You have five legitimate choices when you leave high school (in no particular order):

• Community college

• Vocational, trade, or apprenticeship program

• Four-year college

• Military service (Army, Navy, Marine, Coast Guard, Air Force, Space Force, National Guard)

• Get a job

Is college worth it? 

• • Part 1: Yes for most professions

  • Part 2: (start with the If The Job Is What Matters then go to the Know What You Want section near the bottom of the article)

  • Many professions only need 1-2 year certification

  • Some professions don't need any college at all

  • Think about military service as a way to finance college (Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard)

Option 1: Military service

• • Army

  • Navy

  • Marines

  • Air Force

  • Coast Guard

  • National Guard

  • Space Force

Pros: Free college, free room / board, travel, medical and dental, learn job skills, job stability

Cons: You will work your ass off!  You get paid, but you won't get rich

Things to read and learn about the pros and cons of joining the military

• Pros and Cons About Going Military After High School

• 10 Benefits of Joining the Military After High School (www.operationmilitarykids.org)

• Top 20 Reasons to Join the Military (and 7 Reasons Not To (www.operationmilitarykids.org)

• Joining the Military After High School -- Benefits and Risks (www.moneycrashers.com)

• Should I Join the Military After High School? (www.diplomaframe.com)

• Pros and Cons About Going Military After High School (www.militaryspot.com)

• Considering Joining the Military After High School? Q&A With a Recruiter (www.yourteenmag.com)

Want more information? Talk to our NJROTC instructor Mr. Wever, or do a Google search for the local recruiting office  for the military branch you're interested in.

• We have several local community colleges: Grossmont, Mesa, San Diego City, Miramar, Cuyamaca, Southwestern, Mira Costa, Palomar.  

• As a California resident you are eligible to go to other community colleges in California for the same cost and some have residential facilities (see this article)

• Apply by the deadline and you're in!

• Inexpensive - $1,250 per year in 2020 at Grossmont College

• No residential facilities -- live at home or in an apartment

• Transfer Admission Guarantee program for six of the nine UC schools.  Study the TAG application matrix for excluded majors and other requirements 

• A Degree with a Guarantee program for guaranteed admission to CSU and other schools after graduating from CCC with an Associate's degree (2 years)

• Career certification programs

  • San Diego Community Colleges (Mesa, City, Miramar)

  • Grossmont Community Colleges (Grossmont, Cuyamaca)

  • Southwestern Community College

  • Palomar Community College

• Take advantage of CCC counselors to guide your course of study to achieve your goals

• About sunk costs -- at this point in time there's almost nothing more you can do to change your 4-year college prospects

• Application period is open now for UC and CSU and most private schools

• UC application quick reference

• Gather the following information you'll need to complete your application:

  • PHHS transcripts

  • Transcripts from all other high schools you've attended, including iHigh for credit recovery and online courses

  • Awards and honors

  • Last year's tax return

• Where should I apply?

  • Choose four schools that you know you can get into given your GPA (see this page for an online search tool)

  • Choose four schools where you're on the bubble

  • Choose four "reach" schools

  • College Scorecard

  • "I don't want to leave San Diego / California"

  • After admission decisions are sent, visit the schools that you're still interested in and where you were accepted.  One (or more) will "talk to you".

• Sign up for November SAT / ACT exams -- They're not required this year, but it's still a good idea to take them if available!  Here's why...

• Wall Street Journal's 2021 College Rankings (but most of it is BS and here's why...)

• Clark Howard podcast about college applications

• It's not difficult but it's tedious and time consuming

• Get a 3-ring binder or a file folder

• Use Xello to keep track of your application process

• Put all source documents in the binder (transcripts, awards, application documents and information, etc)

• UC / CSU

  • Only one UC and CSU application is required. Check the boxes of the colleges to which you're applying

  • One application fee for EACH college

  • Nov 30th deadline.  Have it submitted by Nov 23rd.  Here's why...

