high drop out rates, especially in the first years of college. Maybe they just weren’t “motivated enough.” Unfortunately, we would be simplifying the fact that many factors go into this. We know that many bright and motivated students drop out while other “late bloomers” may go on to successfully complete programs and graduate on time. Would that same drop-out have done better attending school elsewhere?

Choosing College

How do people go about choosing a college? What is it in their motivation, expectations, life experience or goals that makes them choose to go to a particular school? What are they expecting to get from their college experience?

I have been interviewing high school seniors for college for over 30 years. And when I ask them why they chose a particular college, the most frequent answers have to do with studying a particular major, pursuing professional goals, parent expectations or the desire to be successful and make a lot of money. It is interesting that they attribute the fulfillment of their goals to attending a particular school rather than a particular course of study or profession. “I know I will be successful if I go to X University!” Somehow, the student’s expectation is that attending a particular school is the sole determinant for attaining success. The right school equals the right job. The problem is that in today’s competitive landscape, the right school may have 20,000 applicants for a freshman class of 1,000. Given that the competition has become so fierce, I worry about how these same students will redefine their definition of success. In other words, if the key to success is getting into the right school, what happens when you don’t? This attitude also sends a crazy message to students. A number of years ago I remember interviewing a student who had set a particular Ivy League as his goal from the tender age of 6. To accomplish this, he studied hard, forsaking social opportunities to hang out with friends, attended college preparatory programs every summer from 9th grade on, got up early for extra tutoring in college level math and physics and entered every academic competition in the state. He scored perfect SATs and was class Valedictorian. Everyone told him…..with his scores and grades, he was a sure thing….until he received a rejection letter. What do you tell that student?
How do you convince that student that their success lies not in gaining admission to a particular school, but in the same type of efforts, sacrifice and motivation that got him/her through the first 18 years of their life?

For many students, the drive to attend a specific school may have less to do with gaining an academic advantage and more about the image the school projects. Party schools, jock schools, preppy schools, elite schools, public schools, all project an image, which often attracts the student who wants to identify with that image. We all have some idea of college, garnered from movies and television. In my day, Animal House was a particular favorite with the outrageous antics of Jim Belushi and his fellow frat brothers. More current movies and televisions shows depict college life in a way that appeals to a wide variety of students seeking the independence, social life and scholarly pursuits found on today’s campuses.

Some students are more excited about moving away from home, joining a fraternity or pursuing an athletic career than picking a major or planning a career. Universities notorious for being known as “party schools” struggle with an image that, while negative, attract large numbers of applicants every year. Some people fall in love with the whole college image: ivy covered buildings, shady quad settings, late night study breaks, football games and homecoming. Some students feel enormous pressure as a legacy to fill their parents’ shoes or fulfill their parent’s dream by attending a particular school. And let’s not forget the draw membership in a sorority or fraternity has in many college students’ lives. Whether these reasons seem valid to you, the point is that students are motivated by a variety of factors. So, should we really be surprised when things inevitably go wrong?

Why Do Students Fail to Finish?

In spite of the strength of some of these motivations, they may not be sufficient in enabling a student to stay on course and complete a college degree. The fact is that in addition to being fun, college is “tough”. Many students have not had the experience of dealing with things that are “tough”. For the first time, there is no one around to tell them when to study or how to study. Studying in high school may have been simply doing homework and looking over notes before an exam. No mom to make sure you’re eating properly or getting enough sleep. How do you pace yourself when there is a tendency to overdo it…just because you can? College work can be frustrating and whether you attend a big university or small college, it can be down right lonely at times. Missing family and childhood friends, comfort foods and family rituals seems particularly distressing when you’re having a bad day. Some schools can be so large and impersonal that it is easy to get lost in the crowd. It can seem like everyone else is having a great time but you! College is expensive. Have you checked out the price of those science text books? If you have to take a lot of loans or use up your savings or work part time, there is even less time to just have fun. While everyone else seems to be partying, shopping and going off on holiday breaks, the poor student is counting pennies and feeling just a little envious of the rich roommate with the great car and latest electronic “necessities”.


