Students turn to online resources to help them make college plans
Nineteen years ago, College and Career Information Coordinator Carla Partlow found applying to college as a Blair student fairly straightforward. She browsed a few of the thick volumes in the Career Center and discussed her college choices with her guidance counselor. She even called some schools and asked to be put on their mailing lists - snail mail, that is.
Today, books on the Career Center shelves gather dust while the students who flock there during lunch log onto computers. Instead of the two or three colleges in Partlow applied to, students now commonly apply to about nine or 10. And as for the mailing lists, they have been replaced by rapid-fire e-mails.
Today's Blazers attend classes using computer labs and PowerPoint presentations. Students listen to their iPods and chat with friends on cell phones at the end of the day. With such a strong technological influence present in the lives of most high school students, it's no surprise that students turn to modern accessories for academic guidance. Through electronic resources such as the Family Connections database, Blair students take advantage of evolving technologically help make their college plans.
A new age
Sitting in the Career Center during 5B lunch, senior Elena Talbott quickly types her password into her Family Connections account. A few seconds, later her personalized homepage displays a multitude of choices. She opts to compare her Grade Point Average (GPA) to the average at a major university.
Talbott was a junior when she first heard about Family Connections, a detailed database with personalized information about colleges. In class, she noticed her friend using his account to compare his GPA that of the average accepted Yale applicant, something which immediately piqued Talbott's interest. "He was just joking around, but I thought it was cool," she says.
Talbot activated her own account by getting her password from the Career Center and began experimenting with it. The resource has become an essential part of her college search, helping her narrow down her choices. And like Talbott, many students are making use of the resource: according to the Career Center, approximately 1,250 current Blair students have Family Connections accounts.
When much is too much
But unwanted consequences can accompany such staggering resources. From databases providing information about specific colleges to test prep, college trackers and online quizzes, many students are bewildered by the sheer volume of information at their disposal. As career assistant Cathy Henderson Stein explains, students approach the process with varying degrees of preparedness. While some plunge in confidently, others hesitate.
Partlow agrees the amount of information available can be dizzying. "It is overwhelming," she says. Those unsure of how to utilize the technology may be left behind in the process. Henderson Stein, for instance, describes a student who recently came in to the Career Center for help who refused to fill out an online application because she simply did not feel comfortable using online resources. "She needs a paper application, or she'll have to cross a school off her list," Henderson-Stein says.
The system also poses problems for students who are not familiar with the college application process in the U.S. Senior Wendolyn Quintanilla, who moved to the Maryland from Peru two years ago with her family, remembers feeling confusion when she first heard about college applications. Now that she is gradually coming to terms with the very basics of the process itself, Quintanilla is understandably intimidated by the seemingly wide variety of web resources and information available. Already receiving endless brochures and advertisements from prospective colleges, she thinks that while the online resources are helpful, it could potentially be difficult to use them without a concrete plan. "If you aren't clear on what you want to do, it might be too much," she says. "It's just so available."
But Partlow doesn't believe any student is incapable of using technology. She is confident that students who have a chance to get comfortable with the resources will learn to make the most of the resources.
The personal touch
Partlow strongly believes in the effectiveness of online resources. However, she also warns that web resources, while helpful, cannot replace experiential aspects of the process such as campus visits and counselor conferences. Although many parts of the application process like submitting applications have been made easier by the advent of the Internet, she thinks that the essence of the process is still very personal. This is why college representatives come to visit, she says, and why counselors need to talk to students individually.
Students like Talbott also appreciate the benefits of searching for college the old-fashioned way. Talbott thinks that, despite the vast offerings of the technology, there is no substitute for actual experience. She recently visited Vanderbilt University, her first-choice school and says that she fell in love with it - without the aid of a computer screen. "The internet and technology play a huge role [in the process]," she says, "but it will in no way replace human contact whatsoever."