El Dorado High School’s College, Career and Community Specialist Staci Rickard coordinated three Apply Kansas days to help seniors complete college admission and scholarship applications, learn about applying for jobs and writing resumes from Kansas Works, or visit with a recruiter about what military options are available after they graduate from high school.
This year’s EHS senior class consists of roughly 85 seniors. Nearly 60 of those are already taking college courses and approximately 30 will graduate in December. Three seniors will earn their Associates Degree from Butler Community College the same time they earn their high school diploma. Two seniors will have their welding certification completed at the end of their senior year.
On the first Apply Kansas date in September, 20 students completed college admissions applications. There were 25-30 scheduled to attend the second Apply Kansas event on October 25. That is over half of the senior class who will have their college admissions and institutional scholarship applications completed during the first two events.
Students are able to complete these applications any time, but these designated Apply Kansas days provide them with a scheduled time to sit down and complete the required forms with assistance from high school counselors, the college and career specialist, and an admissions representative from Butler Community College.
“It forces them to focus on what comes after high school,” Rickard said. “It’s easy to put off because it’s not an assignment, and some students are nervous to even talk about what life looks like after high school.”
There is often a misconception that applying for admission is difficult or is some sort of pledge that a student will definitely attend at the college they applied to.
“After they hit submit, it’s like ‘Oh, it’s not that hard.’” Rickard said. “It’s not a contract or some binding agreement. I love helping them take a step in whatever direction they plan to go.”
College and career planning begins long before senior year. At the elementary level, they focus on career exploration. By middle school, they are encouraged to start thinking about what career interests they might have and how their choices will affect the options they have. Elective course options are also introduced so they can begin more in-depth study of interest areas.
By the time they enter high school, they have been introduced to an individual plan of study that serves as a roadmap as they navigate course options that will prepare them for whatever they plan to pursue after high school graduation. Throughout high school, students have opportunities to discover more about college, workforce, and military options. Roughly 90 juniors took advantage of one such opportunity and attended a College Planning Conference hosted at Butler Community College on October 18.
There is one more Apply Kansas day scheduled for EHS students in November. It intentionally coincides with the state Apply Free days (Nov. 7-9) sponsored by the Kansas Board of Regents. During these days, students are able to apply for free to any private or public university, community, or technical college that normally charges an application fee.