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Welcome! Career Opportunities for Everyone is a career counseling website design to assist and support students with career opportunities. The website is available to all high school students, specifically Juniors and Seniors. This website provides tools for career planning as well as resources that will help students create a career pathway of any kind.

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This tool provides all the universities located across the United States. Just click on a university's name and it will give you a summary report of location, student population, degrees, and much more.
Reference

Uni Rank. (n.d). A-Z universities in the United States. Retrieved from https://www.4icu.org/us/us-universities.htm

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See the most comprehensive alphabetical list of accredited Colleges and Universities in the United States.

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As you embark a new chapter in your life, be aware of vital information that can impact your career pathway. This website offers resources regarding dictionary, grammar tools and plagiarism.

Reference

Dictionary, Grammar, Plagiarism Tools & Spell Checkers. (n.d). Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/view/cool-tools-for-schools/home/writing-tools/dictionary-grammar-tools-plagiarism-tools-and-spell-checkers?authuser=0

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` - Dictionary, Grammar Tools, Plagiarism Tools and Spell Checkers

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Dictionary, Grammar Tools, Plagiarism Tools and Spell Checkers

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Our mission is to promote student success through career planning and prepare students for the dynamic demands of a rapid changing economy and workforce. We want students to develop self-concept through vocational choice for future success.

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College can be exciting and yet intimidating for many students. However, there are available resources that can make your college preps that can help you stay proactive. Here is a helpful checklist tool that students can use to prepare for college!

Reference
Moss, K.M. (2018, March 8).

A complete guide to the college application process. U.S News. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/college-application-process

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The college application process can seem intimidating, especially if students don't have parents or siblings who have already been through it and can offer advice.

Since there are so many steps, such as writing an essay and obtaining letters of recommendation, experts say a good way for students to get started is to create a to-do list during their junior year of high school.

"Once you can see it visually, the number of tasks and a schedule to do them, it simplifies a lot of things," says Christine Chu, a premier college admissions counselor at IvyWise, a New York-based education consulting company. "It will take away a lot of the anxiety."

Though there is often prep work, students generally begin filling out college applications the summer between their junior and senior years of high school, experts say.

Here's what prospective undergraduates need to know about completing a college application.

What Are the Important College Application Deadlines?

High school seniors have multiple deadlines to choose from when applying to colleges.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Applying to College

First are early decision deadlines, usually in November. Students who apply via early decision, or ED, hear back from a college sooner than their peers who turn in applications later. ED admissions decisions often come out by December.

However, students should be aware that ED acceptances are binding, meaning an applicant must enroll if offered admission.

Some schools also have a second early decision deadline, ED II, which is also binding. The difference is in the timelines. ED II deadlines are usually in January, Chu says. ED II admissions decisions often come out in February.

Early action is another type of application deadline that tends to be in November or December. Similar to early decision, students who apply via early action hear back from schools sooner. The difference is EA acceptances aren't binding.

Students can also choose to apply by a school's regular decision deadline, which can be as early as Nov. 30 at certain colleges but is typically Jan. 1. Students who apply regular decision generally hear back from schools in mid-to-late March or early April.

One other admissions policy to be aware of is rolling admissions. Schools with rolling admissions evaluate applications as they receive them and release admissions decisions on an ongoing basis. These schools may have a priority filing date, but they generally don't have a hard cutoff date for applications. The institutions continue accepting them until all spots in the incoming class are filled.

In deciding when to apply, as well as how many colleges to apply to, students should consider financial aid implications. Experts say if money is a concern, as it is for many families of college-bound students, applicants should choose nonbinding deadlines - EA and regular decision. This will enable families to compare financial aid offers from multiple schools.

For regular decision deadlines, students typically have until May 1 to decide which school they will attend and pay an enrollment deposit.

Which College Application Platform Should I Use?

Students have several options when it comes to college application platforms.

One popular choice is The Common Application, which is accepted by more than 900 colleges, including some outside the U.S. Students fill out the Common App once and can then submit it to multiple colleges.

However, in addition to the main application, Common App schools often have a supplemental section, Chu says. The supplement sometimes includes additional essay questions, so students may need to budget time for more writing.

