Looking Forward

An Interest Project Award for Senior Girl Scouts

Written by Campus Girl Scouts

The Parent Patch

A young woman in your life is approaching the age where she will have some major decisions to make, and she’ll be looking for guidance. This patch program is designed to compliment the Looking Forward Interest Project Award for Senior Girl Scouts, so that you, the adult in her life, are prepared to help her consider all of her options in a serious and informed manner. Many of these activities are closely correlated with activities in the regular Award. Encourage her to share her work on the Award with you, and discuss both your and her experiences as you go through these activities. Your support, openness, and willingness to help her explore will be important to her as she prepares to make these critical decisions.

You should do at least one activity from sections A, B, and C, and two activities from section D.

A. What Are The Options?

A four-year college or university is not the only option after high school, just one of the more common ones. Other options include community or junior colleges, which offer two-year programs and grant Associates’ degrees; career or technical institutes like culinary school, nursing school, business academies, or other technical academies; the armed services, which make a variety of educational and training opportunities available (including the four-year service academies); and entering the workforce.

Activities:

1) Explore two career paths different from yours (or your spouse’s or other close family members), ones which have educational requirements different from your own field. Use the Internet to help you gather information, and if possible, interview someone in one of these fields about his or her experiences. Are these educational paths ones which your daughter/ward may be considering, or may want to consider? What is the job and salary outlook for people in these fields? Talk with her about what you learned, and also about your own experiences and the decisions you made after high school.

2) The ‘Glass Ceiling’ which prevents women from achieving high posts is still present in many fields, though it may be higher than it was when you first entered the workforce. Learn about employment and support opportunities for women in two or three fields that your daughter/ward is considering. Are there any noticeable barriers for women in these fields? What initiatives, if any, are underway to clear barriers in that field? Are there any distinctive women who have managed to break the barrier and rise to prominence? Share your findings with your daughter/ward.

B. The College Card

Four-year colleges and universities are the most popular destination for graduating high school students. The big question, for most families, is how to pay for it all. Financial aid for college is available from a number of sources—the “sticker price” of a school should never deter a girl from applying. Deadlines, however, are very important, so you’ll want to do your federal income taxes as soon as possible her senior year of high school.

Activities:

1) Early in your daughter’s college search process, attend an information session and tour at a four-year school near you (even if she’s not interested in that school or in college-based options). Afterwards, discuss with her what she and you liked and did not like about the school you visited. Consider with her the options available to fund her education if she were to attend that school. If possible, talk with students at that school about their daily schedules: class load, extra curricular activities, and employment (if applicable).

2) Consider various routes to financing a college education and beyond. Discuss with her high school’s guidance counselors (or other qualified individuals) the options and financial aid sources available. Learn about the process for federal student aid, which starts with the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), and any state aid that might be available. Get a copy of the FAFSA from the high school guidance office or the local public library. Read about its deadlines and try filling it out. Learn about other forms of federal aid like Stafford Loans, PLUS (Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students), and Federal Work-Study.

3) Help your daughter/ward investigate outside scholarships for which she may be eligible. Many Internet resources exist, such as http://www.fastweb.com/, and print resources are frequently available at your high school library or guidance office or the local library. Scholarships are available at many schools for Girl Scouts who have earned their Gold Awards. Other times, your Girl Scout council or other local organizations which prize community service may offer scholarships. Help her to make a list of various groups which offer awards and assist her in finding out what she needs to do to be eligible.

C. The Other Side of the Coin

College is not the right answer for everyone, especially right out of high school. If it’s not the right thing for your daughter/ward right now, don’t sweat it. There are plenty of other options available. Help her to keep an open mind about the various alternatives and potential career paths.

Activities:

1) CIVIL SERVICE EXAM—The US Federal Government and most state governments offer a Civil Service Exam. Passing this exam qualifies one for a number of non-policy-making posts within the government. Find out about when and where the Civil Service Exam is offered near you. What is required to sit for the exam, and how does one register? How are passing scores determined? What career options are available to successful candidates? Share your information with your daughter/ward, and discuss if any of these options may be right for her.

