The Central Tribune’s Great Big Simplified Guide to College; a 10-part guide (1/10)

Part 1:

College: The Basics and Why College Can Matter

Welcome to fall! As of publishing, it's October 3rd, and the leaves are starting to show red and orange hues and the days are getting shorter. For about a quarter of the school, namely the seniors, fall means realizing we’re seniors now. By that, I mean we’re seeing we’ve (mostly) reached the end of high school, with graduation and life beyond. Those of us who have been counting down the days to June 7th have also realized all of this is coming sooner than we thought. At this point too, haven’t we all been asked by some well-meaning adult, desperately looking for a conversation topic,

“So… any plans after high school?”

For some of you, the answer is entering the workforce straight away, or for others, a trade program, the military, or just taking some time off. But for some, the answer might be college. And for many people at CHS, that’s a massive blank spot. Unfortunately, Central's college prep can leave some asking ‘Who, what, when, where, why, and how’. If that sounds like you, then this guide will hopefully clear some of your questions up.

Our goal in writing this is to clarify ‘The College Process’, along with answering some of the various questions we've heard about college at Central. This is not a definitive guide, nor is it personalized for every situation. It is written from our perspective, may not have all the answers, and may contain errors. Please email us if there are issues or if there are important details you feel this guide is missing.

PART ONE:

College: The Basics and Why College Can Matter

-What is college?

College generally refers to an education after high school where one can specialize in a topic or field. This is where you can get certified in Engineering, learn Art History, or as the thinking goes, find your path. For some fields, like Engineering, a college degree is the primary way you can become part of that profession. The college also allows students to explore other subjects, find job opportunities and internships, connect with new students, live on their own for the first time, and have a number more years(depending on the institution, more on that below) to grow and develop. Examples of these are Western Oregon University and Harvard University.

-Why do and don’t people go to college?

For a long time, college was part of the imagined standard American trajectory. If you’ll picture it for a moment, after being born in a white picket fence house, people would graduate high school, go to college for a few years, then use that degree to find a stable job where they’d live out the rest of their blissful lives. Sounds nice doesn’t it? It might seem too good to be true, and you’d be partly right.

In the past decade, and especially since Covid, there’s been a bit of a backlash to college. College enrollment, i.e. people going to college, has declined ~14.6% since 2010, with many people citing reasons like high tuition (cost) or planning to go to other successful careers, such as in the trades. It should be mentioned that the cost of attending college has increased and is a factor one has to consider, but there are many ways of helping to pay for college (see future section #4: How to pay for college). Further, while many graduates have debt when they first begin their careers, their lifetime earnings will be much higher than those who didn’t go to college. In that sense, it can be seen as an investment, and shouldn’t be looked down upon. But, it should also be said there are other options.

In the end, it depends upon you as a person, your interests, your family situation, as well as your grades. College can open doors and give people new opportunities, both to grow as a person and also for jobs. But, it isn’t the only way.

If you’re a little unsure if it’s right for you- Good! It’s a big decision, and while that probably doesn’t help your stress level, the fact that you’re unsure means you’re thinking about it.

-What's the difference between undergraduate and graduate, associate and bachelor’s, college and a university, and other questions answered:

You may be curious about some of the terminology used about college. First, let’s talk degrees. Not temperature; think more like a high school diploma. A college diploma says that you have met and passed the institution’s courses of study, certifying you in a specific field. Generally, these college degrees and programs are separated into four categories: Undergraduate (associate or bachelor's), graduate (master’s), doctoral, and post-doctoral.

The first level of education is undergraduate, which is what you pursue after high school. Undergraduate degrees are separated into 2-year associate and 4-year bachelor’s degrees. Associate degrees (60 credits - kinda like your high school credits) can train you for specific technical careers, like policing or nursing, or in a more general path so your credits can be transferred to a different college for a bachelor’s degree later.