Other application options include the Coalition Application, a newer platform accepted by more than 150 schools, and the Common Black College Application, accepted by more than 60 historically Black colleges and universities.

Additionally, some colleges have school-specific or university system-specific applications. For example, the University of California system has its own application - the only platform used by UC schools - and students can apply to multiple campuses with one application.

Students can visit a college's website to determine which application platforms are accepted. Also, the Common App, Coalition Application and CBCA websites list their partner schools.

What Do I Need to Know About the College Application Essay?

As part of the application process, most colleges require students to submit at least one writing sample: the college essay. This is sometimes referred to as a personal statement.

There's usually a word limit of around several hundred words for a personal statement. The main essay on the Common App should be around 650 words.

"The application essay prompts are broad and open-ended, and I think that's sometimes what challenges students the most," says Niki Barron, associate dean of admission at Hamilton College in New York. "But they're open-ended for a reason, and that's because we do really want to see what students choose to write about, what students feel is important."

Experts say students should try to tell a story about themselves in the essay, which doesn't necessarily mean writing about a big, impressive accomplishment.

Barron says the most memorable essays for her focus on more ordinary topics. "But they're done in such a self-reflective way that it gives me so much insight into who a student is as a person and gives me such a sense of the student's voice," she adds.

What Are the Other Key Components of a College Application?

Here are other parts of the college application that prospective students should be ready for.

Personal information. In the first portion of a college application, students have to provide basic information about themselves, their school and their family.

High school transcript. Colleges also ask for an official high school transcript, which is a record of the courses students have taken and the grades they have earned.

Admissions offices typically ask that a transcript be sent directly from the high school rather than from the student, says Geoff Heckman, school counselor and department chair at Platte County High School in Missouri. Students usually submit a transcript request to their high school's counseling office, but some schools use an online service, such as Parchment or SENDedu, that allows students to request the transcript be sent through a secure online provider, Heckman says.

Students can also send their transcript via a registrar if their school has one rather than through the counseling office.

Standardized test scores. Many schools require applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores. These scores are usually sent by the testing companies. The number of schools requiring standardized test scores has dropped dramatically as the coronavirus pandemic upended these exams, with many testing centers closed across the U.S. in parts of 2020 and 2021.

Prospective students should know, however, that testing policies vary even when such exams are not required. Key terms to pay attention to include test-blind and test-optional. Test-blind means that scores will not be considered if submitted. By contrast, test-optional colleges do not require ACT or SAT scores but will consider them if submitted as part of an application.

Chu notes that "admissions officers still want to see test scores if possible" and that high marks will only help. A good ACT or SAT score varies by college, and Chu encourages students to look at a college's first-year student profile to determine its admission goals.

SAT test-takers are allowed four free score reports each time they register for the exam. Students can select which schools they'd like their scores sent to before or up to nine days after the test, according to the College Board, which administers the standardized test. The fee for each additional score report is $12.

Similarly, students who sit for the ACT can send their score to up to four colleges at no cost, according to the ACT website. Additional score reports are $16 each.

Students should seek out recommenders - often they have to be teachers or counselors - who know them well and can comment not just on their academic abilities but also their personal qualities and achievements, Chu says.

It is a good idea for students to provide recommenders with a copy of their resume to help them cover all these bases, Heckman says.

Students should request letters of recommendation well before the application deadline. Chu advises at least two months in advance.

"The more time students can give the authors of those recommendations, I think the more thorough and helpful those recommendations are going to be for us," Barron says.

Do I Need to Submit a Resume?

On some college applications, it may be optional for students to upload a resume.

But much of the information generally contained in a resume - such as awards, work experience and extracurricular activities - is asked for in other parts of a college application, often in an activities section.

In this section, students should detail all of the ways they spend their time outside of class, Barron says. This includes structured activities like sports or clubs, as well as family obligations such as caring for siblings or part-time employment, she says.

How Much Do College Application Fees Cost?

There's no set price for college application fees, which experts say typically range from $50 to $90 per application, though costs can stretch upwards of $100 in some instances. Prospective students should check college websites to determine these individual fees.

How Can I Get a College Application Fee Waiver?

