Post-Secondary Education, also called Tertiary Education, is the level of education offered after the completion of secondary education, that is, after the completion of twelfth grade. The years of education offered in high school are collectively called secondary education; any kind of vocational training, curricular courses, specialized educational programs, courses in colleges and universities, specific training programs, and the like, fall under the category of post-secondary education and can only be applied to, on the successful completion of primary and secondary education from a recognized institution. Let’s know What Is Post-Secondary Education?
Gone are the days when one had to sign up for post-secondary education and sit through courses to get a degree and ultimately, stand on their own feet. With time, the misconception surrounding the fact that having one or multiple degrees increases your chances of lucking out on the job market and landing up a good salary package is slowly starting to go away, as more and more people are beginning to accept the presence and legitimacy of other career options. Careers that do not necessarily require the usual run-of-the-mill degree from a college or university used to be thought of and labeled as unconventional, but thanks for the developing times and technology too, for that matter to some extent, people are beginning to look at the so-called ‘unconventional’ career choices in a different, much better light than they used to be looked at, even up until a few years ago.
Post-Secondary Education- Yay Or Nay
Get this: you have just finished high school, you are legally an adult by age, probably already got your driver’s license, and your graduation ceremony is around the corner. Someone comes up to you and asks, “What are your plans? Are you planning to go to college or…” and trails off; if you find yourself not being able to answer this very common and soon-to-get repetitive question, or you find yourself being hesitant, you need to stop everything you have been doing and figure out what you are going to do next.
Ideally, you should be having an idea or at least a brief outline of sorts about what you want to do after finishing school- continue your passion for dance and think of doing it full-time? Go for it. Maybe take up that summer art course you have been making puppy eyes at? Nothing like it. Apply to Harvard and see what happens, while keeping back-ups ready? Why not? But whatever you end up deciding on, make sure to have the plan ready by junior year, latest. This entire process of choosing your career and which road you want to go down can be and without a doubt, actually, very daunting and time-consuming. So, make sure to start when you have time in your hands, not when you are about to get your scroll and turn your cap the other way at the ceremony.
Academic Field-
If you enjoy academics and are willing to make notes and do projects with the goal in mind that all this will ultimately help you land up that dream job, you should consider applying to a college or a university. Yes, the work pressure will be unreal, like nothing you have faced before. Yes, you will be left to do and work with stuff on your own a lot. Yes, you will be expected to behave like an adult and make academic decisions on your own. If you are willing to work hard and can see a bright academically enthused future ahead of you, start looking up majors you might be interested in. If you are exasperated just by reading about all of this here, maybe reconsider if you were planning on going to college?
Tertiary-level education will not be as lenient as primary and secondary education has been. Trust me when I say this, while in school, you are bound to feel like that is the most difficult thing anyone can face and life after school will be easier because you will be able to make your own decisions and be on your own, in general. If that is the case, you could not be farther away from the truth; life after school is stressful, to say the least. If you think you can handle that and have a knack for academics, start looking up which colleges have courses that interest you, what subject you want to major in.
Post-Secondary Education is a ‘yay’ for those who enjoy studying and putting in those extra hours in front of a screen and books; if you have anything else planned and are more or less that will work out, this might be a ‘nay’ for you. But hey, your life, you get to pull the strings.
Okay, You Want To Continue With Post-Secondary Education. But With What?
While in school, you must have come across this person who sits in an office, the door of which has the nameplate “career counselor”. You might have seen this person talk in some assemblies, hold boring sessions about how you should start thinking about taking your career decisions and what you want to do after school. You might have dismissed their sessions during school, but they are the ones you should approach when in doubt about which career path to pursue, what subject to major in, and if you are a good fit at all, for college.
But before your school’s career counselor juts in with their opinions and suggestions, you should be the first person to work on this- because no one knows you better than yourself. Talk with your family, close relatives, but most importantly, ask yourself what interests you and which one of your interests are you willing to harbor more and make a career out of it. The ideal situation is the merging of what you are passionate about and what you want your career to be in the merging of your passion and profession.
After you have collected your thoughts and made some brief notes shortlisting possible career options, you can consult your school’s career counselor and ask for her opinion. Most career counselors are equipped with the latest information and updates about which colleges offer which courses, which subject is best suited as per your liking and the notes you have made, and which colleges offer that subject and have good faculty, and which ones you should ultimately consider. In case you are unsure of which subject to narrow down to, or if you should be going down the academic route at all, there are plenty of aptitude tests available both online and offline that can help you make up your mind.
Things to keep in mind-
- One thing to be kept in mind before shortlisting colleges and universities that you will be applying to after school is that the first step should always be figuring out which subject you want to get a degree in; this is also applicable if you are thinking of applying to colleges for sports like soccer or swimming. You should never choose the college first and then start looking into what courses and subjects they offer from which you think of selecting the one you can adjust with. Your topmost priority should be the subject you are most comfortable putting rigorous effort and hard work in, not some nametag of a university.
