Clinton High School held a college meeting for the junior class on Monday night called, “ Are You Ready.” For our county high school juniors, this winter and spring is an important time to seriously embrace the college decision-making process.

Toni Blount and Amy Sarp led a very informative meeting on the college process. Oscar Rodriguez, admissions director from Sampson Community College, talked about the College Transfer Pathway and the Career and Technical Education Pathways programs at SCC. Mrs. Blount highlighted some points from the website, Bigfuture by the Collegeboard, some of them being: be informed, you are more than a text score, you are unique, and you are not in this alone. The school guidance staff is there to help you, so visit the counselor’s office and make an appointment.

The importance of doing well on the March 5, 2013 ACT test that all North Carolina juniors will take was also brought up, along with the dates of future SAT & ACT exams. Many merit-based scholarships to some colleges are based on these college entrance exams. In addition, CFNC programs, stepping up your academic performance, making an impact this spring, and being a leader were all mentioned. The evening ended with important final tips for the juniors to ponder. One very important one was “Don’t get caught up in the hype. You are a unique individual so reflect and focus on what is best for you. Try to look beyond information like rankings and opinionated hearsay that can distract more than help and do your own research on colleges.” A great place to start this process is the new Clinton City Schools webpage called College Central.

An important way to do research is to visit colleges and understand each college’s admission procedures. Currently the Simple Gifts fund is holding a competition for all Sampson County high school students who visit colleges. A lucky student can win a $25 gift card to Wendy’s.

All a high school student has to do is post a photo on the Simple Gifts Fund Facebook Website and include the student’s name, high school, and the college in the picture to be included in the drawing. While on your visit, take an official college tour, have lunch on the college campus, visit a class, and talk to current students about their experience.