Students who received SAT or ACT test fee waivers are eligible for college application fee waivers from the testing companies. The College Board sends such waivers automatically to students. Not all schools accept these waivers, but many do.

Similarly, the ACT has a fee waiver request form students and school counselors can fill out and send to colleges. The National Association for College Admission Counseling also offers a fee waiver request form.

In addition, eligible students can request a fee waiver within the body of some college applications, including the Common App.

There are other times schools waive application fees, and not just for low-income students. Students can sometimes get an application fee waived by participating in instant decision day events at their high school or on a college's campus. Applicants should also keep an eye out for free application periods in some states, when some colleges waive fees to apply.

Using a College Visit to Decide Where to Apply

A common piece of advice offered by admissions consultants and college officials alike is to tour a campus. Visiting a college can help prospective students get a sense of the culture and community and understand how they may or may not fit in. While it's not part of the formal application process, exploring a college can help students determine which schools to apply to.

Such visits, Chu says, offer a "glimpse into a day in the life" of students living and learning on those campuses. But in the absence of the opportunity to visit - say, due to cost restrictions or other travel limitations - students should consider virtual visits, which have emerged as a popular option for applicants since the coronavirus pandemic began.

While virtual tours may offer fewer opportunities to make personal connections, students should still attempt to forge them.

"Virtual visits can be the next best thing" to an in-person tour, Barron notes. She also encourages applicants to "check college websites for offerings and opportunities to connect virtually with current students, admission staff, professors, coaches and others."

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Your Complete Guide to College Applications

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The college application process can seem intimidating, especially if students don't have parents or siblings who have already been through it and can offer advice. Since there are so many steps, such as writing an essay and obtaining letters of recommendation, experts say a good way for students to get started is to create a to-do list during their junior year of high school.

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Federal Student Aid is part of the United States Department of Education, in which helps eligible students enrolled in post-secondary education with financial assistance (Federal Student Aid, n.d.). Financial Assistance is given through grants, loans, and work study. Click on the website below to see if you are eligible.

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Scholarships available to all students, specifically Juniors and Seniors enrolled in Mesquite ISD. Please read qualification requirements for eligibility.

Reference
Mesquite ISD. (n.d). Scholarships. Retrieved from
https://www.mesquiteisd.org/resources-services/college-scholarships

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Scholarship Opportunities - Mesquite ISD

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Scholarship Opportunities - Mesquite ISD

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Mesquite ISD ensures that students are up to date on what test is the best to take. This website will explain what the test are and how they apply to your college career path. Additionally it offers test waivers to eligible students.
Reference
Mesquite ISD. (n.d). SAT & ACT testing. Retrieved from https://www.mesquiteisd.org/resources-services/counseling-services/future-planning/sat

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This financial tool assist students with free financial education courses, a personal dashboard for financial track, financial tools, and much more ( National Endowment for Financial Education, 2019).

Reference
National Endowment for Financial Education.(2019). Cash course. Retrieved from https://www.cashcourse.org

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CashCourse® is a free, online noncommercial financial literacy resource for colleges and universities, created by the nonprofit National Endowment for Financial Education®. The program provides customizable, interactive personal finance tools used at more than 750 colleges and universities across the country.

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FREE or Reduced Cost Services in the Dallas Area

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FREE or Reduced Cost Services in the Dallas Area

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Theis website offers students and the public resources that are free or reduced services. Services include health care, housing, job training, food, and more (Bertha, 2019).

Reference
Bertha. (2019). Connecting people and programs. Retrieved fromhttps://www.auntbertha.com/search_results/75243

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National Career Development Association (NCDA)

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National Career Development Association (NCDA)

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NCDA provides programs and careers for professionals and for the public who is interested in career development. This website offers resources students can use to eight categories that help assist students with career planning (National Career Development Association, 2019). The categories include self assessment test, general occupational information, industry and occupation-specific information, employment trends special populations, and educational videos.
Reference
National Career Development Association. ( 2019). Internet sites for career planning. Retrieved from https://www.ncda.org/aws/NCDA/pt/sp/resources

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The Internet offers a huge variety of career resources. Many of these resources can be used for self-help career planning (see links below), although we recommend searching for a credentialed career services provider. For the benefit of career development professionals, we have undertaken a time-consuming effort to collect, organize, curate, and publish online, a listing of free, current, and credible Internet resources.

