Becoming Educated: The Options After High School

By Rebekah Davis M.Ed.

There are many options for high school graduates and GED holders, but do you know what they are? Do you know what will be expected of you as you pursue education beyond high school? Choosing the right option for the student and family is a complex decision. This book provides information about those choices, things to think about as you make them, and the expectations that follow your decision.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: Mar 25, 2015
• ISBN: 9781489704177

Rebekah Davis M.Ed.

I have worked in higher education for over ten years both on the business side of student accounts and as a faculty member. I can also honestly say that if I had known then what I know now, I would have made some very different decisions in my own pursuit of higher education. In working with students over the years, I have realized that the reason behind many of their decisions, both good and bad, is a lack of information. Students take on a significant responsibility personally, academically, and financially when enrolling for college; yet so many enroll without understanding what will be expected of them. I live in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with the love of my life. I am working on the last leg of my own educational journey in pursuit of a doctorate in education, which I am scheduled to complete in 2016.

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Copyright © 2015 Rebekah Davis.

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ISBN: 978-1-4897-0416-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-0417-7 (e)

LifeRich Publishing rev. date: 03/25/2015

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Preface

Introduction

Let’s Define A Few Terms

A College Degree Or Vocational Training Or Neither

Navigating Admissions And Financial Aid

The Classroom

Learning Is Not Limited To The Classroom

Employability After Graduation

So Many Options

A Few Parting Words

About The Author

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to Liz Nalagan, MA for the edits, suggestions, and input in this project.

Thank you to the many high school and college students whose struggles inspired me to write this book.

PREFACE

This book was written to help current high school students, recent high school graduates, not-so-recent high school graduates, G.E.D. holders, and their families make informed decisions about pursuing education after high school. Whether you earn a high school diploma or G.E.D., you have options as to your next educational steps and the choice is yours. The choice you make can impact the rest of your life, how much money you earn over your lifetime, the lifestyle you live now and in retirement, and the security of your family. Even choosing not to make a decision will impact you.

For example, Ben is a high school senior and plays football. He has been offered a scholarship to a large local university to play football. Ben understands that he has to maintain good grades in his classes to keep the scholarship and be active on the team’s rosters. He needs to be honest with himself about two things: he is not good enough at football to become a professional nor does he want to and he struggles with several subjects in school. Ben realized that he will probably not be able to keep his grades up and play football, too. Ben chose to go to a local vocational and technical school where he learned to be an electrician and then was able to get a job that paid him well.

Sally, on the other hand, is very good at her school work and knows that she will have no trouble being successful in college. Due to her family’s situation, Sally is not able to afford to go to college right away. Instead she takes a job and works full-time for a few years saving money for when she can go to college. When she does finally get to enroll in college, she will have to decide if she needs to keep working and go to school at the same time, if she can work just part time while in school, or if she can afford not to work while she is