High school and college administrators agree that there is more than one pathway to post-secondary education and a future career. Students might start down one road and end up on another, and that’s okay. High school is an opportunity to explore options as students learn more about themselves, their interests and their strengths.
Parents can help their teens find their way but should resist pushing them in a certain direction. Instead, they should ask questions and listen to their children, while including academic counselors, teachers and even college advisors in the discussions.
“Our kids are resourceful and aware of who they are and what they want to be as they grow up,” says Kevin Jakub, principal of Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School. “Listening to what they value and want to explore is often more valuable than trying to chart the course for them.
“Giving them experiences and exposing them to different careers and pathways only helps them make the best choices for their future,” he adds.
Experts say students should start considering various educational pathways as soon as middle school, although they should not be expected to make a final decision by their freshman year in high school.
Here are three possible college and career pathways available to high schoolers.
Advanced Placement
The Advanced Placement program provides high school students opportunities to take college-level courses that help them prepare for post-secondary education. If they score well on post-course exams, they can earn college credits.
“Because AP exams are administered to students nationally and abroad, there’s a standardization in interpreting the scoring,” says Rob Drapcho, vice president of enrollment at Baldwin Wallace University.
That means families can better predict how AP credits and high AP exam scores can boost a student’s chances of winning acceptance into a select college, even one far from home, and earning college credits ahead of time.
“A bonus is that earning college credits in high school can save thousands of dollars in tuition and allow students to double-major, study abroad or graduate early once they reach college,” says Kristina Dooley, president of Estrela Consulting, a Hudson college-planning consulting firm.
Intangible benefits of the AP program include the challenge of tackling more complex content and studying subjects more deeply.
“Taking on additional rigorous courses can help students to not only learn the content of the specific AP course, but also develop more advanced study skills that will help them beyond that particular course experience,” says Robert McCullough, vice president for enrollment at Case Western Reserve University.
John Moore, director of curriculum and instruction for the Shaker Heights City School District, says AP courses can build critical thinking skills, academic independence and confidence in students.
“The goal is meaningful growth, not collecting the largest possible number of advanced courses,” Moore says. “Colleges value well-rounded students who exemplify leadership in addition to challenging courses.”
Dual Enrollment
Ohio’s College Credit Plus program allows students to enroll in college courses while they are still in high school. Like the AP program, dual enrollment can challenge students and build their confidence as they look forward to college.
However, dual enrollment is different than AP in that students take real college courses, not just college-level courses. That means final class grades become part of their official college transcript.
“Ultimately, AP classes may help the student earn college credit, while dual-enrollment courses will help the student earn college credit,” says Rebekah Sharpe, principal of Beachwood High School.
Completing some college work in high school frees time for students once they’re in college, allowing for advantageous opportunities like studying abroad, declaring a double major or signing up for an internship with a business.
Dooley says College Credit Plus courses are tuition-free or deeply discounted, a key factor as tuition and college debt rise across the country.
However, there are limitations to dual enrollment. McCullough says public universities in Ohio are required to accept dual enrollment credits, but private schools and schools outside Ohio have their own policies. Families should make sure that credits earned through dual enrollment will transfer to the college of their choice.
Technical & Trade Schools
For students interested in a career path that doesn’t require a college degree, technical or trade schools can give them not only the knowledge and skills they need, but also the credentials, experience and certifications, according to Sharpe.
“A lot of Ohio high schools have career-technical education programs and consortiums that offer this kind of training beginning in a student’s junior year of high school,” she says.
Students in technical or trade schools — including Cuyahoga Valley and Polaris career centers in Brecksville and Middleburg Heights, respectively — can become skilled in a wide range of trades, including automotive technology, construction, culinary arts, dental assisting, engineering, healthcare, cybersecurity and computer programming.
This training can lead students directly into lucrative and in-demand jobs or apprenticeships immediately after high school. They might even earn college credits and choose college later in life.
“In many instances, these students are getting paid to complete their education and are on the job interview for post-secondary employment while still in their senior year,” Jakub says. “You can’t beat that experience or value.”
Changing Course
It’s never too late to change an educational pathway if one pathway doesn’t work, although it may cost time and money. Drapcho says students can pivot from dual enrollment to AP or even blend the two. They can try AP, then enroll in a trade school in their senior year.
“A change in direction isn’t a failure,” says Shaunna Bonner, department chair of school counseling at Shaker Heights High School. “It’s often evidence that a student has learned something important about themselves.”
Bonner encourages families to move beyond thinking of AP, dual enrollment and technical education as three separate tracks. She agrees with Drapcho that students can combine the experiences.
“Our responsibility as educators is not to prepare every student for the same next step,” Bonner says. “It’s to prepare each child with the knowledge, skills, disposition and confidence to choose their own.”