• Private and out of state colleges deadlines vary.  

  • Check the website carefully

  • Request letters of recommendation if required from counselors and teachers NOW

• College essays -- what are they really looking for?

• Above all else: Don't stress because you can't change anything!

College costs

• Tuition (in-state, out-of-state, private)

• Housing

• Food

How to find the cost of college - Search on "cost of attendance"

Western Undergraduate Exchange - Cheaper tuition for out-of-state subscribing schools 

• Majors

  • The Minimum Wage Budget [Colbert video]

  • 8 degrees with the worst return on investment

  • 8 degrees that will earn your money back

  • 7 high-growth jobs that don't require a degree

Debt : Earnings ratio for college majors (WSJ, 2021)

The Seller's markets turn into Buyer's markets when admission decisions come out in March

Your new job -- finding and applying for scholarships

• College Board (use your College Board account to sign in)

• MyFuture

• Fastweb

• Scholarships.com

Source of funding

• Tuition tracker 

• Savings (YES)

• Get a job (on-campus jobs are great!) (YES, YES)

• Grants (state, federal) (YES, YES, YES)

• Scholarships (YES, YES, YES)

• Student loans (NO!!!)

• Dave Ramsey and a story about a pastor with $175,000 in student loans

How to pay for college spreadsheet

Mac & Cheese, Ramen, beans, rice, pasta (for 4 years, or 20 years?)

• Rethinking Career Entry Points (from 4 Things That Aren't Worth the Effort)

• Mr. Jaffe's story -- Undeclared, Economics, Communications, Math/CS

Things are different in the 2020s than they were in the 1980s and even the 2000s.

• Unless you have a LOT of money, you can't "follow your dreams" any more

• Find the cost of college

• Find your expected earnings potential based on your major

• Ask the hard questions, and find the more difficult answers

• Have a plan!

• Dave Ramsey on "Following your dream..."

• WSJ - Debt : Earnings ratio website (open in an incognito window or try this Chrome Extension to bypass the paywall)

• Entry-level STEM job salaries

• San Diego / Imperial County Career Education Programs

• Computer coding bootcamps and online education programs

• Vocational training HQ (nationwide database of programs)

• California apprenticeship programs

• Apprenticeship.gov

• College admission decisions are NOT made based on your AP scores

• College admission decisions ARE made based on taking AP courses

• College credit for AP tests are not automatic:

  • What is "passing"?  3, 4 or 5?

  • Elective credit vs course credit

• Why take AP or Honors courses?

  • To make your college application stand above the rest -- that is all!

  • Engineering your GPA is a lousy reason to take an AP or Honors course.

  •  Possible college credit is a side effect, but it's not the reason to take AP courses

• Your high school GPA (weighted or unweighted) only matters in...  Well... it doesn't really matter.  15 minutes after you graduate, no one will care.

• Getting the best grades you can in high school is what matters.

Mr. Jaffe's story about how he got in to the Math / CS major

• Comedian Kathie Griffin

• Jeopardy "almost host" Mike Richards

• ER Nurse Katie Duke (and the aftermath)

• Justine Sacco

• Jobs and employment

• The Internet has Spawned a Generation of Losers

• 6 Step Plan To Block Social Media From Controlling Your Life And Mind

• The truth about social media:   Drum roll please...

Excerpt from the Dave Ramsey Show from Oct 2021

Abelard to Apple, by Richard Demillo

How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie

The Ideal Team Player, by Patrick Lencioni

Character vs Feelings by Dr. Laura from Jun 2022

• The chickens come home to roost at the end of the semester...

• How many hours did you play video games?
  
  

• Be on time

• The Silent Success Killer (from 4 Things That Aren't Worth the Effort)

• Four Unsexy One-Minute Habits That Save 30 Hours Every Week

• Actions speak MUCH louder than words (actually, words are pretty much meaningless)

• Treat others as you would be treated

• Never burn your bridges

• Don't be afraid to ask for help

• Don't be afraid to say "no"

• Don't be afraid to say "yes" (huh?)

