College Orientation

Wednesday. Twelfth grade English. 

I unlocked the door to the classroom, and I walked in to find the teacher there. She was just getting ready to leave. She'd be on campus reading essays (as they do once a quarter). So, while she said I could call if I needed her, it'd be unlikely as counselors and administrators from the nearby Cerritos College would be in class to help the kiddos register for classes. 

I do love a day where outside presenters are there to take over the class. 

First period. As the kiddos were arriving, an entourage of eleven arrived to present. Cerritos College is one of the local community colleges. I'm not sure of details, but the local high schoolers can get reduced (or free) cost tuition if they meet certain qualifications. (Being a local recent grad is the main one.) 

We are at the point in the year where the seniors are just about done. And so, the community college is ready to welcome them. 

In previous classes, they had gone through the application process, and they had done the FAFSA. This day the counselors and such were there to explain things like getting into a program that would give them priority registration and how to register for classes. They made sure they could access the college's student portal and that they had their new student ID numbers. 

Not all of the kiddos are going to go to that college. There are several community colleges in the area. (Off the top of my head, I know of Long Beach, Goldenwest, Fullerton, and Cypress. I just did a Google search, and found something like seventeen.) Some are going to universities (we also have a few of those in the area). Some may be joining the military. Others might already have jobs or apprenticeships lined up. And others might not have any plans yet. 

But, as it is close, and many will go, they found it worked better to just do an orientation for them in their high school. Very convenient, that. 

I wish I had had something like this when I started college. I don't know if the kiddos realize how nice this is for this transition for them. 

It made for an easy day for me. My biggest challenge was staying awake. 

But it was a little bittersweet. I've had many of these kiddos in various classes over the last several years. They're growing up. And they'll be leaving. 

Did you go to college? If your high school had done something like this, would you have been more likely to (if you did not)? 

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