If You Are A High School Student. . .

Explore the Michigan Career Pathways.

Identify one or two pathways you want to focus on and watch for ways to get real-world experiences in those career areas. If you don't know enough about the Pathways to choose, use some of the resources and links we provide you at this Ferris State University Career Pathways Web site to learn more. You can also try to link your potential careers to a couple of the degrees that will get you there. CLICK HERE to explore the relationships between a degree and a career, and get into some examples of degrees moving into careers. (There's usually more than one way to arrive at any career.)

Develop an Educational Development Plan (EDP) that academically prepares you for the degree(s) in which you have a serious interest. A student's Educational Development Plan builds a four-year high school plan that will be good preparation for a chosen future career.

Take advantage of Dual Enrollment programs your high school may have arranged with a nearby community college or university. Earn college credit while you are still in high school. Ask your high school counselor whether your school has such an arrangement, and if it does, how you can qualify to participate. Ferris State University participates with local students in this program.

If you are very successful in some high school subjects, find out whether there are any Advanced Placement classes you can take while still in high school. Your high school counselor can tell you whether Advanced Placement (sometimes called AP) classes are available to you.

You may also be able to earn college credit by exam (sometimes called CLEP credits) toward the end of high school or the beginning of college. The college that you choose to attend will be able to tell you if they accept CLEP and AP credits, and what score you would need to earn in order to receive credit from their college. The above links show you what Ferris will accept.

Some students are able to earn college credit at their high school or career center through the articulation process. To identify what articulation is and to see some examples of credits that Ferris accepts, CLICK HERE.

Get serious about career discovery, exploration and experience. Dig into the wonderful Counseling U. site. There are lots of great ideas and resources there to get you in the right mental framework for college success. Have your parents take a look at the site, too. There's a special section for them.

Visit a college campus to experience what campus life is all about. CLICK HERE if you want to arrange a campus visit to Ferris State University as a high school guest.