- Choosing the university first is problematic firstly because it narrows down your options, making you decide from only selected subjects and you might even unconsciously think of compromising with the subject for the sake of the university. You should figure out the subject first and trust me, this country has plenty of options for all kinds of subjects that you can dream of getting a degree in.
- If Ivy-League colleges are not the ones having the subject you like, you do not need to compromise with the subject and choose something you might end up regretting choosing to come to college altogether after term starts, and have a miserable college life always fretting and worrying, thinking that it is probably the degree that does not want you. so, before zeroing in on anything, make sure to make the subject you would major in, your priority and not the fame of a college, however top-notch they may seem to be.
Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, And Princeton Are Not The Only Colleges In The Country
- If you are thinking of taking the academic route and have a list of colleges you want to apply to, make sure to add enough fallback options to that list. Ideally, your list should have a minimum of three categories, the first of which will have the reputed and top tier colleges, following which, will be plan B in case for some reason or the other, plan A does not work. Category B should have colleges that provide a major in your choice of subject and have good faculty and other necessary facilities, but are not as renowned as the ones in category A. lastly, for your own good, you should have a category C ready with another bunch of colleges you will apply to if things go wrong with plan A and plan B.
- Not all colleges specialize in every subject out there. You might want to go to an Ivy-League college but then realize that they either do not have the best faculty for it, or they do provide the subject but due to the lack of scholarship opportunities, it will be financially heavy on you and your family.
- Keeping the topic of finances aside, for now, you first need to understand that the most hyped-up colleges which are seemingly the hardest to get into, if they do not have the best faculty for your subject or do not have your desired course at all, you do not need to compromise. You would rather go to a college listed in your plan B that has the best faculty and amenities for you than go to a renowned college with a hefty fee structure and major in a subject that you are not comfortable with. For example,
- Harvard is known for its phenomenal faculty of business schools, and the social science departments;
- Yale is known for the Biological and Biomedical courses, Mathematical Sciences and Engineering;
- Princeton is known for the opportunities they provide in the field of sports, for their Computer and Information Sciences and other research-based subjects; and Berkeley is known for the courses they provide in Physics and Economics, Chemistry and in Environment and Ecology.
If any of these subjects are of your interest, you can go ahead and try for these universities.
- Keep in mind only a few of a whole lot of subjects are mentioned here; make sure to check the university websites to look for more details. Even if they do not provide your subject, it is not the end of the world. There are plenty of other colleges in and outside of the country that will have the subject you are looking forward to majoring in. Private colleges are not automatically the best ones out there; you should be considering a few community colleges too. Keeping your subject in mind, do extensive research on which colleges in and outside the country (if you are planning on studying abroad), are compatible with what career you want to be in.
Think And Plan Out Scholarship Opportunities From Beforehand
Coming to the financial part of things, you are technically an adult by the time you start applying to colleges/ start your first term somewhere. This implies you should be taking some responsibility for the finances involved in your Post-Secondary education. Even though you are thinking of going to pursue a major in academics or going to university for sports, or seriously considering sports as a career path and enrolling yourself in an institution, going to design school, or taking up vocational training courses for that matter, all of these involve the financial issue; some places more than the others. Your first job is to look for scholarship options and start applying for the ones you are eligible for applying. If those scholarship application forms require specific documents that are government-issued, make sure to have those ready before the deadline rolls in. Taking up internships while in school will not only add to your resume but also help you financially, however little that may be.
The Actual Application And How To Prep For It
Most colleges give the most priority to your GPA, or Grade Point Average of your years in high school. So, keep that in check and do your best to keep this score high. Apart from your GPA, colleges look for your co-curricular engagements and achievements in and outside school. The more well-rounded a person you can show yourself to be through your documents and in the interview, the greater are your chances of getting shortlisted. Some good co-curricular to add to your application would be community service, involvement in environment-related activities, display of leadership skills, at least one or more club memberships, organizing workshops, and if possible, an internship or two, ideally in your preferred subject. These will take your application to the next level and set you apart from the thousand other applicants.
Always keep the deadline in check and do not leave this application filling process till the last moment. And, apply to all the colleges in your list, making sure you have applied to some from each of the three categories.
If Not College, Then What?
If you think you are better off without another academic degree and have something else in mind, consult with your family and/or teachers to figure out if you can make a career out of it.
You could also take a gap year to figure out what it is that you want to do professionally. A lot of people these days are venturing out in the small business industry; if you have a solid plan ready for anything of that sort, there is no better time to put your full time and energy into this and make your vision come to life.
If you want to venture out into the small business industry, try looking up and studying how the other already established businesses are doing, and how they started. If your product/service has potential and you can work on the delivery and other parts of production and managing the said business, you should put your energy into this to help it bloom into a proper well-established business one day, and you, an entrepreneur.
If you think social media influencing and content creating on various video-sharing platforms is your thing, nothing should stop you from pursuing it.
But keep in mind, neither of these plans will be successful immediately- any career path will take its course and time to bloom into your profession and you should be willing to put in the required time and hard work to successfully make a career for yourself.
