I was talking with a friend, who is a former school teacher, who successfully raised three boys in the public school system. A number of the points below about college entrance resulted from our conversation and I am passing them along, along with other stuff I am compelled to talk about:
About School: High School and College:
In order to gain successful admittance and funding for college, you must take the PSAT before your senior year. This test is actually more important than the SAT as it is how you acquire admittance and scholarships. You can take the SAT as many times as you want and should do so for practice if you can -- and you should do just that to practice for the PSAT. YOU CAN ONLY TAKE THE PSAT TWICE -- once in your sophomore year, once in your junior year -- so make it work for you.
Apply for the National Achievement Scholarship instead of the National Merit Scholarship. There is a much small pool of candidates and it is where Universities go first for the minority selection.
Take as many achievement tests as you can to test out of as many required college courses as possible. This can save you as much as a year's worth of classes and the cost (about $100) is far less than the cost of the course.
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOUR SENIOR YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL, OR EVEN YOUR JUNIOR YEAR (YOU CAN STILL MAKE IT BUT IT WILL BE TIGHT) TO START MAKING THAT MOVE TOWARD GETTING INTO COLLEGE. Start planning for college from your freshman year in high school. Your GPA is important to your future and the kind of classes you take are equally important. Make sure that you are taking the required courses for college and don;t be fooled by your guidance counselor -- if you aren't getting the classes you know you need, don't let anyone assign you to what they want you to have. Get into the classes you know you need to have, and get into the advanced classes if you can. If your parents are Many students don't find out until their senior year that the classes they were getting straight As in were not the classes needed for college admission and they end up having to do -- and pay for -- junior college work in order to get into a four year college.
Consider your high school experience as pre-college -- and it's free. Take advantage of as many opportunities to get as much free education as you can. Yes, you should be young and have fun, but no one tells you that as soon as you are 18 and graduated the world changes very quickly for you. Hindsight is always 20/20 and you will wish -- because we always do -- that you had taken advantage of what was free.
Even if you are reading this in your senior year of high school or college; it's still not too late. You will just need to be more creative, resourceful and resolved to meet your goals, ASK for help.
Have some idea about what it is you want to do in college. You can always change your mind, but you can't get the scholarships that are out there if you don't know what to apply for. There are millions of dollars in scholarships earmarked for African American students that are lost every year because no one applies. You should begin the treasure hunt by the end of your sophomore year, If you aren't clear about what you want to be when you grow up (don't worry, there are grown folks who still haven't figured that out) what do you get most passionate about? Art? Music? Science? Culinary Arts? Follow the path of your passion. Again, you can always change your mind.
If you are having difficulties with your studies, ASK FOR HELP. This is something we don't do enough of,. Did you know that the perception that Asian students are much smarter is a myth? They excel because they study together and help each other, they test each other and stay focused on the task at hand. We isolate ourselves, never ask for help for fear that we will be thought less of, Think of what would happen if there were study clubs in every community; where retired, mid-career, stay-at-home moms, volunteers lent a hand and helped students help each other learn,
Do not forget the extracurricular activities. You will need a "resume" for your application and colleges and universities like to see balance. You have to be able to say that you did more than play video games and hung out on Saturday night, Putting stupid people tricks on YouTube does not count and in fact, can hurt you. Volunteer work, special interest clubs -- spoken word, debate, chess, international food tasting, writer's groups, film school for teens, golf, book clubs, sign language, photography, comedy camps, bowling,theatre, choirs-- find a couple of subjects that interest you and get involved. There are lots of competitions out there for high school students on every subject or interest you can imagine. Don't expect your high school or counselor to tell you about them -- many times they know but don;t share. Go online and find them for yourself,
MONEY
DO NOT look to or count on the "easy student loans" that are currently being advertised on BET and other stations you may be watching. Those are traps you do not want to fall into, But more about that later.,..
DO NOT pay any attention to or waste your money on those computers (name brand unknown and probably generic and outdated) that are advertised on television for $35 or some low price that is automatically deducted from your paycheck. They are a waste of money, and when they break -- and they most likely will -- who pays for the repair, even if its fixable? You can save $35 for ten or more weeks and buy a name brand laptop or PC that's on sale and comes with a warranty, Those commercials target the poor and uninformed, usually us, and we -- once again -- become victimized. You can go to the library and use the computers for free until you get one of your own, Which brings me to another subject; before you buy a computer, get a credit card, sign up for a cell phone, get a car -- TAKE THE TIME TO DO YOUR HOMEWORK AND FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION BEFORE YOU BUY. One Google on the Internet can save you money and a whole lot of heartache. Too often we get all caught up in something looking new and shiny, with out taking a look at the big picture or what could happen after we do what we do, That's how we end up out in the suburbs in a house that depreciated as soon as the ink dried on the mortgage and isn't built to last twenty years, along with the costly commute back into the city to work -- where the folks are moving BACK from the suburbs into the city YOU left and buying up our grandmamma's or Uncle Bubba's houses for pennies on the dollar because they are fifty to 100 years old and will look splendid with a little TLC.