• You are the average of your five closest friends.

Here's a list

• Aerospace

• Biomedical

• Computer

• Chemical

• Civil

• Electrical

• Industrial

• Material

• Mechanical

• Mining

• Nuclear

• Petroleum

• Structural

• Water

• FAFSA - Beware of FAFSA websites (https://studentaid.gov)

• Free money

  • Grants

  • Scholarships

    • College Board

    • FastWeb

    • US News

• Not-free money

  • Public student loans

  • Private student loans

  • Parent co-signers (get insurance!)

  • Neil Brennan's take on student loans

  • Some examples (assumes 100% loans -- no grants, scholarships, savings)

• Get a job

• What junior programmers and circuit designers need to know

• Prep work

  • Resume

  • Cover letter

  • Portfolio

• Internships 

• Linked in

• College career center

• Interviews

  • Technical interviews

  • Personal interviews

  • Should you ask questions of the company?

• The first job

• When and why you should play dumb (sometimes)

• Working for free

• Progressive tax system

• Tax brackets (Ordinary income: US  California

• Ordinary income vs capital gains; Capital gains: US  California

• Federal and state withholding

• Special states: AK, FL, NV, NH*, SD, TN, TX, WA, WY

• Pre-tax vs after-tax money

• 401K / 403B (pre-tax money, taxes paid at withdrawal)

• IRA (pre-tax money, taxes paid at withdrawal)

• Roth 401K, Roth 403B, Roth IRA (after-tax money, tax-free on retirement)

• Example - $10,000 Amazon.com stock purchase in an IRA vs a Roth IRA in 1998 (link)

• Wealth multiplier

• Retirement spreadsheet

• Thinking about the cost of "after high school", field of study, and ROI

• From the Dave Ramsey show, Feb 25, 2022

  • Mistakes

  • No mistakes

• After high school nuts and bolts

  • The image high school gives you of college [from This Book Is Not Required]

  • What classes to take? The Grocery Store Analogy

  • You MUST go to the summer orientation

  • Roommates and the roommate questionnaire

  • Vaccinations (especially bacterial meningitis)

  • Health insurance

  • Registration window date and time

  • Bringing a car?

  • Lectures, discussions, activities, labs, seminars

  • Meet the instructor

  • Finally... Get Skype, Google Hangouts, or Facetime for your parents. When you're happy, they'll be happy. They'll appreciate it.

  • About Mexican food

The Seller's Market has switched to a Buyer's Market... and you're the buyer

Neil Brennan on Student Loans

Fun satire: Adam Ruins College [HBOMax, Season 2, episode 7; on video disk]

• The "Freshman 15" -- Myth or fact?

• Eating out vs eating in

  • Breakfast eggs, bacon, toast -- $25 at a restaurant,  $2.50 at home

  • PB&J, deli meat sandwiches -- $1-2 at home

  • New York steak dinner, veggies -- $35-50 at a restaurant, $10 at home

  • Baked potato with trimmings -- $9.50 at a restaurant, $1 at home, including broccoli, cheese & sour cream

• The grocery store aisles

• Cooking like a celebrity chef

• Simple things to make ($ to $$$)

  • Potatoes ($)

  • Roasted veggies ($)

  • Eggs (cook them sloooowwww) ($)

  • Rice ($)

  • Beans ($)

  • Pasta ($)

  • Soup ($$)

  • Steak ($$$)

  • Salmon and other fish ($$$$)

• Filet Mignon in your dorm room!

• Equipment -- knives, fry pan, dutch oven, small pot

• Shows for simple and cheap meals

  • Struggle Meals -- Frankie Celenza

  • Gordon Ramsey - Ultimate Home Cooking (Hulu)

• Try it at home.  This weekend.  Really.

• Half Windsor

• Full Windsor

• More tie knots