Counseling
Schools Adopt Online Tool To Assess College Direction
Two schools in the Atlanta area have adopted an online
tool
to help students find the best places for them to go to college and the best
career path
to pursue.
YouScience
has
signed an agreement with the Fellowship
Christian School in Roswell, GA,
and the Mount Paran
Christian School in Kennesaw, GA to have every junior and
senior use the assessment tool as they begin to talk to counselors about
what
they will do when they finish high school.
YouScience
officials
claim that by using the tool to choose the college they should go to
and the major they should select, students will be able to graduate from
college on time.
"Our
goal
is to change the outcome of college among families across America by
providing schools and counselors the assistance needed to guide students
to
their perfect education and career fit," said YouScience CEO Philip
Hardin.
YouScience
has
used research and information from The Ball Foundation, the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) and
several
United States government agencies to create potential profiles that fit each
student.
Students will then spend about two hours on the online profile.
They
start
by working their way through a series of game-like, "brain-teasing"
exercises, each taking between five and 12 minutes, that are designed to
assess
their natural abilities, specific interests and the best-fit future
opportunities for them.
Once
that
initial assessment period is complete, the YouScience software will run
through the more than 500 college and career profiles it has stored and
find
the best one for that specific student. It will then give the student
the most
likely option for colleges, careers and majors for them.
The
YouScience
online profile can be purchased by individuals at prices ranging
from $79 to $249.
However,
in
this case, the two schools will give it to all their juniors and seniors
before they begin their final year of high school.
"We
are
using it to teach students to see themselves in their best light and to
ultimately sell themselves when applying for college or a job," said
Fellowship
Christian School Counselor Beth Buchweitz.
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.