The Rocky Road to College

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The Rocky Road to College

• MSCA Spring Institute
• April 19, 2007
• Bozeman, Montana
• Presented by
• Judy Hay, MSU-Great Falls College of Technology
• Clay Hanson, Student Assistance Foundation
• Annette Walstad, Montana GEAR UP

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Going to college is like taking a journey.

• If you know your destination, research your
  travel options, give yourself ample time between
  connections, have a well-thought-out itinerary,
  and pack with an understanding of your
  destination in mind, you will probably travel
  without a hitch. When "hitches" do arise, they
  are not your fault and should be resolved by
  those who create them -- the airline, the hotel,
  etc. (continued, next slide)

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• However, when you change your destination, when
  you do not plan out an itinerary, or when you do
  not pack with a realistic sense of the conditions
  in the place you are visiting you should not be
  surprised that you are inconvenienced,
  uncomfortable, or just plain unhappy with your
  travel experience.
• Mary Moe, DeanMSUGF COT
• January 2005

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Common Detours

• Not planning out your itinerary
• Not packing (or preparing) with a realistic sense
  of the conditions in the place you are visiting
• Changing your destination

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Common DetoursNot planning out your itinerary

• Do you know you want to be when you grow up?
• Whats the best way to get there
• Two-year vs. Four-year colleges
• Bachelors degree or higher, Associates degree,
  Apprenticeship?
• Financial considerations
• Connecting career interests, course selection,
  college selection, etc.
• Start the planning process early
• Career exploration in middle school
• 8th grade to high school transition (course
  selection, study skills, gpa, etc.)
• College research, selection, etc.
• Asking for directions
• Involving parents, counselors, teachers, local
  college resources, etc.
• Knowhow2go Campaign www.knowhow2go.org

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Common DetoursNot packing (or preparing)
realistically

• Academic preparation
• College Entrance Requirements
• ACT/SAT Test Preparation
• Course selection
• Transition from High School to College
• Remediation

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Academic Preparation

• Students who take challenging courses and meet
  high standards in middle school are much more
  likely to enter high school ready to succeed.
• Algebra is widely recognized as a gateway
  coursestudents who take it by the end of 8th
  grade are much more likely to take rigorous
  courses in high school that lead to a college
  degree.

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Are students taking gateway courses?
Median of top five states. Source Analysis of
data from www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde/
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Are students taking gateway courses in
Montana?
Source Analysis of data from www.nces.ed.gov/nati
onsreportcard/nde/
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Are more students taking gateway courses over
time?
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Includes students taking Algebra, Algebra 2 or
Geometry. Median of top five improvers.
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Academic PreparationBoard of Regents College
Prep

• Minimum Core (1991)
• Mathematics 3 years
• English 4 years
• Science 2 years
• Social Studies 3 years
• Electives 2 years
• Total 14 credits

• Rigorous Core (2002)
• Mathematics 4 years
• English 4 years
• Science 3 years
• Social Studies 3 years
• Electives 3 years
• Total 17 credits

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College Entrance Requirements
OR have at least a 2.5 GPA OR rank in the top
half of schools graduating class AND students
must satisfy the math and writing proficiency
standards.
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ACT SAT Test Preparation

• CLAYS info here

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Course Selection

• Clays info hereis there a better title for this?

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Transition from HS to College

• Handout? How high school is different from
  college
• Social?
• Time management?
• What should we cover here???

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Common DetoursChanging Your Destination

• Transferring between colleges
• Changing major
• Stopping out

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Financial Aid Scholarship

• Low-income families often overestimate the cost
  of postsecondary education Source Tierney and
  Auerbach
• A student will not go to college if it is
  unaffordable or if funding cannot be found, no
  matter how prepared he or she may be. Source
  Tierney and Auerbach
• Parental understanding of college and financial
  aid are two key predictors of college enrollment.
  Source Pathways to College Network
• The complexity of the financial aid process
  requires multiple financial aid counseling
  sessions

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Financial Aid Scholarship

• By age 24, approximately 48 of students in the
  top income quartile have earned a 4-year degree,
  compared with 7 of students in the lowest
  income quartile.
• White students are considerably more likely to
  receive a degree than minority students.
• Low-income high school graduates are not as well
  prepared in general and a significant percentage
  of those who do enroll in 4-year institutions may
  lack the academic tools required to succeed.
• Source U.S. Department of Education, National
  Center for Education Statistics. Condition of
  Education 2000 ( Washington, D.C.
  2000), pp. 64, 65, 148, 149, and 217.

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• The higher the level of mathematics studied in
  high school, the greater the chances of
  completing a bachelors degree Source U.S.
  Department of Education, Office of Educational
  Research and Improvement. Answers in the Tool
  Box (Washington, D.C. 1999), pp. vii, 16-18.
• Students who take 3 or more remedial classes in
  college have about an 18 chance of graduating
  with a bachelors degree Source Adelman, C.
  Crosstalk. vol. 6, no. 3, Summer 1998.

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Disconnect Between Student Aspirations High
School Preparation
Students
Source NCES, The Condition of Education, 2000,
p. 151.
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First-year retention rates at four-year
institutions, 2002
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First-year retention rates at two-year
institutions, 2002
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Student Pipeline 2002
Of 100 9th Graders, How Many?
Source NCES Common Core Data, NCES IPEDS 2002
Residency and Migration Survey, ACT Institutional
Survey, NCES IPEDS Graduation Rate Survey
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Ideas to Smooth Out the Rocky Road

• Pre-Algebra Algebra in middle school
• College prep curriculum in high school
• Pre-AP, AP, IB other advanced programs
• Dual enrollment classes for college-level credit
• Culturally relevant curriculum
• Professional development for teachers counselors

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Questions?