STUDENT ENGAGEMENT:

It can be difficult to really know what something is when you can’t see the whole picture. The students will begin this lesson by experiencing this first hand by trying to guess objects close-up and then further away. There are many videos on the internet featuring this type of game that could be very engaging for students. There is also a photograph slideshow that features examples available here: intoolkit.com/wholepicture
 

Allow students to guess the objects during the first two images and then discuss the clues that helped them identify the object after it is revealed.
 

 

DIGGING IN:

Oftentimes, even high school seniors have a top college in mind with little to base their choice on. Those students are making decisions without the full picture. In this lesson, students are going to compare and rank colleges according to a number of factors and will eventually identify a single college that could be an excellent fit.
 

Pass out the “College Comparisons” sheet and ask students to log onto: intoolkit.com/collegefinder (https://finder.learnmoreindiana.org/). The truth is that not every college has every program to prepare students for a given career. A student may already have a college in mind, but there is no guarantee that the college has a program to prepare them for the career they want. This website can help students identify the programs at colleges and universities around Indiana. Have the students search for a program that matches their top career. Once they’ve located a list of colleges with an appropriate program, have them list 3-6 in the top lines. They can list these colleges in their order of preference (with their favorite in the #1 position).
 

Students may need assistance in identifying college majors that match their career interests. Be sure to walk the room to offer ideas and troubleshoot issues.
 

Next, the students are going to reorder this list of colleges based upon their distance from where they are. Students can visit: intoolkit.com/incollegemap to see a map of Indiana’s colleges and universities. A handful of schools may not appear on this map. Students use Google Maps to identify the distance of these schools. The reordered list should include the closest school at #1.
 

Finally, students will reorder their lists one more time. This time they will reorder the schools based upon their “Cost of Attendance.” Remind students that a school’s “Cost of Attendance” includes tuition, room and board, books, and miscellaneous fees for just one year of school. This amount can usually be found by visiting the college or university’s website and typing “Cost of Attendance” into the search function. Searching “Cost of Attendance” and the name of a school into Google will also usually offer good results.
 

Make sure to tell students that for schools within 50 miles of their home, they can remove the cost of room and board (usually about $10,000) from of the “Cost of Attendance” if they are willing to live at home with a parent or guardian.

​

​

INTO ACTION:

After the students have created their list and reordered it twice, they can tally the ranking numbers for each school. The school with the lowest total after tallying will be their top school for this exercise.
 

Discuss student results with the class. Were they surprised with the results? Can they see themselves attending this school to prepare for their career? Soon, students will be working to create detailed profiles of a college or university that they feel would be a good fit. While students can certainly choose any college they wish to research more about, the college that came out on top in this lesson might be a perfect fit.