A common path after high school is to first go to a community college for two years before transferring those credits to a 4-year undergraduate program, like OSU. This saves thousands of dollars and also gives one time to decide what they want to do if they haven’t yet. Associate degrees are generally cheaper to earn, but also tend to not make as much as bachelor’s degrees.

Bachelor’s degrees (120 credits- also like your high school credits) on the other hand, are full 4-year courses for things such as psychology, business, or history, and are your ‘classic college degree’. After many years, a person with a bachelor’s may go back to college for more education if they want to go for a higher position. This is where they’ll get their master’s degree, usually in a more specialized field than their original bachelor’s degree.

In certain colleges, if a person wants to, some programs offer 4+1 degrees, where students can spend 4 years getting a bachelor’s degree and then add 1 year at the end to get a master’s degree as well. This can save time, money, and effort as well as keep all the education close together (so a person doesn’t have to work a career and study for a program at the same time). That being said, if you don’t know what you want to do, this might not be the best path. Another thing to mention is that about half of students change their major before graduating, and the majority change their major an average of three times. So think of that what you will!

To wrap it all up, a college only confers undergraduate degrees, whereas a university does undergraduate and graduate degrees. So there is a difference, but college and university are often used as interchangeable words to describe these institutions.

-Majors, minors, and credits:

Just like high school, colleges require credits to graduate. As mentioned above, it’s 60 for an Associate degree, and 120 for a Bachelor’s. Certain classes will give more or fewer credits depending on how much time they take, but it generally is about 3 credits per class. To graduate, students pick a major in a topic or field they’re interested in; This is a track where students generally have to graduate with a certain amount of credits in certain classes. For a computer science degree, this might mean a greater focus on coding, math, and tech classes, or for an art degree, more art!

Students can choose to dual major in similar courses, and try and double dip on classes, or they can take a minor, which is like a mini-major, a chance to learn about something similar or different to the major. While they don’t confer the same benefits as a major, a minor can be a great way to complement a major, learn something new, or expand on something you are passionate about. For instance, you could major in business and minor in a language as a way to expand your skill set, or dual major in public policy and public health as a way to complement them.

-Public, private, and for-profit:

One common question people have is the difference between public, private, and for-profit colleges. Public and private colleges are both non-profits, meaning their goal is not to earn money for owners or shareholders, but instead to educate students and commence research. The difference between the two is that public colleges are funded by the government and tuition, whereas private colleges are funded without government support, instead by individuals, student tuition, and endowments (basically big investments). Because public state colleges are funded by people in that state, tuition is generally less costly when going to an in-state public school versus an in-state private school. That being said, if you go out of state for college, it can be up in the air which costs more.

For-profit colleges, on the other hand, are different from the two in that they do work to earn money for owners and investors, funded by student’s tuition and fees. They tend to be more career-oriented training programs and can be more flexible. However, some for-profit colleges are scams (or don’t confer actual degrees), so it’s important to do your research before going to one.

We hope you enjoyed part one of the guide. Check back next week for updates.

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Next planned segments

2. Is College For Me And What Are The Alternatives?

What are my interests? Do they require a degree?
What kind of lifestyle do I want?
Community College to a 4yr
Trade School
Workforce
Military
Others

3. How to find a college?

-what programs am I interested in?

-size?

-Affordability?

-location

-college search programs

-tours (virtual and in-person)

-opportunities

-Fun things

4. How to pay for college

-scholarships

-financial aid

-in-state/out-of-state, private vs. public

-WUE

-How your family income can affect the aid

-loans

-FAFSA/CSS

5. Admissions (Scary!)

-Fear not fret not!

-Admission rates don’t matter

-what colleges want

-common data set as a reference

-involvement

-Other

6. Intro to the Common App

Dashboard:

My Colleges:

Common App:

College Search:

Financial Aid:

7. SAT/ACT and APs (standardized Testing)

-What is the ACT

-What is the SAT

-Should I be taking them?

-APs and other standardized testing, why you’d want to take them

8. Timeline for College

9. Catch-alls

10. FAQs