Career & College Planning

• 12 Reasons to Stay in Illinois-
  • This is your complete guide to admissions for Illinois State Universities. From tuition and fees to housing, scholarships, and open hours dates this guide can answer many of the questions you may have about Illinois State Universities to learn if one is a good fit for you! 
• College Bound checklist- 
  • Senior year is such an exciting and busy time for Seniors. When it comes to college preparation, there are so many things to keep track of that the process can quickly become overwhelming. Parchment has created a college preparation checklist for the busy college-bound senior. Students can access step-by-step guidance on what to do, when to do it, with quick links to resources. Just click on the title above and download the tool, track your progress and jot down notes. 
• Big Future - The College Board College Search & Selection tool-
  • You have taken their tests, now save all your college planning activities by signing into your College Board account and create your road map. Although there’s no magic formula for choosing a college, you can start by asking yourself some questions that help most students find the right fit. Learn about some key college search categories. Answer questions to discover what’s important to you. Get advice from college students and educators.
• Common App
  • Explore more than 900 colleges that accept Common App. Find application requirements and deadlines. Each year, more than 1 million students apply to member colleges worldwide through our online college application platform.  Use this guide if you’re in high school and intend to apply as a first-time full-time freshman. It will walk you through the application from start to finish. Just click on the link and get started.

• The College Tour 
  • The College Tour is a TV series brought to you by multi-award winning producers.  The series tells the story of colleges and universities around the world. ​ Each episode of The College Tour focuses on a single college or university. From campus life, academics, housing, sports, activities, and much more… each student driven segment will give young people an inside look at what it’s truly like being a student at the featured college or university. Join us for a truly one-of-a-kind series featuring colleges and universities in a way they have never been seen before! 
    • FREE Self-Guided College visit Video-Based Classes 
      • The College Tour TV Series now has FREE Self-Guided Video-Based Classes available. You will find a number of classes to help you learn about and navigate your higher education journey. Each class is video-based, using segments from The College Tour TV series. All videos in the class are told by your peers. The classes are for all ages, from middle school to high school students to adult learners. We have also found that teachers, counselors, and parents see value in taking these classes in order to have educated conversations with young people about their college search. All classes are FREE and take approximately 30-45 minutes to complete!
      • When finished with your class, please enter your email address. This is where we will send you your answers, along with a certificate of completion. You will have the ability to also share your answers with your teacher, counselor, or parent/s.

• College Questions to Ask Your High School Counselor - 
  • Get started on your college journey by asking your high school counselor these college questions.
• First Generation Scholars Network!
  • If you will be the first in your family to earn a college degree, join our network to get support and resources from ISAC, your peers at your college, and colleges across the state! If you are heading to your first year of college this fall, we’ve got events and programs that can give you tools, resources, mentoring, and a great network of connections to make your transition and first year of college a whole lot easier—and successful.

• College Visit Form - 
  • Senior students are allowed 2 college visit days each year. Junior students are allowed 1 college visit in the Spring of their Junior year. The form must be completed and turned in to the Student Services Office or to the attendance secretary 2 days before the visit. Parents are still expected to call in the approved absence on the day of the visit.

• 12 Financial Aid Questions to Ask Your College -
  • Each college may differ in how much financial aid it awards, the number of scholarships and grants it makes available just for first-year students, what it calls each type of financial aid and its financial aid appeals process. In order to find a college, you can afford, it is recommended that students ask financial aid offices these questions before deciding whether to attend the school.

• Don't make these application mistakes- 
  • Excellent advice from experts in the field of College Admission Strategies

• The Ultimate Guide to Trade & Vocational Schools- 
  • Today’s economy demands a skilled, trained and educated workforce and completing a degree or certificate program has become a requirement for more and more occupations. In fact, research from the Center for Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University projected that by 2020, 65 percent of all jobs in the United States will require some type of postsecondary education. Vocational and career-oriented schools offer a specialized education for students who have specific career goals. Unlike community colleges and more general education avenues, students are able to focus solely on their career choice and receive training in the field.

