High school students are looking for more assistance with college planning. According to a recent survey by Grand Canyon University, many students now rely less on parents and teachers. They are turning to guidance counselors for help with one of the biggest decisions of their lives.

The GCU study, conducted via forums and electronic surveys of area public high school guidance counselors, showed some surprising results. A record number of students are seeking help to decide what to do after high school.

While colleges and universities are investing heavily to recruit students, the demands on high school students are escalating as well. Students are pressured to decide on an area of study before even entering college. A majority of counselors said that less than half of their students had decided on a major or direction of study for college.

Couple that pressure with the stress to select a college or university. As a result, students are increasingly seeking out guidance counselors to help with the critical decision-making process. Students are coming to counselors for assistance with college applications, financial aid and scholarship information.

Many of the counselors also reported that they need better training to assist students with the application process.

Sidebar:
Among the guidance counselors surveyed by Grand Canyon University, most responded that students had also sought assistance for something other than college planning. The most frequent reasons students asked for help were:

• Grief and bereavement – 76% of counselors
• Suicide issues – 68% of counselors
• Drug and alcohol issues – 65% of counselors

Numbers
It’s hard to argue with raw numbers. Social networking sites are hosting daily users in the range of over 120 million combined. Big digits even when you discount the pages that people make for their favorite TV characters, pets, and toys just for laughs. That number refers to people who check in at least once a day to:

• find new videos and music
• send and receive messages
• upload photos
• chat with new friends

Facebook has more than 8 million photos uploaded each day, and is the seventh most-visited site for web surfers in the USA. MySpace attracts almost 230,000 new user registrations a day. Their user base totals over 250 million. Friendster, one of the longest-standing, high-traffic social networks, still commands over 30 million users. And more are popping up each month.

But there’s a different side to these “super public” sites. Social networking sites can be more than just cures for boredom. They can also be a great way to network and boost your professional development. Forget about getting your band signed, but think about getting a business interview when you alert a potential hiring company to a public portfolio of your work experience. Focus your approach to get better results.

The refined network approach
So you earned your degree. You have a few professional hours under your belt. You’re on your way, but you just don’t know which direction to start in. Do you begin with the want ads? An employment office? Burger King? Perhaps, but it would be wiser to start laying a bit more groundwork to better your chances of landing a great job.

There is a huge interest in social networking sites. It’s the past time of choice for millions of people of all ages. But the great part about this new trend is that you can also do it seriously to gain professional partnerships and peers. To be effective, you don’t necessarily have to wade through millions of diversified interests in the high-traffic currents of sites like MySpace or Facebook. There are already social networks set up to address specific needs of professionals. The truth is, social networking sites aren’t just places, they’re business models. They’re models designed to connect people with similar interests for professional development. This can be for everything from finding a perfect romantic partner, or the next great American band, to your next great job opportunity.

The networks
Two online professional social networking sites that work well are Linkedin.com and ryze.com. They both help people who are looking to make professional connections and build a better portfolio, but they function differently.

1. Ryze.com is set up to help people find other professionals in their area for face-to-face networking and public events. Add people who work with specific things related to your field of interest and ask them questions. The more you add, the better your chances at a professional connection. When you join people’s groups by adding people, you boost their personal and group ratings.

The interests of groups on ryze.com can be very generalized, such as career assessment tests, or things that are very specific, such as resources for local graphic artists.

Ryze.com goes further by making it easy for your group members to meet for events themed on professional topics. They’re designed for you to meet people and trade professional tips or connect for new work. The whole purpose is to build a network of professional references and job leads.

2. Linkedin.com helps you create a profile that summarizes your professional development and accomplishments that help you find and be found by former colleagues, clients and partners. You build connections by sending emails to professional colleagues to join the network then connect back to you. This network has a massive user base, numbering in the millions, connected through over 350 companies.

Through this network, you can:

• be found for business opportunities
• search for great jobs
• discover connections within companies to help you land jobs or close deals
• post job listings for your company
• find potential clients, service providers, subject experts and partners who come recommended
• have the people you know introduce you to other professionals

Work to find your niche
You can choose to start out with these social network models to help you begin your professional climb, but there are more being created everyday. One might be just perfect to help address your specific needs and build your skills. Keep your eyes open and hit the search engines, because now more than ever, it’s easier to collect resources designed to help you in your journey.

We’ve heard the stories about students being denied employment opportunities and college admission due to inappropriate social networking profiles. But now, some schools are taking the practice to a whole new level and fining current students up to $200 for questionable profile material. Are they taking it too far? Read this AP article and weigh in: (more…)

Parents and counselors of younger children: If you haven’t already, you will no doubt begin noticing that children as young as early elementary school are ready to join social networking sites aimed at them. Now that you’ve heard the plusses and minuses of sites like Facebook and MySpace for older kids, read this article from MSNBC.com and weigh in on the issue. What do you think?

Courtesy of msnbc.com, Counselor Companion presents tips from the new book, How to Survive Getting Into College, edited by Rachel Korn, a former Ivy League college admissions officer.

For more information on the book, visit the publisher’s web site.

