College and Career Center

EdAdvance Adult & Continuing Education is a state and locally funded program serving 17 school districts. Barkhamsted, Colebrook, Hartland, Litchfield, New Hartford, Norfolk, Plymouth, Region 1,  Region 6, Region 7,  Region 14, Region 15, Sherman, Thomaston, Torrington, Watertown and Winchester.

EdAdvance Adult & Continuing Education Website

Bristol Technical Education Center (TEC) offers a program where 12th-grade PHS students can participate in one of their work-based programs if they apply and are accepted in their junior year.  Students begin their day at PHS for one class and then go to Bristol TEC for a 9:30 AM start to finish their day.  PHS arranges and provides transportation.  They attend a full-day program and complete hours toward certification in their area of study.  Areas of study include automotive technology (2 years), Culinary Arts (1 year), Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration (HVAC/R) (2 year), Mechatronics Technology (1 year), Precision Machining Technology (1 year) and Welding & Metal Fabrication (1 year).  Current juniors apply between November 1st and March 15th by writing a statement of interest and having their school counselor fill out a survey.  Successful completion of the program results in a certificate from Bristol TEC for its one-year programs and a high school diploma from Pomperaug High School.

Aviation Maintenance Technician: Current seniors can apply prior to May 1st.  There is a post-grad application that can be downloaded, completed and sent with a transcript.  An admissions test is required with a minimum score needed due to FAA regulations and standards.   

Programs are small, with approximately 18 spots for each course, and competitive.  Students should see their school counselor if interested in this path and ideally should be thinking about it at least sophomore year to be able to complete the CT state graduation requirements without having to overload their schedules.

SchooLinks

Within SchooLinks there is a career exploration section for students to explore.

SchooLinks Login

O*NET Online

O*NET Online has detailed descriptions of the world of work for use by job seekers, workforce development, and HR professionals, students, researchers and more!

www.onetonline.org

Occupational Outlook Handbook (US Department of Labor): A nationally recognized source of career information.

Connecticut Department of Labor:  Online access to Connecticut jobs, employment services, labor market statistics, and school to career information.  

College Resources

SchooLinks: New this year, each PHS student has a SchooLinks account to help with the post-secondary planning process. Students can take career interest inventories, explore potential colleges, create a resume, and more! 

College Board Online: College Board online provides information on how to make smart college choices, register and get test dates, practice with real test questions, find the best school for you and how to choose it, write a winning application and apply online, and get financial aid facts.

Peterson's Online: Provides online directories of educational institutions, financial aid sources, career information, and other similar topics.

Princeton Review:  Review.com has information on careers, college, grad, law, business, or medical schools and the advice you need to achieve your goals.

The Common Application:  

The Common Application was developed so students would not have to fill out different applications for every school on their list. Instead, they complete this application once and send copies to participating colleges (although some schools require supplemental information like an additional essay, or answers to a few extra questions). If you are applying to one of over 800 colleges that use the Common Application, you will find an application at this site.

Connecticut Mentor: Your online source for information and applications for Connecticut's colleges and universities. Learn about financial aid options.

College Prowler: College search "by students, for students." CollegeProwler.com has more than 200,000 student reviews and coverage on nearly 7,000 schools. Research and compare colleges, read student reviews, find scholarships.

YOUniversitytv: With over 3,000 exclusive college and career related videos, we are the experts here to help you find out what colleges and careers are really like!

BOOKS

• Ruggs Recommendations on the Colleges
• College Book of Majors
• College Atlas
• College Finder
• Colleges That Change Lives

There's An App for That!

• Collegeboard "The Official SAT Question of the Day"
• Peterson’s College Guide
• SAT Math Tutor
• Own Your Own Future

The Financial Aid Information Page:  A look at financial aid from the students' and parents' points of view.

• Links to most aid resources (federal, state, collegiate, and private)
• Answers to frequently asked questions
• Updates on just released reports
• Calculators for determining costs  

Fastweb: This site provides information on nearly 400,000 scholarship opportunities. You have to register and fill out 6 registration pages with personal information. The site will find information on scholarships, fellowships, internships and loans that are appropriate for you. You can go back to the site every few weeks to see if there are any new opportunities that fit your profile. You will also receive e-mail messages alerting you to new scholarships that match your search criteria.

