School Caring Adults
Postsecondary
Postsecondary conversations, planning, and support can happen at any point and with the encouragement and relationship of any caring adult. Use this site to help guide conversations with students and direct them to appropriate resources.
Planning and Conversation Tools
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Postsecondary Reflection Questions
Asking the right question at the right time can often be the greatest impact a caring adult can have. Helping students reflect on their strengths, interests, hopes, and needs is an important role to play. The following questions are a starting point to choose from. The highlighted questions at the top of each section have been most useful in the past.
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Postsecondary Student-Led Interview Questions
This exercise is designed to start a conversation between the student and a caring adult. We recommend encouraging the student to have a similar conversation with as many adults (parents, teachers, coaches, pastors, employers, etc.) in their lives as possible and to take notes.
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College Admission Definitions
College admission can sometimes seem like it has its own language. This “cheat sheet” has some common terms and what they mean.
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Online Planning Resources
Quick guides, college search tools, virtual college tours, standardized testing resources, financial aid & scholarship resources, exploring career interests, quick guides on trade schools and two-year programs.
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Postsecondary Planning Timeline
Covers the general timeline starting in 9th grade in high school to help keep your student on track for their postsecondary goals.
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College List Building Activities
Activities you can do with your student to help identify and build a college list.
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College Visit Resources
Activities, virtual visits, and college fair resources.
Explore Postsecondary Options
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Career
Is your student looking to start a career right away? Explore some key resources, basic needs, and resources to support their transition.
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Certificate
Many students may be interested in starting a career as soon as possible, but want some additional training to leverage better opportunities for a) competitive hiring, and b) increased pay. Explore some certificate and short-term learning options in this path.
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Associate Degree
Whether a student is looking to explore a career field with an associate degree, or looking for a more affordable option to start a college path, there are many options for Associates degrees. Help your student navigate the AA/AS degree pathway.
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Bachelor's Degree
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Tools and Resources
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Living Wage Calculator (MIT)
Help your student target careers that meet the livable wage in their desired community. MIT developed a living wage calculator to estimate the cost of living in your community or region based on typical expenses. The tool helps individuals, communities, and employers determine a local wage rate that allows residents to meet minimum standards of living.
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College ROI Calculator (GW)
Using data from the expanded College Scorecard, this report ranks 4,500 colleges and universities by return on investment. Help your student understand which colleges may help get them their best “bang for their buck” based on financial debt and earnings after graduation.
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Basic Needs Checklist
Whether going straight into a career or not, it’s never too early to start thinking about the basics you’ll need to have in place to get hired and start employment. Check out this basic needs checklist to ensure your student is thinking about what they’ll need to get started. It can be helpful to have a caring adult in your life who can help you navigate where you might need help.
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FAFSA and Student Aid
FAFSA, student aid, and scholarship opportunities are some of the more complicated pieces to navigate when applying to and keeping up with during college. Connect your student to a coach at uAspire to help navigate the process as a first time student and understand the due dates and costs for all the options that they’re considering.
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College Admission 101 (Bentley University)
To help students and families stay on top of the college search process, Bentley asked the experts in their Office of Admission for their best tips and advice. It’s all here, in easy downloadable PDFs. We hope this insightful, easy-to-understand content will make the journey to college a little easier.
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Your Guide to College (University of Chicago)
Preparing for college, the college application process, and the high school checklist.