Finishing the Course

Those that stay in school and make it through have an idea of the bigger picture: A life goal where college is a stepping stone, a boot camp for the real world. They are able to balance the hard work against the tremendous opportunity to grow and test one’s wings. They recognize the opportunities to forge life-long friendships, get involved in real life issues and learn about the world in disciplines they were never exposed to. That first internship or work study program was just the experience to expose them to a future profession. The first failure or frustration taught them how to grow and learn from mistakes. Budgeting taught them how to prepare for living on that first pay check. They started out going to school with a best friend and made three new ones along the way. They learned to really multitask and had the satisfaction of succeeding at something they never thought they’d understand or be able to master: All important lessons for life on the job, in personal relationships and as a parent.

For those students who ended up dropping out, maybe it was finances, or adjustment problems or plain old homesickness. Maybe the courses were too tough and they just couldn’t keep up with the work. Maybe it was the wrong fit or circumstances beyond their control. After all, time doesn’t stand still. Circumstances change: one’s health may decline, people grow up and the world around us changes. For whatever reason, the course one charted has changed, veered off in uncharted waters. This becomes a life lesson as well. How does one deal with change, crisis, frustration, disappointment? How does one transition or adapt to change?

Every person changes their mind, or fails at something. We all have challenges we will have to take on. The difference is how we handle them. There are many college students who will change their major several times. There are graduates who will change their professional goals and many adults who will change careers several times in their lifetime. The idea that the career you choose will become a lifelong profession is no longer the norm. This current generation will spend an average of 2-3 years at each job.


The time when you worked at one company until you retired at age 65 is long gone. It’s what life is all about. Staying the course is less about how long it takes to finish but how close you get to your goal and what you learn about yourself along the way.

So, if you can figure it out the first time…good for you and if not, remember that college is an adult education. It does not have an age limit or a time limit. More and more adults are returning to school to pursue new careers or expanding on their skill sets. Some are taking courses just to expand their knowledge and interest in a particular field. And the only cost to you is time and money. For some people, waiting and working before attending college or graduate school, gives them opportunity to figure out what they really want. What work environment fits, what profession matches their lifestyle? This strategy may actually save you money and time. Knowing what you really want can help you focus your energies in a particular direction. This is the case with many adults who return to college. They know what they want and go after it. The young newly graduated high school student may need the time and opportunity to explore a number of disciplines before they choose a major. In either case, as long as you weigh all of these factors, you’re likely to come out that much closer to your goals in the end. And after all, isn’t that what going to college is all about?

Remember, college should never be seen as the goal, but rather as the shortest part of a long journey.

Donna’s Monthly to Do List - July

Those waiting to go to college should be working, saving up money for all the college essentials: books, clothes, computer, etc. Start practicing living on a budget. Open a checking or saving account and learn how to balance your monthly statement. Start making a detailed list of what you will need when you go off to school. You wouldn’t believe how many students pack the I-Pod but forget the aspirin and cold medicine. Research programs or organizations you might want to join on campus. Get a copy of the college catalog and familiarize yourself with course requirements and departmental requirements. Have you looked at the registration materials, course descriptions and class schedule? You will not have a lot of time to select courses and figure out your schedule once you are on campus so start planning early.

For those of you in high school, use the summer to grow: Whether that means work or vacation, taking a preparatory class, learning a new hobby, volunteering in a project or visiting a college. Use your time to relax and refresh your body while challenging your mind. Start on the required reading for that English course or take a refresher course to improve your chances of doing well in school. Can you take a class at the local junior college? If you are a senior, you should have started researching colleges. Contact them and request the applications for admissions and financial aid. Research scholarships that are available in your community and on a national level. Does your parent’s employer or the church you belong to offer scholarships? Start completing these applications early. Pay attention to deadlines. Start working on the personal essay or writing sample most college applications ask for. Even if you are using the Common Online application, many schools require additional forms. If you have already taken the SAT, consider taking a prep course to improve your score or consider taking the ACT. Have you registered for the SAT or SAT II exams. These subject tests should be taken after you complete the course. So don’t wait until 12th grade to take the subject test that you took in your sophomore year. Although many schools don’t require them, most competitive schools do and they are not offered as frequently so be aware of those dates.

