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Lely High School encourages seniors to get those college applications in now, since students who wait to the last minute this year will quite possibly miss the bus.

HARMONY OSWALD / Eagle staff

Lance Burkhardt, senior at Barron-Collier High School, considers getting into the medical field. He takes a moment to contemplate Bellarmine University’s medical major programs, during Collier County’s annual “college night” on September 20.

The 2007-2008 shuffle directly relates to budget cuts in Florida, which ultimately affect the number of students accepted in many colleges and universities throughout the state.

According to Lely High School senior guidance counselor, Jerry Muenich, most schools normally would increase the number of college freshman accepted each year by 50 to 150 students. He says this year, with acceptance numbers in many cases coming to a screeching halt, students will have to work quicker and harder to get a foot in the door.

“The only thing I know is what I heard when I went to workshops with the 11 directors of admissions. They said that the legislature has cut the budget by four percent, which doesn’t seem like a great deal but when it comes to recruiting students and enrolling students, it’s quite significant. From what they told us, there might be more budget cuts on the way, so some colleges are cutting down on the number of people they send out to high schools. Some of them said, ‘we’re going to attend college fairs and that’s about it.’ Enrollment numbers and recruiting has really been effected the most,” Muenich explains.

Seniors should get applications in to Florida public universities no later than the end of October. Muenich says The University of Florida has a cut off date of Nov. 1 for applications and Dec. 15 for test scores. He says the entire state of Florida is transitioning to the use of “decision dates,” meaning a student will receive an answer based on the time they get the application in.

HARMONY OSWALD / Eagle staff

(Left to right) Gabriella Luviano, senior at AMU, Lisette Luviano and Juellysia Cantu, both seniors at Immokalee High School, get more information on Florida Gulf Coast University during Collier County’s annual “college night” at Golden Gate High School auditorium, September 20.

“The majority of the students really start thinking about college the beginning of their senior year. Most of the time, when they’re in 9th, 10th or 11th grade, it’s too far away to think about it,” says Muenich. “Some of them come in here and say, ‘gee whiz, I wish I would’ve started as a freshman and started doing well in school then.’ But usually grade-wise, if they thought they were going to school, at least they maintained grades, so they’re not behind in that way. They’re behind in thinking of what they really want to do in the future and thinking of what colleges they want to apply to. So right now, we’re just trying to narrow down their choices.”

Since the beginning of the school year, Lely High School seniors have been learning about the SAT, applying for financial aide, filling out applications online and how to be eligible for scholarships, academic awards, the medallion award and the vocational gold seal. Guidance counselors have been offering tips on how to write a college entry essay which will catch the reader’s attention. Muenich says the writing should be unique, since students are trying to sell themselves.

“I believe that by this time, students should have in mind what colleges they’re going to apply to. I’ve had students come into my office and we’ve sat down and talked about it. And they say, ‘I really don’t know.’ So, we start out with, ‘Do you want to go to an in-state or out-of-state school? Do you want a large school or a small school? What would you like to major in?” explains Muenich. “And then, they start narrowing it down that way. By the end of October, they should have their applications in.”

HARMONY OSWALD / Eagle staff

Samy Berrette, junior at Immokalee High School, gets information from guidance counselor Magda Assaad, regarding Lorenzo Walker Institute of Technology’s A.C.E Academy for Career Education program. Taking these courses now gives students an opportunity to earn free certification while still in high school.

Along with the excitement of senior year, comes the reality of making these major “adult” decisions. Students must first commit to what direction they would like to go in after high school, whether it’s the world of work, the military, community college, vocational school, college or a university. According to Muenich, a student’s basic decision to further their education is more important than knowing exactly what they want to major in.

“I know I changed my major about three times,” laughs Muenich. “ I don’t think if you go to school, you can go for the wrong thing. You are going to get an education. Eventually it will evolve into what you really want to do. Your first two years of college are generally basic education courses anyway. So usually after that, you will have a better idea as to which direction you want to go as a career.”

Lely seniors have the opportunity to discuss options with a guidance counselor. If a student asks a question regarding a particular career of interest, the counselor will help the student discover the pros and cons of the field, such as work conditions, hours, lifestyle and last but not least, pay. This year, LHS hired on a full-time career counselor to help students begin preparing earlier.

“If the guidance counselors could talk to each individual student it would be good but unfortunately with 300 kids we can’t. So this year, we have a career counselor to start doing ‘career interest’ inventories with the students starting in 9th grade. Hopefully it will help students to be a little bit more prepared as seniors as to what direction they want to go in,” says Muenich.

For more information on planning courses, doing career research and finding out grade point averages or to apply to any college in the state of Florida, visit www.facts.org today. To speak to a guidance counselor at Lely High School, call 377-2021.