2) TECHNICAL CAREERS—Technical schools are an increasingly popular college alternative within certain fields. Arts and culinary institutes, schools of hotel/restaurant management, and technical institutes all provide solid, practical training in a career field. Use the local Yellow Pages or another resource to locate three of these facilities near you. Request information from them, and if possible, tour one with your daughter/ward. What kind of resources are available at these schools? How do the programs compare, in length and cost, to a traditional college education? Are there any career paths that are more/less accessible with a degree from one of these schools than from a four-year college? Do any of the schools you collected information on require internships or apprenticeships?

3) JUNIOR SCHOOLS—Technical schools and junior schools have in common a shorter term of study than traditional colleges. Junior schools like community colleges offer introductory courses, associate degrees in some fields, and often a substantial number of enrichment courses. What junior schools are in your area? Why do students attend these schools? Contact a junior school near you, and if possible take a tour with your daughter/ward and talk to students. What brings students to these schools rather than to traditional colleges? How does the junior school compare to those at four-year schools you’re familiar with in terms of cost, offerings, and facilities? What career paths do students take after completion of a junior college course of study? What percentage transfer their credits and continue on at four-year schools?

4) MILITARY—The armed forces have always been a popular post-high school career path. Besides active-duty (full time) military service, a number of other options exist. With your daughter/ward, investigate some of the different military options, such as the National Guard, the Reserve, and the service academies. What are the similarities and differences between these options and active-duty service? What are the entrance requirements? What training is provided? Explore the educational opportunities available to members of the military, from student loans to the GI program, the academies, internally provided training, and funded education. Are there different opportunties for members of different service branches?

D. The Practical Side

Graduating from high school is more than just getting the diploma and moving on. For many young women, it means moving out as well, to an apartment, dorm room, or other place where she’ll be responsible for her own self.

Activities:

1) MONEY: College students and young adults are a favorite target for credit card companies. Most young adults do not understand fully how credit works, and are unable to control their spending on a limited income. As a result, students are rapidly becoming deeply indebted. Help your daughter/ward to understand how your household finances work. Show her how to balance the checkbook, how your family’s monthly income and expenses are budgeted, and discuss with her her own income and spending habits. Talk about loans, credit cards, and interest. If she has a regular income, you may want to consider helping her to obtain a checking account, a credit card, or a Visa Buxx card so that she can begin to learn to manage her own spending while you’re still around to offer advice and monitor her finances.

2) STAYING HEALTHY: College is a place where you are exposed to many new ideas—and to many new germs. Living in close quarters in the dorms, sharing bathrooms, or living in apartments with a lot of other people means a lot of new illnesses to be exposed to your first year. It also means eating in the cafeteria or dining hall or cooking for yourself. Talk with your daughter about the importance of regular exercise and healthy eating, and help her consider healthy options and potential menus for life away from home. Discuss your family’s health insurance with her. Will it cover her at school, or will she have insurance through the school (or new job)? If she were to become ill suddenly or get injured, what would she need to do to get medical help under her insurance plan? Flu shots are offered at most schools for a nominal fee; you might want to suggest that she start looking for them in late October or so.

3) STAYING SAFE: Young women face other risks. Alcohol, date rape, and personal safety are all important issues. College is frequently a young woman’s first experience with freely-available alcohol, and many are unprepared to deal with that. Women usually require a significantly smaller amount of alcohol to become legally intoxicated than men do, especially in areas where the legal limit is 0.08% blood alcohol level. Intoxicated women are also at a higher risk of becoming victims of assault, date rape, and other crimes. In addition, alcohol is illegal for those under 21, and at some schools and in some states, an alcohol conviction may damage chances for renewed financial aid the next year. Discuss alcohol, drug, and date rape awareness with your daughter/ward (her Girl Scout leader or council may have resources available to help). Talk with her about staying safe on her own, like not walking alone at night and avoiding unlit areas. Consider getting her a whistle for her keychain (pepper spray is not allowed on many campuses). Discuss with her the pros and cons of taking a Women’s Self Defense class, either before or once she moves out.

4) BACK TO BASICS: A rather large portion of the college population is startled by how little they know about taking care of themselves on their own. Help your daughter/ward learn basic household skills if she doesn’t know them already. Teach her a few of her favorite recipes so that she can alternate home cooking with cafeteria food (it works well for homesickness too!). Make sure she knows how to do her own laundry and how to get stains off clothing. If she’ll have a car at school or at her new apartment, make sure she knows about basic preventive maintenance (oil changes, filter changes), how to add basic fluids, and how to change a flat tire.

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