Hamilton City High School: College-Bound Student’s Project

Introduction
The demand for a college education by employers in the United States grows larger by the day. Planning for such further education usually begins in the high school setting. Hamilton City High School provides a location for the needs of college-bound students. The need for high school students to obtain crucial information, services for transition, skills concerning college, and further education is on the rise. Information about admissions requirements, testing, required courses, financial aid, and the application process are essential for a successful leap from high school to college. Services that provide such information and programs are also considered necessary. High school students today must improve or develop skills needed to succeed in a college atmosphere. With this information students may transition into college with less friction and students who viewed attending college as impossibility, may redirect their thinking.

Our internship was at Hamilton High School in the counseling department. Among other responsibilities, we traveled to and observed different high schools, talked with students about their grades, conducted a college campus tour, and implemented a non-bullying program for two classes at the elementary school. We perform many different tasks for our internship, but most of our work was aimed at directing students toward college. Projects including college campus tours, a scholarship packet, and an eighth grade day to aid students toward college.

Statement of Need
Today the cost of higher education exceeds the budgets of most American families. While federal financial aid services are available for those who qualify, they do not cover these expenses entirely. Another solution to this problem is the presences of scholarships. Often times a student’s knowledge of scholarships is limited and they need assistance with the timeframe and the quality of contents. In addition to this problem, many of the students at Hamilton have not been to a college campus. They lack the knowledge and motivation a student acquires after visiting a University of California, California State University, private or junior college. In lieu of this students may base their college choice on the wrong criteria. Important factors such as cost, size, location, and extracurricular activities should be taken into consideration when choosing a college (Skinner & Lindstrom, 2003). A student at Hamilton High stated “one of the largest barriers to my college education is money” (senior student, personal communication, October 24, 2005). Another problem is students feeling overwhelmed during their first semester as freshmen in high school. Freshmen in high school often take classes not applicable to college because they lack information and knowledge about classes. In addition students may take less challenging courses to make high school easier. An example would be a student taking consumer math instead on geometry or taking a journalism course versus an English class (Finn, 1998). Such substitutions could prove problematic later in a student’s college career. They also feel it is intimidating to make friends with the upperclassmen.

Description of Intervention
Our overreaching goal was to increase awareness regarding college admission among students at Hamilton High. We accomplished this with three objectives. The first objective was to develop and distribute a ‘scholarship packet’ with all the needed information concerning financial aid. Our second objective was to organize a second college campus tour in the spring similar to what we provided the previous fall semester. Our third objective was to create an eighth grade day at Hamilton High School in which a junior would show an eighth grader around the campus. A mock schedule would also be implemented to show the eighth graders different classes. Through these three activities we hope to improve the transitions from junior high to high school to college for Hamilton City students and build the student’s confidence to pursue higher education. These educational transitions will occur with ease through an increase of knowledge about financial assistance, college life and campuses, and finally by introducing the choice of going to college early in the student’s high school career.

Evaluation of Intervention
Evaluation of the scholarship packet began by calculating the quantity of completed scholarship applications before the scholarship packet was introduced. Following this we calculated the number of completed scholarships after the scholarship packet was introduced at Hamilton High. When comparing these two sets of data we found that more college scholarship applications were completed after the scholarship packet was introduced. We concluded that the scholarship packet was a positive influence for students to complete scholarship applications. The evaluation of the College Campus Tours was determined through interviews with five students who attended College Campus Tours. These interviews questioned the students about the effectiveness of college tours. We also interviewed three chaperones who attended College Campus Tours concerning the effectiveness of college tours. From the people interviewed seven out of eight participants believed that the college campus tours lead to a higher motivation for students to attend college. To evaluate Eighth Grade Day we planned to composed and deliver thank you notes to the faculty of Hamilton High School, Hamilton Elementary School, and to parents of participating students.

Reflections on Project
Scholarships give students opportunities to attend college if they are in need of financial assistance. Campus tours motivate and enlighten students toward college. Finally, helping eighth graders adjust to high school gives them the knowledge and confidence they need to succeed in high school. All of these interventions help college-bound students achieve their goal.

Due to scheduling difficulties and time constraints we were unable to successfully complete our third goal of implementing an eighth grade day. We recommend that future projects involving two separate schools allot more time for completion. Extra time is needed due to difficulties involving communication channels between each school’s administrations. Our scholarship packet was a success because we noticed more students taking advantage of the scholarship information. We feel that the outcome of the scholarship packet opened the door of opportunity for students in need. Our spring and fall college campus tours were a success based on responses from the participating students and chaperones. Campus tours normalized the college experience and lessened the fear of college for these Hamilton High students. This was a rewarding project for us and we recommend it for future interns.

References
Finn, F. E. (1998). Mutually destructive tendencies in K – 12 and college education. [Electronic Version]. Academic Questions, 11, 12 – 19.
Skinner, M. E. & Lindstrom, B. D. (2003). Bridging the gap between high school and college: Strategies for the successful transition of students with learning disabilities. Preventing School Failure, 47, 132 – 137.