Getting Your Act Together: Making the Most of the Time You Have

At this time of year, I find myself speaking with a lot of young people who have been admitted to college but are frustrated with their efforts to obtain financial aid. Often enough, it is a problem easily remedied because the student has taken the initial steps: applied and been accepted into college, submitted the FAFSA form and at least researched the costs involved in attending. In that case, they still have time to apply for loans, although they may have missed out on grants, college work study and scholarships that might have been available earlier if they had applied in time.

But sometimes, the plea comes from the "last minute person", the senior who woke up in May and realized that everyone around them has plans and they don’t. These individuals find themselves scrambling to apply. This means getting the school to send out transcripts over the summer when the school is officially closed. To make things worse, last minute admits have to struggle to figure out how to pay for registration because it is too late to complete financial aid forms. While it’s never too late to apply, there are a handful of colleges out there willing to admit students as late as August or early September, applying so late limits the student's options. Proper advisement is not always available and the student may find that the courses they need to take have been filled up and no longer available. This is not the positive experience an incoming freshman wants to experience.

As a person who has always placed a high value on obtaining a college degree, it is frustrating to see individuals every year who fail to register or attend college because they have run out of time or give up after being faced with a difficult start..

The Impulsive Applicant

In the 1980’s, I worked at a small senior college, part of the CUNY system. We were always under enrolled, so we often found ourselves admitting and enrolling students throughout the Registration period. (Most colleges admit their students by April of the preceding semester.) People would walk in asking to register, often after being struck with the inspiration that it was time to start college. While this is a good thing, often this inspiration impulsively struck mere days before classes were about to commence. I remember the long lines of young and older adults interested in making the plunge and returning to school. Some were immigrants wanting to attain the American dream. Others were adults who had gone on to work or raise families after high school and had finally decided to go back to school. And there were always a couple of stragglers who made up their mind after graduating high school that they wanted to start college. What they all shared was a last minute decision that unfortunately, complicated the admissions and registration processes. While some of them would go on to complete the application, arrange for placement testing, register for classes and find money to pay the bursar, all in a matter of days, many were not able to complete all of this in time to attend classes. I often wondered what happened to those individuals who left with applications and instructions in hand, but never returned. Even more unfortunate were the people who were admitted but failed to find the money to attend. (In 1985, full time tuition at CUNY was a bargain at $612.50 per semester)

It seems to me that timing, not access, has become the real factor in determining who goes to college. Everyone can make a mistake, miss a deadline, forget something… procrastinate about making a decision…but when we leave no time to correct the mistake…we’re in trouble. And when you’re talking about decisions that can affect a person’s future, most of us can’t afford to get it wrong.

Programmed Kids

On the other end of the spectrum, I have worked with youngsters who have been "programmed" to attend Ivy League colleges from the cradle. It isn't their race or income that sets these kids apart. It's not that they are any smarter, or go to better schools. What sets them apart from other kids is the attitude and belief that they and their parents have that they will achieve whatever goal they set for themselves, including attending some of the most competitive schools in the country. These individuals have been planning, saving, working towards college all of their lives. They have taken classes on the weekends, participated in competitive sports, traveled to exotic locales, volunteered countless hours and taken advanced courses to give themselves whatever competitive advantage they can gain. Their parents started saving for college early on and by the time these students are 13, they have taken the SAT several times, visited a bunch of colleges and attended summer college institutes to start calculus and advanced courses long before they can do so in high school. For these individuals, their parents took advantage of every opportunity possible to further ensure their children’s chances of winning a scholarship and getting into a competitive school, often planning as early as nursery school to see that their children have all the advantages. Now we can debate whether or not this is a good thing. Do these kids miss out on having a "normal" childhood or do they suffer unbelievable stress by being on the fast track? But the fact is that these kids end up having more options at graduation. They are better prepared academically to compete for scholarships and admissions and their parents have a financial plan for dealing with the cost of college.

