Saint Louis
Job News & Opportunities
St. Louis Front Page is a weekly news publication, with daily updates, spotlighting attractions, events, business and hospitality in St. Louis, Missouri and Southwest Illinois.
How To Reach Us:
St. Louis Front Page
P.O. Box 1354
St. Louis, MO 63188
Voice: 314-771-0200
Fax: 314-771-0300
To submit news, contact:
editor@slfp.com
To advertise, contact:
advertising@slfp.com
|
Environment - More Than Jobs - Occupying Minds of Today's College-Bound Students
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), May 20, 2007 - What's on the mind of the college class of 2011? Making ends meet financially, keeping up with their workload and getting good grades. What did their boomer parents worry about? Surprisingly, making ends meet, grades and their workload. But that's where the similarity ends.
In a recently completed survey by Key Education Resources, a division of KeyBank, some stark differences emerged in how college-bound students view the world and their place in it. Key asked students planning to attend college this fall how they felt about everything from their futures to which social issues most concern them. Parents of those students were also asked to look back to when they were heading off to college and provide their thoughts.
Of the more than 400 members of the college class of 2011 polled, 18 percent of students said that their number one social concern is the environment while their parents were much more concerned about the job market as they entered college. Twenty-nine percent of parents said it was their top concern, whereas only 11 percent of students today ranked it number one.
The amount of time and energy spent on the college selection and application process has also mushroomed in a generation.
Thirty-six percent of today's students report spending a lot of time on the process, or that it's all consuming. Only 12 percent of their parents felt that way about their college planning process. Also, 53 percent of parents said their moms and dads didn't help them at all in the process, whereas only 9 percent of today's students said their parents provided no help. But both groups (25-percent) agreed that "making ends meet financially" was their biggest concern upon entering college.
"Clearly, many students and parents feel overwhelmed by the college selection and financing process," said Rick Vonk, president of Key Education Resources. "But even with all of the information to consider, there's a way to simplify the process."
Vonk recommends focusing on three main areas.
- Choose appropriate curriculum and get good grades
-- The more college preparatory courses you take and the better grades you
get, the better the odds you'll be accepted by your school of choice
and land a scholarship.
- Decide what you want in a school and let that drive the selection process
-- The best college for you is one that suits your specific needs and not
necessarily one that lands on some particular ranking or carries a
certain prestige. Important criteria to consider - a school's location
and size, the curriculum, campus life, and whether to attend a private,
public, or community college. There are many web tools available to
help you start the process.
- Shop around for the best way to pay for school
-- A sound strategy is to apply for scholarships and grants (free money)
first. Then look to fill the gap between what your school costs and
what you have in hand (grants, scholarships, work study, money from
savings, or gifts, or from a campus job) with federal or private loans.
Each will offer different borrower benefits and repayment plans that
may be more or less attractive to you.
The survey also found students today are less optimistic than their parents were about having bright futures (42 percent vs. 63 percent), yet they still believe they will be able to accomplish their dreams. They are also slightly more likely to choose a job they're passionate about over one that simply pays well (91 percent vs. 86 percent).
When it comes to the most important people in their lives - mothers and fathers were at the top of the list for both generations, but we've seen a rise in the importance of siblings and a decline in the importance of significant others over the years. Today's students said their siblings are the most important people in their lives, while parents said their significant other was the most important person in their life when entering college.
What hasn't changed from one generation to the next is what would give students the greatest fulfillment in their lives after graduation. Building a strong family, service to others, and marriage topped the list for both groups.
Archived:
 Business Executives Underestimate Link Between Workforce Quality and Preschool Education
Focus on Preventing Youth Injuries in the Workplace
$47 Million Competition for YouthBuild Grants Announced
OSHA Launches Youth Job Safety Campaign
Census Bureau Provides Free Online Tools to Help Jobseekers
More Workers Express Concern about Economy
Majority of Adults are Involved in Relationships with Income Disparities
Employment Outlook Survey Finds Hint of Restraint in U.S. Hiring Plans
People of Similar Income and Education Gravitate Toward Same Neighborhoods
People of Similar Income and Education Gravitate Toward Same Neighborhoods
Can Workers Recover From Unexpected Layoffs?
Chronic Pain Up Almost 40 Percent Among U.S. Workers in Past Decade
Package Yourself to Get Your Dream Job
Most Women Aren't 'Opting Out' of the Work Force
Comprehensive Personality Testing May Help Land the Right Job in a Hot Job Market
One-in-Five Workers to Change Jobs in the New Year
|
|
|
|
The Saint Louis Front Page is owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan Saint Louis area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com
All rights reserved world wide
© 1996 - 2008 Moore Design Group.
|
