Try On College of the Rockies to Find Your Fit

“What are you going to do with the rest of your life?”  Come on. Tell the truth.  You heard the voices of your parents in your head when you read that.  You’re not alone.  It’s probably the one subject that consumes the minds of most high school seniors and young adults.   But don’t worry; there are a lot of resources available to help you decide on your educational goals and career path.

First of all, determining your education and career goals is a very personal thing.  What’s right for your best friend may not be right for you.  Attending a post-secondary school is quite an investment – one that you want to consider carefully.  A few years ago I attended my nephew’s high school graduation where an astonishing number – maybe half – of the graduates stated that they wanted to go into forensic sciences or criminology. Don’t get me wrong, those are excellent career goals, but the motivation for those students likely had more to do with CSI being the top rated TV show, than with the realities of those careers.  That’s probably not the best way to choose your career, so what should you do?

Choosing your Career   

Spend some time really researching careers that you think you’d enjoy.  Student Services at College of the Rockies can provide an overview of many different occupations, including information about occupational demand, pay rates, job locations and industry requirements (including education). When you’ve narrowed the field, meet with people who are in those careers and ask them what their job is like.  What do they like most or least about it, what are the hours and working conditions like, and how did they get there?  Better yet, ask if you can job shadow them for a few hours or a few days.  Try a career on for size and see if it fits. 

Investing in Education

Next comes choosing the right post-secondary institution.  Do you attend college or university?  Do you want to stay close to home, or get out of Dodge? Often, having adequate finances will play a major role in your decision-making.  Colleges provide quality education in a variety of programs and subjects, and can save you up to half the cost of university tuition. Even if you choose an education path that ends in a degree rather than a diploma, beginning your education at college before completing at university can save you a significant amount of money.  College of the Rockies offers entrance scholarships and bursaries for new students, which can help to further reduce your overall cost.

Studies by the BC Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT) have shown that students who take two years of college before transferring to university are "more likely to be satisfied with their overall academic and educational experience ..."  than direct-entry students.  These same studies also show that there is no significant difference in GPAs between college transfer students and direct-entry university students.

Trying it on

You’ve met with student services and education advisors, and you’ve decided on a few options for institutions. How do you know which of your choices is the right fit for you? 

•    Check the web:  Don’t just stop at the official website; check social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to see what others are saying about the institution. Try to connect with current students. College of the Rockies has Student Ambassadors who can give you the inside scoop.

•    Try it out in person:  Make sure your program of choice is the right one for you – before you make the commitment – with the College of the Rockies ‘Student for a Day’ program. Tell us what program you’re interested in – whether it be Tourism, Health, Arts & Sciences, Trades, or Child, Youth, and Family studies – and we’ll arrange for you to become a student in that program for one day. You’ll get to meet and interact with current students and instructors, giving you a real feel for the program.   Basically, you’ll be ‘trying on’ the program to make sure it is the right fit. 

It may seem like a lot of work, but doing your homework regarding career and education planning will pay off in the end.  Visit College of the Rockies at www.cotr.bc.ca/students for more information, or contact Hugh Moore at hmoore@cotr.bc.ca to arrange to be a Student for a Day,