In “How to Survive Getting Into College,” the book’s editor, Rachel Korn, points out that the applicant should know what colleges are looking for. She says admissions officers focus on three important factors in students’ applications:

1. A genuine feel for the applicant’s personality. This emerges in essays, recommendations, interviews, and activities which admissions officers put together like a puzzle. You can showcase who you are in your essays and in the activities you list in order of those most important to you.
2. A contribution to the school. What will the applicant add to the academic or social profile of their class? High grades and testing? Stardom in music? Campus leadership? Excellence in athletics? Geographic diversity? Or is the student just a “good kid” who will be loved?

(more…)

The following list is an excerpt from educator Charles Sykes’ book Dumbing Down Our Kids. It is a humorous but all-too-real list of things that high school students need to learn before graduation.

Rule 1: Life is not fair; get used to it.

Rule 2: The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will not make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice president with a car phone until you “earn” both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He doesn’t have enure. (more…)

As long as they’re reading! Is this what you and your fellow educators think regarding your students and their reading habits? Tamim Ansary used to think so too, but has recently put more stock in the merits of reading classic literature - the type of literature that students probably read in high school, but possibly not before. His encarta.msn article explores why some books are considered classics, how they got that way and which popular modern books will (or won’t) hold up as classics. (more…)

According to an article on cnn.com, five Illinois high school students were unable to receive their diplomas due to graduation ceremony behavior that scool officials deemed inappropriate.

What was their crime? Being cheered on by their friends and families during the ceremony.

School officials claim that this excitement and encouragement violated a level of decorum that they were trying to uphold. As of now, the students are still unable to receive diplomas, although their transcripts do show that they graduated.

Is the school being too harsh on these students and the families and friends who wanted to show them support? Read this article in its entirety here, and let us know what you think!

A Colorado high school has come under fire in recent news for including pictures of students drinking and smoking marijuana in the 2006-2007 yearbook.

While teachers, counselors and parents must admit that underage drinking and drug use has been an issue for years, is it ethical to print pictures of students engaging in these activities in a school-sponsered publication? Do you think that pictures of students engaging in illegal activities in a high school yearbook can come back to haunt them later in life?

So what do you think? Check out the full story here, then leave us a comment!

With the school year wrapping up, many high school students are looking for ways to keep busy and earn some extra money over the summer months. Here are ten important tips for teens on the hunt for a summer job especially those who have never dealt with the job search process before.

1. Know the rules of engagement.
Starting at age 14, teens across the United States are allowed to work for a wide variety of employers. Despite that, some employers don’t feel comfortable hiring young workers. That means your entire job-seeking approach should center on convincing employers that they can place their confidence and trust in you.

2. Don’t be shy.
Start actively telling people you know that you’re looking for a job. Think about all the adults in your life: your teachers and coaches, your family doctor and veterinarian, your parents’ friends, your friends’ parents, and so on. This approach could turn you on to job prospects that are actually quite interesting and enjoyable.

3. Go straight to the top.
When approaching potential employers, ask to speak with the boss directly. This will give you the opportunity to assure him or her that you’re dependable and prompt and you have access to reliable transportation (all concerns bosses consistently have about hiring teens).

4. Show some positive energy.
Employers who bring teenagers on board say they appreciate their enthusiasm and eagerness to do whatever it takes to get a job done. Display those traits on your job interview and on the job as well. Another detail: Many teens show a tendency to be hard on themselves and minimize their accomplishments. Remember that a job interview is never a place to beat yourself up. Instead, play up flattering details about yourself, such as being an honor-roll student, juggling extracurricular activities and volunteering in the community.

5. Maintain a good track record at school.
Potential employers may ask you about your attendance patterns at school, as well as your conflict-resolution skills with teachers and other students. By developing good relationships with school counselors and teachers, you’ll be able to ask them to serve as references for you or provide written recommendations if needed.

6. Provide needed paperwork.
Depending on where you live, employers who hire minors may be required to keep proof of their age on record. One way to meet this requirement if you don’t yet have a driver’s license or learner’s permit is to have your school district issue an age certificate for you. (Your school counselor should be able to help you with this.) You can show up at the interview armed with this document.

7. Mind your manners and your grooming.<
Dress nicely for your job interview, and remember to send a thank you note after your interview a step many adults routinely forget to take.

8. Play it safe.
Teens get injured on the job more frequently than adult workers. In fact, thousands are hurt badly enough each year to warrant emergency room treatment. Don’t be reluctant to ask your boss for help before tackling a new task and remember that the new task could be riskier than you anticipate.

9. Show real initiative.
If you can tell the boss is hesitant about hiring you and you really want to work there, suggest that you can work for two weeks without pay as a trial run for the employer. (Note: Don’t agree to work any longer than that without pay, however)

10. Remember self-employment possibilities.
Sure, you can secure a job-job this summer and earn a steady paycheck, or you could be a bit entrepreneurial and see how that goes. Depending on what you do and how disciplined you are with your time, you might earn even more money that way. You could babysit, walk dogs, mow lawns or tap into a special skill you have. For instance, are you a great dancer? Maybe you could line up a donated meeting space and organize a dance camp for younger kids. Or can you play a musical instrument? Maybe you could provide music lessons in people’s homes. Put your thinking cap on and figure out whether you might be able to use something like this to make money now and also beef up college and scholarship applications in the future.

Laura T. Coffey