FAFSA on the web:  This site allows an electronic alternative to the paper and pencil method of filing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).

CSS Profile:  Many schools and scholarship programs require additional information about your family's finances to help them award non-federal aid. This information is gathered through the College Board PROFILE. 

The Student Aid: This site is a must. The Student Aid walks you through the application process, telling you about the FAFSA and the six other federal grant and loan programs.

There are five service academies in the U.S. (Air Force, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine, Naval, and West Point). They represent some of the country’s best colleges, and all tuition, fees, room, and board are paid in exchange for five years of active duty upon graduation. If you’re considering applying to an academy, there is a thorough procedure you must follow. Because of the extraordinary competition for academy selection, students are encouraged to apply to other less competitive colleges as well and inquire about any ROTC opportunities.

United States Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs, CO): www.usafa.af.mil
United States Coast Guard Academy (New London, CT): www.cga.edu
United States Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point, NY): www.usmma.edu
United States Military Academy (West Point, NY): www.usma.edu
United States Naval Academy (Annapolis, MD): www.usna.edu

Preparation

Not only are the personal and academic demands extraordinary at the academies, they are also among the most selective colleges in the country. Therefore, it is important to start preparing in three key areas well before the time of application in order to be competitive for admission:

1. Academic Preparation: Take a strong college preparatory program including four years of English (Rhetoric & Persuasion is recommended), four years of math (Pre-Calculus and Calculus are recommended), each of the core sciences (Biology, Chemistry, and Physics), and relevant courses in computer science, social studies (Economics and Psychology are recommended), and world language (modern is recommended: Chinese, French, German, or Spanish).

2. Physical Fitness Preparation: Improve your physical strength and endurance by participating in competitive sports, running regularly, and performing strenuous conditioning exercises.

3. Leadership Preparation: Participate in extracurricular activities to gain leadership experience.

Application Process

Service academy applicants must be at least 17 years old, but no more than 23 years old, as of July 1 of the year of admission, must be a U.S. citizen, and must be unmarried, not pregnant, and have no legal obligation to support any dependents.

As with most colleges, the application process at the academies begins junior year. Starting in the junior spring as information becomes available online, fill out the Pre-candidate Questionnaire for each of the academies to which you are interested in applying. At the same time you begin the application process to the academy itself, request information about a nomination from a Connecticut congressional representative or other eligible nominator.

Nominations

A nomination is required for each of the service academies besides the Coast Guard Academy (where appointments are made on the basis of a nationwide competition). There are several nomination sources, including U.S. Senators from Connecticut, our district’s U.S. House Representative, and the Vice President for extremely qualified candidates nationwide. There are also various military affiliates with nominating authority if one of your parents is on active duty or retired from the military, a deceased or disabled veteran, or a Medal of Honor recipient.

Since competition for nomination and appointment is stiff, candidates should apply to all possible sources and for all academies in which they have a genuine interest. A candidate may be nominated by more than one source and/or to more than one academy.

Each house representative and each senator is allowed a maximum of five persons (called “charges”) toward her or his quota at any one time at each of the academies. When a “charge” either graduates or leaves school, a vacancy is created.

Candidates are directly appointed to the Merchant Marine Academy on a statewide basis. Each year, Connecticut has five vacancies. Each congressman nominates ten candidates who compete with nominees from the rest of the state to be appointed. For the Military, Air Force, and Naval Academies, each of the Connecticut congressmen uses the competitive method of nominating. Nominations are determined based on scholarship, personal character, extracurricular activities and athletics, physical aptitude, and leadership. Each congressman gives a list of ten nominees to the academy for each vacancy, and the academy’s admission committee selects the most qualified candidate, who becomes the congressman’s “charge.” Other nominees may still be considered for appointments, but won’t be the congressman’s “charge.”

Interested candidates should download nomination application materials from the congressman’s web site during spring of junior year. The completed application is due in October of senior year, and by December, each congressman submits his or her list of nominees to the respective academies. Keep in mind that separate documentation must be submitted to the nomination sources and to the academies themselves, as information is not shared by the congressmen.

Each Connecticut senator has his own web site for applying to academies:

• U.S. Senator Chris Murphy
• U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal 

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