Picking post-secondary plans after high school can be a difficult process, thanks to a seemingly endless number of questions students must answer; “What do I want to do after high school?” “How do I pay for it?” “Where do I even want to go to college?!”

Fear not, students! There are resources to aid you in this process.

Last week, St. Petersburg College admissions officers visited Lakewood High School to offer seniors some help with the application process – for free.

A typical SPC application is usually $40 so a 100% mark down doesn’t sound like too bad of a deal. All students needed to do was to bring two forms of identification so they could fill out their application.

So why would SPC be a good choice for some students and how do you make that decision for yourself?

Picking Post Secondary Plans

“I just kind of help them prepare a plan for when they graduate,” College and Career Readiness Coordinator Brandon Cooper said.

Firstly, it all starts with figuring out the big picture. What do YOU want to do after high school.

Cooper explains that there are four main pathways that he goes over with students; going directly to the work force, technical school, four-year college or two-year college. He also tasks students with asking themselves the question, “Where do they see themselves as an adult,” Cooper said.

This means asking yourself questions like what your passions are, how much money do you want to be making and if there is a certain type of lifestyle you want to live.

Secondly, students need to figure out what schools they can reach the requirements for. “I try to be as real as possible with the students,” Cooper explains.

Almost every student has a dream or ideal school, but each school has different requirements. Cooper does his best to stay realistic with students, so he also has them consider what their GPA and test scores are.

“I don’t want to have kids waste time and money on an application where they’re not going to get into that particular school,” Cooper said.

Once they find the answer to these questions, they can go through with picking post-secondary plans.

It All Comes Down to Cost

Now if you decide you want to take the two-year college or even four-year college route. SPC is a good option for you.

“I can say a lot when it comes to programs and opportunities, but the biggest benefit is going to be the cost,” SPC admissions recruiter Nathan Larkins said.

Moreover, the claim is no exaggeration. Most Pinellas County high schools are partnered with SPC in which they offer the Promise Scholarship. This lets high school graduates get their associates degree – first two years of college- for free!

This works well for either the two-year or four-year college route.

This is a great option for students who still want to go to their dream school and still can and at a cheaper price. “You get your two years if you really want to go to a big college, and then you can transfer,” Larkins explained.

In fact, Larkins speaks from experience. “In recruitment, I actually get to help students not make the same mistakes I did,” Larkins said.

Now as an admissions recruiter Larkins wishes he had taken the SPC route instead.

Larkins went to Florida State University and explained that he had around $6,000 dollars in scholarships but didn’t know what to do with the money at the time and his major was also undecided. All Larkins really knew about FSU was that it was FSU.  “You don’t want to go there half heartly and not understand that a degree is meant to get you a job,” Larkins said.

However, a lot of people think that if you go to a community college, you’ll lose college experience. Larkins thinks otherwise.

Larkins believes that “it’s a hinderance if you don’t understand why you’re going to college.”

He uses the example of someone who wants to become a teacher, and he explains that yes, they could get their degree at some big college for $40,000 or on the other hand pay $14,000 dollars to get their degree at SPC.

In addition, even if a student still really wants to go to a big university to get the “college experience”, they can always get their first two years at SPC and transfer- saving a lot of money.

Nevertheless, that decision is still up to the student. If they are comfortable with the cost of a bigger school or have the means to go to that school at a cheaper cost, they should go for it!

In addition to this SPC offers plenty of programs, certifications, and associate and bachelor’s degrees to choose from.

A Student’s Perspective

For a lot of students, they will see SPC as a safety school. This is the case for Senior Xaiver Terrell.

“Mainly just in case if I don’t get into a university I want to,” Terrell said. Terrell sees SPC as a good opportunity for him because he knows that he could save money by getting his associates degree at SPC then transferring to a university.

Senior Yue Peters was mostly interested in SPC for its affordable price and variety of programs.

In the end college is not the only option for post-secondary plans! What matters is to pick the best option for you.