Finding Your College Match

Finding Your College Match

Lisa Allen

lallen@nelson.k12.ky.us

	This lesson is designed to help students make decisions about what college is best suited to meet their needs.
	This lesson would be appropriate for Language Arts or Vocational and Practical Living Classes.
	This lesson addressess the following Academic Expectations: Academic Expectation 1.2: Students make sense of the variety of materials they read. Academic Expectation 1.11: Students write using appropriate forms, conventions, and styles to communicate ideas and information to different audiences for different purposes. Academic Expectation 2.30: Students evaluate consumer products and services and make effective consumer decisions.
	Materials: Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority & The Student Loan People. (2003). Getting In. KY: Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority.

Introduction

Gary, Jami, Adam, Dana, and Carl are all high school seniors trying to decide which college would be best for them. They all have different career goals, different GPA's and ACT scores, and different backgrounds and experiences. Your task is to choose one of these students and decide which college in Kentucky will best meet the needs of your student. Then you will assume the role of a college recruiter and will prepare a power point presentation to persuade your student to enroll in your college.

Gary is interested in becoming a lawyer. He has maintained a 4.0 GPA while taking several AP courses and scored a 24 on the ACT. He comes from a family of four--his father sells insurance and his mother is a teacher. He plays football and basketball in high school but is not interested in playing sports when he gets to college.

Carl is interested in becoming a computer technician. He maintains a 2.1 GPA and scored a 17 on the ACT. He and his mother live alone, and his mother receives child support from Carl's father for Carl sporadically. Carl has talked to his father about his desire to attend college, and his father has agreed to help out, but Carl realizes that he probably can't count on regular support from his father. Carl and his mother attend a Baptist church, and he is aware of a scholarship worth $500.00 a year that his church sponsors if he will attend a Baptist college.

Jami is interested in becoming a broadcast journalist. She maintains a 3.7 GPA and scored a 29 on the ACT the first time she took it. She is an African-American student who is very active in the Heritage Club. She is a little nervous about going to college because she has never been away from home for any length of time.

Adam is not sure what he wants to do when he leaves college; he just knows he wants to go to college. He maintains a 3.1 GPA and scored a 19 on the ACT. He is very interested in joining a fraternity and getting involved in campus life. His parents have agreed to pay for half of his college expenses if he will get a job and pay for the other half of his expenses.

Dana is interested in becoming a nurse. She maintains a 2.6 GPA and scored 20 on the ACT. She makes all A's in her science courses and has taken many upper level science courses, but she has difficulty with reading comprehension.

Quest(ions) and the Task

Some questions you might want to keep in mind as you begin your quest are: What are the demographics of Nelson County High School? ie. Your student has been attending a high school with 1500 students. This may affect the size of the college you think he or she will be comfortable in. What is the average class size of the college? What services are available if a student needs extra help? What are the financial resources available to your student? Will your student live on campus? Have a job?

As a result of this web quest, you will have an idea of what you need to be looking for in a college. You will also have the opportunity to explore colleges in Kentucky and make decisions about where you want to attend college.

Product: Your task is to find the college that is the best match for your senior. Once that has been determined, your group will take on the role of college recruiter, and you will prepare a power point presentation to present to the class explaining why your senior should go to your college.

As a group select one senior for whom to find a college match. Each member of your group should select one of the following articles to read. While reading, make a list of the characteristics you feel most meet the need of your senior.

Person 1 Tips for Finding Your College Match

Person 2 Types of Colleges

Person 3 Six Reasons to Attend a Community College

Person 4 Which Kind of Degree Do You Want?

Process

After each group member has read their article and made a list of characteristics of colleges they feel meet the needs of your group's senior, it is time to come together as a group and discuss your results.

Each member of your group should assume one of the following roles as you discuss your findings:

Facilitator: This person keeps the group focused and on task. This person also mediates if there is any conflict during the discussion.

Recorder: This person records all information the group generates.

Time Keeper: This person makes sure the group moves at a continuous pace to get the entire assignment completed.

Reporter: This person is going to report the group's findings to the rest of the class.

*It is important to remember that all group member's opinions are valuable and to treat each other with courtesy and respect.

Once your group has decided each individual's roles, share the information you have gathered from your individual articles. The recorder should write down all information your group feels will be useful in making your decision. Once all group members have shared their findings, your group should use Getting In to select a college in Kentucky for your senior to attend. Make sure you use all of Getting In, not just the section that gives information about individual colleges. Your group may choose to divide the book into sections and give assignments to individuals to make sure all of the information is covered.

Use Getting In, to generate discussion about the college that best meets the needs of your senior keeping in mind how the senior will finance their education.

Overview|Introduction||Process|Resources|Evaluation|Conclusion

Resources

Other websites that you may find useful as you prepare your presentation are:

	Nelson County Public Library
	Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority
	Kentucky Community and Technical College System
	Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
	Kentucky Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators

Evaluation

Please click here to review the criteria on which your individual grade will be based. A score of 15--10 pts.=A. A score of 10--14 pts.=B. A score of 5--9 pts.=C.

Conclusion

Now that you have completed your project, let's analyze the process in a way that helps you find your personal college match.

	Put yourself in the position of the senior your group selected. Using the same process, find a college that meets your needs.
	Is it possible for groups to select the same senior and yet come up with a completely different college?
	Were you flexible enough to compromise with the group and attain resolution, or did you yield to group pressures?
	What new questions did your college search generate? Why would these new questions be important in answering the original questions?

Sources

Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority and The Student Loan People. (2003). Getting In (29th ed.). Frankfort: Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority.

Magnetic Fields. (2000). Mailbox Icon. Retrieved July 10, 2003 from Dr. Pamela Petty's website: http://www.pampetty.com

Thiel, J. (1993). Collaboration Rubric. Retrieved July 13, 2003 from Dr. Pamela Petty's website: http://www.pampetty.com

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