Journey To College :: Getting Started

Happy Tuesday, everyone! As mentioned several times before, my life has very little to nothing to do with fashion these days. The pandemic has shifted my priorities in a big way. I will only be sharing what is important to me and what makes me happy. With that being said, today's post is a little different. I am starting a new category called "Journey to College" to capture my daughter's journey to college. She is a rising junior. For the past 6 months or so, Courtney and I have begun to deep-dive into the world of college planning. Knowing that she wanted to become an anesthesiologist or to specialize in pharmaceutical sciences, we started out with a list of best colleges with pre-med programs. However, it didn't take us very long to realize that there is so much more to it than just picking out a college. The admissions process is very time-consuming and complicated. The college selection and admission process is vastly different now from what it was when we were students. Not every student needs a college counselor. It really depends on your needs and goals. Could we do our own research? Absolutely, yes. However, with our demanding jobs and everything else going on in life, we just simply cannot find the time to really sit down and do extensive research ourselves. We don't want Courtney to miss out on any potential opportunities because of our lack of knowledge. We wanted to create memorable experiences through the college admissions process for Courtney. The college consultant can take a lot of stress out of the application process and will guide her through the next 6 years of school (until she completes the medical school application process). I just finished reading "The price you pay for college" and "Who gets in and why". I highly recommend both. It really opened my eyes about the college admission process. Very informative to say the least!

First, her stats: 4.286 wGPA, 4.0 GPA, APs, 27 ACT (1st try - 32 is what she's trying to achieve), unweighted rank: 23 out of 509 students and in the top 5% of her class

After much thought and careful consideration, we decided to sign a contract with a local college planning firm. The firm is dedicated to aiding individuals through the chaotic schooling process. College is an investment. Because it's an investment, the return on investment (ROI) is important (although it's not the only important factor). College planning is a way to research, organize, and understand all aspects of the college admissions process so that you feel comfortable when the time comes to apply for college. We had 2 meetings with the owner of the company and we were blown away by his knowledge and expertise. We touched base on the financial aspects of college but got more specific when it came to connecting Courtney's interests to a career (for lack of a better word, let’s call it a brainstorm session). To start, the owner listed out the five main career paths individuals tend to follow. There is Technical, Business, Liberal Arts, Health, and Education. He then made Courtney list out her interests and to elaborate as to why she enjoys it. The interests were very general, such as “Science related studies” or “Organization”, but as she talked more about why those interested her, the owner was able to find majors that intertwined all her interests. She then had to cross out any careers she would almost never follow and that compiled a specific but opportunistic list of jobs/majors she would be able to pursue. A few include, Biomedical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Science, and Biochemistry. We wrapped up the first session with a few ideas for a minor she’d be able to partake in, but the main focus was a major and getting us comfortable with the program. 

During the second session, we were given time to ask all the questions we had thought of after the first. Our main concern was the timeline in which Courtney would be guided through their firm's process. The owner provided a visual timeline, outlining the entire process for her final 2 years of high school. Without going into too much detail, the first few months are dedicated to career development, then the application phase, then the financial aid phase and will wrap up the end of senior year with the award letter phase (scholarships and such). After these two sessions, she was paired up with a specific consultant. The consultant will work with her through the next 6 years of schooling with the firm.

Overall, I truly believe this program can hugely benefit Courtney with providing her opportunities she would’ve never been able to experience alone. The guidance she will receive from the program will set her up to be successful. I will share more details as we get further along in the program.

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Journey To College :: Getting Started