Whether it’s co-operative education, internships or community-service learning, incorporating experiential education into degree programs has benefits for some students–and their future employers.  While some of the larger co-op programs are quite well known, most universities offer one or more of these options and are worth asking about, if this is of interest.   Perhaps unfamiliar to you, but worth checking out, is the relatively recent “community-service learning”, which involves students doing related work, that benefits a community organization, as part of an academic course.

Even if “work-integrated learning” is not ultimately destined to be a part of your student’s formal program, summer, part-time and volunteer work can also be very helpful to your teen.  These types of experiences not only allow students to earn money but to test out a fit with an area of work they’re considering.  They are also invaluable opportunities for students to connect with interesting people and learn about and demonstrate  skills and interests needed in their futures.

For more information about work-integrated learning and the study findings, read the report here.

Just like any organization or subculture, universities have their own vocabulary. Like the word “viewbook” I used in the first sentence. There are probably a lot of words that schools use that are new to you, or that may have different meanings from place to place. And understanding these words is important if you’re trying to make decisions about you or your teen applying to schools.

Many schools have recognized this, and have created their own mini-dictionaries. Some words, like “discipline” are used across universities (and have nothing to do with time outs) while other words may be specific to a particular institution.

If you’re interested in learning more university jargon, or need to look up a specific word that you’ve stumbled over during your school research, try the links below. Oh, and a “viewbook”  is the brochure, often as heavy as a small book, with lot of pictures of campus and happy students, used for marketing to prospective students.

University of Victoria University Vocabulary

University of Waterloo Campus Lingo

University of Regina Glossary of U of R Lingo

University of Toronto Mississauga Glossary

What if you could hear about the actual experiences of current first year students, in their own words?

You can. There are several blogs being written by first year students writing about their new lives at university. These blogs provide a glimpse inside the ups and downs, twists and turns, of navigating that first year.

Here is a list of some of first year student blogs. I haven’t ranked or evaluated these, but provide them so you can take a look through and see if any appeal to you. Also, keep in mind that some of these blogs are coming from the university itself, which means there may be some editing and vetting happening before the posts go live. Regardless, they still give an interesting chronicle of the first year experience.

 University of Alberta   Four student bloggers, two in first year.

University of Guelph  click on “Undergraduate Admissions News”

Carleton University A long list of student bloggers – Chad and Katherine are in first year.

University of Windsor Four first year student bloggers.

Freshman Life blog at GlobeCampus

Career Options has been publishing for a long time, but this version for high school students is new.

Here’s a sample of the kinds of articles in this first issue:

• Money Matters: Paying for your Education
• First Work Experience
• How I Became a History Major
• Should I Stay or Should I Go? Five Post-Secondary Students Discuss Going Away to School vs Staying Close to Home 

Interesting, relevant topics for sure. Written for students, but a good read for parents as well.

What does this mean for your graduating or current high school student?  Does the increase in applicants since 2000 indicate a more competitive process if your student has set his/her sights on getting into the “right” program or a certain school?

Maybe and maybe not.  Certainly, all the data can stir us up into a bit of a frenzy as we worry about whether our students will “make the cut” and get the fat envelope in the mail…or the dreaded thin one.

This is a great time to initiate a discussion with your teen about outcomes.  If they have already applied to programs and schools, what are their hopes?  Have they played with the idea that they might get accepted everywhere?  Do they have a process for making the decision in the face of such abundance (sometimes this seemingly luxurious scenario ends up being surprisingly difficult)?  What about if they don’t get in to the one place their heart is set on going? Are they building up disaster scenarios in their heads?  Are those disaster scenarios actually realistic or can they be tempered by a little parental reassurance and perspective?

Your own career and educational experience can be a useful way to give some perspective and insight into how things work “out there”.  Additionally, many students worry about disappointing parents but may not have a really accurate take on what your true hopes are for them.   As your teen thinks about his/her future educational aspirations, what can you do to frame those outcomes differently for them?

Happy Holidays!

Now that they’ve had some time to get a bit more comfortable in their program and classes, many students are starting to discover pockets of excitement and interest.  They might be wondering about taking more classes in a new-found subject area or expressing enthusiasm for their current program.  Conversely, they may be saying things like, “I used to like math…but it’s not the same in university as it was in high school.”  They may even be musing aloud about whether they are in the right program and whether they should “drop” a class or change their major.

Rest assured, many such conversations have taken place in between helpings of mashed potatoes and turkey across the country.   It’s early days and new students are exploring what fits and what doesn’t at university.  And while every program requires students to pay some “dues” and take the odd course that doesn’t completely light their fires, students who are persistently disliking what they are studying or struggling with motivation for studying or completing assignments may benefit from talking with an advisor.  Students who are showing enthusiasm for learning more about a new or existing subject area of interest may also benefit from reviewing their program and deciding whether to tweak their current slate of courses. 

