High school students often deal with the stress of finding the perfect college, choosing the right career and making smart decisions. However, can you imagine managing the daily grind of being a student while balancing a full-time acting or singing career? You may dream about a life of glitz and glamour, but these individuals understand the juggling act from first-hand experience. If anyone knows what it’s like to be busy, these six celebrities are a prime example. See what they have to say. (more…)

As a senior in high school or freshman in college, you may not have even heard of helicopter parents but you have almost certainly felt the wind from their rotating wings. A helicopter parent, as defined recently by the media, is a parent who hovers too closely over a child, mapping out their activities, decisions and lives from birth into adulthood. You probably have a friend whose mother picked out her daughter’s top ten colleges and practically wrote her resumé. Or a buddy whose mom calls him every morning in his dorm room to wake him up for class. Or maybe … your dad is the one known for yelling at teachers when you get a bad grade.

If you are the child of a helicopter parent, you probably feel loved and protected. You are probably very involved in your school and community, and the next stage of your life always looks bright. However, although you no doubt appreciate all that Mom and Dad do for you, you need to realize that being too closely guided by your parents can become a hindrance as you reach adulthood. You need to have the room to grow and develop as an individual, especially when you leave for college. (more…)

As Amy Shaunette and Cooper Gango contemplated college, they considered an issue beyond the SAT and GPAs: their love life. The pair started dating as juniors at Lake Oswego High in Oregon. As college loomed, they weren’t sure whether—or how—to continue their relationship after graduation. To keep their options open, they applied to some of the same schools. But last spring, Shaunette and Gango got into their first choices. Shaunette would go to Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., and Gango would attend Columbia College in Chicago. Did committing to schools 400 miles apart mean they should break up? (more…)

According to a study being released Monday by the Corporation for National & Community Service, a federal agency, the number of college students volunteering grew more than 20 percent, from 2.7 million to 3.3 million, between 2002 and 2005. This growth can be attributed to a number of reasons. Mainly, the volunteering requirements for most high school diplomas has created a desire to help.

About one-third of K-12 schools now have service learning in the curriculum. A few colleges, and many individual college courses, have made service work mandatory.

Altogether, about 30 percent of college students are volunteering, with tutoring and mentoring the most common activities. (more…)

The following story about transitioning from high school to college was provided by Brian Quick.

The reason most students attend college is to get a degree. Beyond that, they want to expand their knowledge, they want to learn, and they want to belong. To that end, there are 10 things college students should do to get the most out of their college experiences.

10. Try not to take on too much responsibility. Now, this doesn’t mean you’re not responsible for your own success, it just means take advantage of study groups with your peers and extra study periods set aside by professors. You need to work hard, but help is out there for people who want it.

9. Don’t wait too long to pick a major. You don’t need to know what you want to do with your life during your freshman year, but you should at least be thinking about it. By sophomore year you should have it narrowed down, and by junior year you should have your major decided and be taking classes heading in that direction. Don’t panic if you really can’t decide – you can always change it later. Just don’t take random classes while aimlessly going through school. (more…)

Here is a great article for high school guidance counselors to pass on to their high school seniors and juniors.

Going to college can be both exciting and scary. The joys of being on your own, meeting hundreds of people at once and starting on the path to adulthood are enough to send most college-bound teens into a state of permanent euphoria. It’s figuring out how to get to college that can be a tad scary. And it’s okay to be a little scared. We have all been there. The key is to identify the source of your fear and find the information you need to be comfortable about heading to college!

We want you to make the transition to college without unwanted awkwardness, we have put together a list of web sites that every college-bound student should frequent. So, keep this list handy, bookmark these sites and get ready for the greatest adventure of your life!

U.S. Department of Education
The US Department of Education sets the education standards for the national public education system. They also have a cool web site. In addition to learning how the No Child Left Behind Act affects your education, you can get help with homework, find financial aid for college and connect with volunteer organizations!
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It seems that teachers, administrators, parents and school counselors are not the only ones who think high school should be harder. According to a recent story reported by the Associated Press, high school students want more of an academic challenge in the classroom. Read the full article below.

The campaign to make high school more demanding seems to be picking up support from the people who have the biggest stake in the matter: the students themselves.

Almost nine in 10 students say they would work harder if their high school expected more of them, a new survey finds. Less than one-third of students say their school sets high academic expectations, and most students favor ideas that might add some hassle to their life, such as more rigorous graduation standards and additional high-stakes testing.
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Today’s popular educational buzzwords are interactive learning and media multitasking. They were coined to describe the growing trend of students who use multiple forms of technology in the learning process. They also denote a tendency for students to engage in many activities while they complete assignments. At the heart of the hype, it appears that we have a group of students who are ultimately becoming too distracted to learn.

The Kaiser Family Foundation recently conducted a study that proved kids have access to more media than they can handle. According to the findings of Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-old, the amount of time young people spend “media multi-tasking” has increased from 16 percent to 26 percent of media time in the last five years.
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The Princeton Review, a leader in higher education preparation materials, has recently completed a survey on the most popular majors choosen by today’s college students. The trend reflects a gravitation toward the career fields with the most promising futures. High school guidance counselors can help their students explore various career options while pointing them toward careers projected to enjoy the greatest growth.

The top ten most popular college majors are:

• Business Administration and Management
• Psychology
• Elementary Education
• Biology
• Nursing
• Education
• English
• Communications
• Computer Science
• Political Science

News headlines have been flooded in recent years with tales of wild college parties, underage drinking and alcohol poisoning resulting in death. As a high school guidance counselor, how do you successfully prepare students for college by helping them make responsible choices about alcohol and drugs?

It’s a question that parents often ask themselves. Christine Noble, a mother of two Colorado high school students struggles trying to find a balance. “I consider myself moderate,” she said. “But, what’s okay to get your kids prepared for the experiences they are going to have in college?”
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