Here is how the game works, when it comes to you, school, money and employment:
!. You make decent grades and manage to get into college. First day on campus, you run into a barrage of credit card companies who want to give you a pile of "free money" in the form of credit cards. YOUR FIRST THOUGHT SHOULD BE: WHY WOULD A CREDIT CARD COMPANY WANT TO GIVE ME A CREDIT CARD WHEN I AM A STUDENT WITH NO JOB (even if you are on a work study or work part time, that would not get you a card in the real world). THIS SHOULD BE THE RED FLAG FOR YOU CAUSING YOU TO RUN. BUT, it that doesn't make you run or walk away, because access to a little extra money when you got none, is awfully tempting. And don't tell yourself I'll just use it for emergencies, because you will make yourself believe that pizza or a hot new dress for the frat party is an emergency. CREDIT CARDS ARE NOT FREE MONEY. Your bill will come due and you will have to pay it, And here is where the game begins: You get two or three or twelve cards thinking that all will be well and Mom/Dad will never know, Wrong! First of all, the companies are hoping that Mom/Dad who already know the game and TOLD you not to go down that road, (or maybe not, maybe they don't get it either) will simply pay the cards off, Or you just ignore the bills when they come in, First, you will get hit with even larger interest fees, late fees, etc., making that pizza a distant memory you are still paying for, But what's worse: your credit history is being murdered. With the new point system that the banks had implemented -- and they did not do it to benefit you -- you will end up with a credit score that is in the toilet by the time you graduate. And there is the second line of defense a corporation can use as a reason it does not have to give you a second interview (the first is below) : Your credit history. In case no one told you, people with poor credit histories are now being fired -- even if they have been on the job for years and have excellent performance records. Goverment agencies and companies are using the current Homeland Security Act as a reason to fire or force employees out of the company,
AND why do you think colleges/universities allow credit card companies on campus? Don't think for a second that it's because it's in your best interest. It's about the financial benefit they receive, whether it's from financial gifts from those companies or the dollars you spend in the campus bookstore.
And while we are on the subject of credit history, let's talk about these companies that have sprung up out of nowhere ( perhaps from under a rock) to lend you thousands and thousands of dollars payment for which is deferred to after you graduate. We can loan you up to $40,000 per year they say, and if your parents co-sign you will even get a lower interest rate. But wait a minute. An interest rate lower than what? Deferred for four years, does that mean the interest starts right after graduation or is it accruing year over year? So let's go to the extreme: $40000 X 4 years = $120000 before interest. And you didn't pay attention before signing, the interest is accrued and added to the $120000 during the four years so that, depending on the interest rate, you could conceivably owe as much as $200000 the day after graduation. And you don't have a job. And your parents can't afford a new house note, which is the equivalent of one of these predatory loans. If it takes you six months to find a job, who pays this bill while you are looking? Won;t it hit your credit report, which potential employers are looking at, while considering you for a position? IN SHORT, IF YOU REALLY WANT TO RUIN YOUR LIFE, THIS WOULD BE THE WAY TO DO IT.
2. You are in college and happy to be there. It's your senior year and announcements have been sent out touting your graduation. You've heard that college recruiters are on campus and you're anxious to get an interview. Looking good, smelling good, bright smile, why you even took the time to Google the company and do a little background research. Went in, came out forty-five minutes later feeling really good about that interview and the feedback. That very day, you send the appropriate followup e-mail thanking them for the interview and how you are excited about the opportunity. A week passes; no call or e-mail about the all-important second interview and you have interviewed three times. What happened? Here's what happened:
there are points assessed by college recruiters for every criteria they consider for a potential candidate's second interview. Twelve points is what AT&T used. EVEN IF you receive 3 points for the interview, 3 points for your resume, 3 points for appearance and personality, IF YOUR COLLEGE GPA IS NOT THE EQUIVALENT OF 3.0 OR GREATER, YOU WILL NEVER MAKE IT TO THE SECOND INTERVIEW. If you had even a 2.95 GPA you won't pass go and you won't be considered for the job. This is the big "secret" of exclusion that most do not know about. Further, the interviewing company uses interviews of candidates who don't have the minimum GPA requirement to document as their "attempt" to diversify their employee pool. And thus is the first line of defense where a corporation does not have to give you a second interview: Your GPA. This needs to be shared as a part of every freshman orientation, so that you aren't blindsided by this little known fact when it's too late.
And one more thing:
Don;t buy into the hype, The idea of being a baby daddy or baby momma has been hyped and distorted into being something cool. WE are in the 21st century and there is no excuse for getting pregnant. If you are a guy AIDs and all other STDs aside that you may see no symptoms of --- do you really want just anyone raising your child or children? Do you have so little respect for yourself that just you let just anyone be responsible for raising your child? The reality is, women who are about something are now looking at your "resume" and are not interested in getting involved with men who have multiple children by multiple mothers. This not only shows that you are/were reckless and irresponsible with your sex, it shows that you are more likely to have had a lot of unprotected sex, thus are a health risk. And no woman in her right mind wants to invest in a lot of baby momma drama, that also comes with the price tag of child support, legal fees, visitation issues, etc. If you are a girl, please, you are the one most likely left "holding the bag" and that "bag" will be your responsibility for eighteen years. That's essentially a life sentence for both you and the child. Really. Really? Have you looked at the statistics on who is getting AIDs now? It's you. You are the number one victim of this sexually transmitted disease. And baby, you will NOT get love by giving sex, that is a myth; so the most powerful word in the vocabulary is NO; use it.
To summarize: Having a McDonald's mentality of Short term solutions and short term pleasures/gratification; not paying attention to the consequences of every decision you make (study or party, buy a textbook or buy a new pair of jeans, unprotected sex or just leave it alone, get that credit card or suck it up and eat ramen noodles) between today and the end of the next eight years will determine whether you are on the train to a happy adulthood or whether you get derailed into a life of never catching a break. Remember knowledge is power, and hindsight is always 20/20. If you are always dealing with the consequences of what you are looking back at how can you move forward?
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