 

• Illinois Student Assistance Commission- 
  • ISAC's web-site is focused on helping students and families navigate the numerous steps involved in career and college planning as well as finding, applying to and paying for college. Also included are activities that provide tremendous support to improving the high school to college transition for students in need.

 

• Complete List of Accredited Online Colleges and Universities in Illinois- 
  • Students looking for online universities and colleges in Illinois have a large number of options available to them at both the public and private level. Many of the public higher education institutions in the state offer full online degree programs in Illinois. The University of Illinois’ system, the largest in the state, offers online degree programs through three of their campuses. They also provide a number of student services to online students. Even Northwestern University, one of the most selective colleges in the state, offers four online master’s degrees through their school of continuing studies.

 

• The Students Guide to Choosing a Major- 
  • ​​​​​​​This comprehensive guide uses measured student outcomes, job market statistics and other higher education data to explore the various benefits and drawbacks of the nation's most popular undergraduate major subjects. The goal is to provide a helpful resource for students who are unsure about which major is the best choice for them financially, professionally and personally.

 

• Accredited Online Colleges & Schools- 
  • ​​​​​​​This 2019 comprehensive list of accredited online schools and colleges covers over 32,011 fully online degrees at the associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral and certificate levels. All schools are accredited by agencies recognized by the Department of Education, and they have an average annual tuition of just $24,606. All degrees were provided by the schools themselves or manually researched and verified using the colleges’ official websites. Our recommend rate is based on feedback from former students through our partner site and the largest database of independent online college reviews, GradReports.com. In addition to this comprehensive list, we provide rankings of the best online colleges.

Highland CC Tour

Sauk Valley CC Tour

Western Illinois University- QC or Macomb

Opportunities for Enlisting after High School

 

Research and learn the basic requirements and steps for joining the U.S. military as an enlisted member.

 

Service Branches The Military is made up of six branches, each with their own active-duty and part-time components. Each varies in service commitment, location and how its members contribute to the overall mission of protecting our country, though all components are on the same rank-based pay scale. Check out this website to learn more about each branch.

 

The US Department of Defense has a website that helps you link up to each individual military branch. If you want to get up close and personal with your research and decisions, this is the place for you.

 

Steps to Enlisting in the Military.

 

Local US Military Recruiter information click on this link to get information on local recruiters who are responsible for West Carroll Students.

 

Military Academy and 4-Year Colleges (Officers)

 

Military Schools

The Military offers unique educational opportunities for students who plan to pursue a college degree. These options — service academies, senior military colleges and maritime academies — offer world-class education and a deeper understanding of military culture. In addition, these schools grant full tuition in exchange for a period of service commitment.

 

ROTC Programs

The Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) is a college program offered at more than 1,700 colleges and universities across the United States that prepares young adults to become officers in the U.S. Military. In exchange for a paid college education and a guaranteed post-college career, participants, or cadets, commit to serve in the Military after graduation. Each Service branch has its own take on ROTC.

 

Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery

ASVAB - The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery is taken by all Juniors during the 1st semester. Seniors who would like to take the test for enlisting purposes are welcome to sign up to take the exam with the Juniors. Students interested in improving their scores or have not taken the ASVAB can contact a local recruiter to take the assessment with that recruiter. For more information about local testing please click on the beginning link. 

 

USING ASVAB RESULTS IN CAREER EXPLORATION - Your career and educational plans may change over time as you gain more experience and learn more about your interests. Exploring Careers: The ASVAB Career Exploration Program can help you learn more about yourself and the world of work, to identify and explore potential goals, and develop an effective strategy to realize your goals. The web based program will help you identify occupations in line with your interests and skills. As you explore potentially satisfying careers, you will develop your career exploration and planning skills.

 

Meanwhile, your ASVAB results can help you in making well-informed choices about future high school courses. You are encouraged to discuss your ASVAB results with a teacher, counselor, parent, family member or other interested adult. These individuals can help you to view your ASVAB results in light of other important information, such as your interests, school grades, motivation, and personal goals.

 

Students who have taken the ASVAB can explore career possibilities by using their Access Code found on their score report and logging in to www.asvabprogram.com