College Access & Opportunity Guide

The College Access & Opportunity Guide put out by CSO College Center is a fantastic new guide we just added to our library collection. It features a section related to planning for college as well as high school timelines with a checklist for things to do during each year of high school. It also includes advice from college students and other experts as well as a section on why you should find a mentor and how to go about finding one. The best find in the book would be links to a wealth of information about how to apply for college scholarships and other grants.

The last part of the book has profiles of colleges and universities from all fifty states. Most of the UT campuses throughout Texas are listed. Look below are sites that are affiliated with this publication. These would be a great place to start, or stop in at the FHS Library to check out the print edition of this guide. If you are looking for other resources on college planning, don't forget to look in the college and career collection in the library.

http://www.csocollegecenter.org/

http://www.knowhow2go.org/

Are you preparing?

One of the building blocks for advanced literacy is to read and understand a wide range of nonfiction and technical texts. According to the book College and Career Ready by David T. Conley, students in college read more materials in a wider range of formats. In preparation for college or the workforce, it will benefit you to be a well rounded reader. You can best accomplish this by reading works that you normally don't. Nonfiction books can be a good place to start. Ask Ms. Bivins for recommendations of nonfiction titles that are being required by college freshman or look at her earlier post on Teen Speak labeled 'nonfiction'. Some of these titles are in the FHS Library.

Below are some other suggested nonfiction titles from the School Library Journal's List of Best Books for 2010. The titles listed are currently available in the FHS Library.

They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Time You Let Me In: 25 Poets Under 25 by Naomi Shihab

Sources: http://www.amazon.com/; http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/; http://www.collegecareerready.com/

The focus of the Teen Speak Blog is to provide content geared toward teens. Where they are at and where they are going. If you see a slant toward college and career readiness, this is intentional. You won't be at Frisco High School forever so depending on what grade you are in, you should be thinking about your future or you are already planning for it. If you don't know where to start, start with the library. Check with Ms. Bivins about online sources of information. There is a wealth out there and she can help you to sort through it and find the information you want. If you don't know it, the library has a great college and career section. Ask to see it.

On a final note, check the September issue of U.S. News & World Report. The entire issue is focused on the college bound and rankings for the best college. It is loaded with information. Check it out at: http://www.usnews.com/