As we approach the month of December many Juniors find that there is a great lack of assistance when it comes to the college process. With no guidance from the school, Juniors are forced to hunt down information regarding their futures on their own. We haven’t had any assemblies or meetings that would outline the steps that will need to be taken in order to go through the college application process smoothly.
College is not that far away, and the Juniors at Lab have begun to get restless because they are at a loss of what they need to do. Sure, you will have to make decisions and inform yourself of events on your own when you’re in college; but why should you have to do that now? There should always be adults in High Schools that make sure that they guide their students through this stressful process, and saving it for the 11th hour is not the way to go about it.
The SAT’s are lined up month after month to be taken. Why don’t we know how and when to sign up? Are we supposed to wake up one day and walk into a test that can determine our futures? I, for one, don’t know how and when I should even sign up to take this test. And what does SAT even stand for? Scholastic Aptitude Test, do you know how I found that out? Google! Not from my own school, which is supposed to be guiding me to help make applying to college easier and less overwhelming. We should not have to do this on our own. We are not prepared or informed here at the NYC Lab School.
Students may be unaware of what they need to start doing to apply to college, but they are aware of how unaware they actually are. In a recent town hall meeting that was held in the NYC Lab School a Junior posed her concern around the SAT 2’s. “I don’t know what they are or when I should take them. The school has not told me anything about them… at all.” And that is exactly how all the Juniors feel. Many students haven’t even thought about taken the SAT2’s, or know why they are even important to take; and then there are those who have taken some of the exams already.
Why is it that the juniors are not all on the same page? When I first heard of the SAT2’s I was considering not even taking them. I figured I didn’t want to put myself through any more stress than I already had, but little did I know that many colleges require at least 2-3 of the SAT2 subject test to be taken to merely apply. To think I wasn’t even going to take the test! And to think that not a single word has been said about the SAT2’s in this school! Where would that leave us next year? Cramming in studying to take the test to be able to put them on our transcripts at the last possible minute?
Many students were also not notified of a practice ACT exam that was available. I for one was not notified of it until two days before, when, by that time, it was too late to sign up to take it. Where was the guidance there?
It is understandable that the seniors are getting most of the college guidance now because they are applying to college, but why is it that the only time our one college guidance counselor has is for the seniors? Why is it that there is only one college advisor? The lack of college guidance has taken a great toll on the Juniors here at Lab. However, the fact of the matter is that I am not ready; we Juniors are not ready or prepared for taking the correct and necessary steps to apply to college. It is time that Lab begins to think about its Juniors, and to help get us on the road to college and our futures. Hiring more college guidance counselors would be a start.