What to Do

Knowing this, what words of wisdom can I dole out to motivated students and parents who want the same things for their kids, admittance to highly competitive schools and scholarships to pay for tuition? How does the average student approach college admissions, knowing that some of the competition has had a head start on them? How can a person make the most of the time and resources he/she has on hand?

I believe that the most important factor is making sure you don’t run out of time: Time to plan and prepare. While it is never too late to consider college, the high school student has the most time and therefore should use it wisely. The adult student returning to school has limited time and resources. The effort to attend college competes directly with the adult demands of work and family... Time is precious and one cannot afford to waste it. The young student does not have these concerns so my advice to them is: Don’t wait until senior year to get started.

What should you be doing right now to prepare for college? Whether you are freshman starting college in the fall or a student in high school this year, there are things you can be doing right now. Some of these things are fairly simple and you may be doing them already. Some are more strategic and may involve planning on your part. Going to school, getting involved in clubs and organized activities as well as taking advantage of opportunities to grow and learn about yourself are all important for you. Everything you do, here on out should be looked at as an opportunity: obstacles become challenges to be overcome and setbacks become opportunities for growth.

In the coming months, I will share with you a list of things you can be doing to prepare yourself for college. In this Monthly to Do List I will suggest ideas and share information that you can act on to help prepare you. I invite you to give me feedback as well as share ideas that have helped you. You will get the most out of the list if you use it as a starting point. It’s meant to get you thinking about school and the activities you are involved in, in a different, more strategic way. Following these steps will help you to remain focused and on the right track. At the same time, it is important to use the resources and support system around you; parents, friends, counselors, teachers and mentors. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and remember this is your future we’re talking about!

Donna’s Monthly to Do List - June

Newly admitted college students should be finalizing their financial aid plans. You should have completed the FAFSA and have researched all of the loan options. Have you met someone in Financial Aid who can answer your question and doesn’t just send you to apply on line? Part of your financial aid package is a loan. What kind of loan is it? Is it subsidized or not subsidized? Educate yourself about this. What are the backend borrower benefits? Some loans have origination and guarantee fees, are you responsible for them? Do you know that you don’t have to use the college’s lender? The law says you can get those loans anywhere, so shop around. If you know you need a loan, first take advantage federally guaranteed loans; they have the most competitive interest rates. If you need additional loans, you may be eligible for PLUS or Private/Alternative loans. Be aware that they require a credit check (both) and cosigner (privates) Private loans are more expensive, the rates bare variable and dependent on your credit history. So shop around. The rule is: The better your credit, the lower the rate. Remember, these loans will pile up quickly so borro0w as little as possible. Now is a good time to learn how to live on less. You’ll appreciate it once you start repaying them.

For those of you still in high school, start thinking about how you can get the most out of your summer vacation. You should consider pursuing a variety of activities that will feed your mind and refresh your body. Starting with your school, research opportunities to attend a summer program, travel abroad, or participate in work/study internships. Looking for a job? Are there opportunities to work in a field you’re interested in? Seek out adults in your community who can mentor you, introduce you to new ideas and interests. Although making money is always a plus, there are loads of volunteer opportunities that provide you with early career exposure, mentoring relationships and real experience. Sometimes these positions lead to paid positions in subsequent years. Working at McDonalds? Try to start saving some of your money to pay for college. It is a lot easier to work during the summer than during the school year, especially if you are taking a challenging course load. Ask at your school for special programs and school sponsored activities you can take advantage of. You don’t have to have a lot of money to participate in some of the State sponsored preparatory programs available.