We get newsletters/emails from the school district on a weekly basis with links to local events or stories. Well a few weeks ago in the weekly "Upcoming Events" email there was a link for a college workshop that was being held downtown at the Hilton. There were going to be a bunch of colleges there and workshops/seminars for things like how to pick a major, how to apply for scholarships, how to make the most of your financial aid, etc. We thought it would be a good chance for Sarah to go and get a taste of what she has to look forward to and maybe get an idea of what she might want to do, or where she might want to go.
Sarah of course had a fit. She didn't want to go, but she couldn't tell us why. I told her too bad, she was going. For at least a week before I had to deal with whining about it on a daily basis. Even when we got there, she pouted around saying she didn't want to be there.
When it was all said and done though, I think she found it very informative. Most of the colleges were from Wisconsin, but there were a few out of state universities too. We started off going around to all the reps from the different colleges finding out what sort of majors they had to offer. We hit MSOE one of the first ones and the admissions rep was able to explain to her the major that Kris's doctor friend had mentioned. He put it in plain language for her and I think she thought it sounded pretty good. Then we hit a few of the UW schools, like Milwaukee, Green Bay, Point, Stout, and of course Madison. The guy who was the rep from Green Bay was VERY helpful. He spent a good ten minutes with explaining what she needed to do as far as visiting a school, and what to look for, what kind of research work they are doing, who the professors are and how she could fit in with them possibly as an assistant and help with that research, possibly helping to get studies published. She really thought that was cool. Then just to get the information, I told her to go get some information from some of the out of state schools. So she hit the tables for Alabama, and Minnesota (though I told her there is no way she is going to Minnesota... BOOOOO!)
Then we had a little break before the programs started so we walked a block and a half to the Grand Ave. Mall. Boy has that place changed. It is a total dump now. Kris and I told her how we always used to go there about 20 years ago and how huge it was. Well that was before the city, and mall owners, decided to let things get out of control and people didn't feel safe shopping there anymore, which led to stores leaving. It was a pretty good lesson in economics for her I think. I also think she got bored listening to Kris and I tell her about "this store used to be her, and that store was there..."
So once we got back for the programs we decided to split up and we could double up on them and finish what we wanted to see before the actual workshop ended. I went to a program on taking the ACT and SAT and then making the most of financial aid while Kris took Sarah to a program on how to pick a major based on subjects/topics you like in high school, and then a program on making the most out of your campus visits. I think that there were a few things we already knew, but there were also some things that we found very useful. We are trying to help Sarah focus on what she wants to do and with any luck we are going to start planning some campus visits so we are ahead of the game when it comes to preparing. I also found out that Sarah should have probably taken the PSAT last year as a sophomore, and that she can also take the ACT this year (in June) if she wants, as sort of a prep for taking it as a junior when her score will actually count. I'm not sure if she is going to do that yet, but at least it is an option that her HS has fallen short on (I think).
I think we have at least got Sarah thinking now about where she is going to be in two years now.
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