It’s very normal for students to adapt their programs (or even switch into a different one) as they progress through university.  Doing so early on (in first and second year) can help them ensure that they get the most bang for their buck in their degree and don’t miss important information or milestones that they need in order to graduate.  So whether they’re brimming with excitement or sounding confused and a bit disenchanted, consider suggesting that your student contact someone in departments such as Learning Strategies (for help with study skills and motivation techniques),  Academic Advising (for help with degree planning) or Career Services (for ideas about career options and degree directions).   Profs and senior students can also be helpful sources of information and advice (although sometimes new students are a bit intimidated to ask them questions).

Seeking help because a parent suggested it may not be the hip thing to do, but it can prompt students to take action on their situation and allow them to return to focusing on the more immediate concerns in their lives:  laundry, food re-fills and stocking up on hugs.

Universities want to know about these reasons (it helps them with their marketing, and with their programming decisions). Apparently “will it get me a job?” is of primary importance to young people, according to an interview with the Academica Group. This research marketing group has been tracking the opinions of applicants for years and argue that today’s students (in general) are very pragmatic – they are not going to university just to learn, but want some confidence that their degree will help them to get a job.

Certainly in my experience as a university career counsellor, I hear students hoping for many, many things from their university experience – new friends, fun social life, greater independence, exposure to new ideas. The specifics are unique to each individual. But overall, most students do want to know that, while their university experience was fun and their studies were interesting, their degree will be of use to their career prospects. Few feel the luxury of studying just to grow as a human, without also increasing their employment prospects.

What about you or your teen? If you/they are applying to university, why have you decided this is a good path? How important is it that the degree increase future career prospects?

In the last few years there has been a lot of attention given to trying to attract more first generation students to universities. A “first generation” university student is someone who is the first in their family to attend university. There have been several programs designed specifically to try to attract and support these students, and sometimes their parents. It is believed that these students may be facing some barriers to getting to, and staying in, university.

At the same time as recognizing that there may be challenges, I personally have also found that these students can feel a real sense of accomplishment, and support from proud parents.  I was a first generation student myself (though I did have people in my extended family who had degrees). I found going to university like stepping into a completely new world (which is true for many non-first generation students as well), but also loved seeing how proud people like my grandparents were. My studies meant a great deal to them.

Would the teens in your family be the first generation to go to university?

If yes, what do you think about any added challenges for them and for parents? And what about any added benefits?

You may also be interested in the Toronto Star article that the above quote was taken from: Friday October 1, 2010 “Queen’s Park pulls plug on outreach programs to encourage higher learning – Funding is steered instead to programs for students already on campus.”

The September 2010 edition of Popular Science magazine has a number of campus-oriented articles including “10 Best Jobs of the Future” (by Ben Paynter).    No methodology is outlined to substantiate the rationale for these careers of the future but it’s still a fun look at some potential trends that might prove fodder for a lively discussion with your teen.

Hang on to your personalized jet pack because, according to the article, the best jobs of the future include:

• Human/Robot Interaction Specialist – helping robots and people get along
• Space Pilot – flying shuttles to space
• Fetus Healer – curing health problems before birth
• Forecaster of Everything – analyzing data to predict the future
• Organ Designer – making vital organs from scratch
• Animal-Migration Engineer – creating new habitats for critters
• World Watcher – seeing it all with satellites
• Galactic Architect – building cosmic outposts  
• Fusion Worker – managing fusion reactors
• Thought Hacker – reading thoughts 

Hmm…feeling a little skeptical about the rather Jetson’s tone of this list? 

Perhaps one point to take away from this article is that we often don’t know and can’t predict what the jobs of the future will be.  A perfusionist (the person who runs the heart/lung transplant machine during organ transplant surgery) is a perfect example of a job that not so very long ago, didn’t exist and would have been hard to predict.  And unlike a job that’s limited to very few, like astronaut, a perfusionist is a common and realistic career for many.   

But, as “perfusionist” illustrates, we don’t know what we don’t know sometimes.  It can be fun to brainstorm careers of the future with your teen and when it comes time to choose programs and courses, that process might involve selecting options that allow students to build new or expand on existing skills they love using, as well as explore new areas they have never thought about.  Sometimes, it’s even about braiding a few interests and skills together in an interesting way so that they have treasures they actually want to use in their pocket….even if they don’t know what their job will be called yet.  Sort of like the Culinary Anthropologist seen on tv’s The Shopping Bags recently.

He was interested in both food and cultural history/traditions and he’s proof that there’s no need to wait for Popular Science’s “best jobs of the future” to appear.  Unique job options exist right here in 2010.