In addition to the professional judgment of the volunteers from the NCDA Technology Committee, NCDA has set the following guidelines for inclusion of the resources linked on this page:

1. Follow the mission of NCDA which is "to inspire and empower individuals to achieve their career and life goals" and may not violate the NCDA non-discrimination policy.

2. Be viewable by anyone with Internet access without any major or substantial services requiring payment (in other words the critical information is free and the site does not try to entice users into paying for fee-based services)

3. Contain accurate, factual, unbiased, and current information

4. Have strong and obvious relevance to career development

5. Be easy and clear to navigate

6. Provide information of use to the client

7. Be professionally prepared and executed (embedded links work, presentation is professional, grammar correct, appropriate use of images, no typos, extra resources and assistance provided when appropriate).

8. Display content that is appropriate and fair to all cultures and genders

9. Use professional email addresses for contact purposes.

If a new site fits the above guidelines, submit the title of the resource, the link, a 2-3 sentence description of what the site contains, and additional information for the reviewers. Submit the request now using our form- do not email NCDA. Lengthy "sales pitches" about a new site will not be considered. Updates (typically quarterly) will be made at the editor's and reviewers' discretion.

Looking for a resource to help with your career planning?

Click on the category below to find the Internet resources you wish to review and use. Before using the links, please review the NCDA Legal Notice and Disclaimer.

[Note: New links were added in April 2023 after a review of the request forms. Reviews are conducted by the NCDA Technology Committee.]

Career Service Centers are granted permission to link to this Resources webpage - please give credit to NCDA!

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NCDA | Internet Sites for Career Planning

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The Internet offers a huge variety of career resources. Many of these resources can be used for self-help career planning (see links below), although we recommend searching for a credentialed career services provider. For the benefit of career development professionals, we have undertaken a time-con…

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O*NET is a website tool that offers individuals valid occupational information about a particular job or career. Individuals can explore and learn about an occupation by clicking on the browse button in the "Find Occupations" tab. Once Inside, individuals can view the summary report (skills,abilities, work context, and job requirements, etc.,) of a particular job
Reference
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. (2018) .Summary report for: 53-2031.00 – “Flight Attendant .” O*NET Online. Retrieved from https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/53-2031.00

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Our mission is based on Super's Life-Space Theory. This theory is a useful framework for individuals because it describes in depth how to achieve life balance in the 21st Century. Balancing life-role activities requires clarity on a daily basis because of the rapid changing economy or workforce. Today, students have a endless variety of career options that can be achievable through a variety of work environments ( home, office, coffee shop, etc.,) which can make it challenging for others to understand and cope (Niles, Herr, Hartung, & ERIC Clearinghouse, 2001 ). The theory's concepts supports our goal to prepare students for the rapid changing dynamic of our economy and workforce while still being able to balance life roles and work.
References
Brandi, M. (2014 March 26).

Donald E. Super's career development theory [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxbqtEeEgA4

Niles, S. G. & Herr, E. L. & Hartung, P. J. & ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education.  (2001).  Super's life-space theory: A useful framework for achieving life balance. In ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, Center on Education and Training for Employment, College of Education, the Ohio State University (Ed.),  Achieving life balance myths, realities, and developmental perspectives.  (pp. 15-28). Columbus, OH.

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Donald E. Super's Career Development Theory CED 6020

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None-- Created using PowToon -- Free sign up at http://www.powtoon.com/ . Make your own animated videos and animated presentations for free. PowToon is a free tool that allows you to develop cool animated clips and animated presentations for your website, office meeting, sales pitch, nonprofit fundraiser, product launch, video resume, or anything else you could use an animated explainer video.

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For any questions or concerns  feel free to contact Maria Gomez, Mesquite ISD counselor. Contact information is located below.
Phone Contact: (471) 469-7235 ext #203
Office Hours: Monday-Friday
8:00-3:30pm
Conference Hours: Monday-Friday
1:30-2:30 pm
Email: mgomez2@mesquiteisd.org