<p><strong>I posted this in the empty-nest thread and decided I’d like a potentially wider variety of responses</strong></p>
<p>I’ve been a stay-at-home mom since we sold our businesses 10 years ago. H became an elementary teacher and I volunteer in his class, as I did in kids’ classes throughout elem & middle school years. I’ve been on the county media committee and provided FCA snacks for six years and on a high school curriculum committee for four years. My degree is obsolete - was a computer programmer in the 80’s before helping H run our businesses.</p>
<p>I’ve always been hands-on and proactive with S&D’s education in and out of school. 4-H, scouts, school and service projects, etc. have always been the focus of our household. </p>
<p>When S finally got excited about a college last summer, a tremendous reach school in the northeast, we researched and realized that many that seek admission to this type of school have years of preparation and even private college consultants. I half-seriously-half-jokingly told him since I couldn’t afford to hire a cc, I would become one. Thanks to this board, reading stacks of books, and the internet, in general, I learned enough to help him get into his dream school, get good financial aid, and earn more scholarships than he can use (we’re working on deferring).</p>
<p>Almost everything that I love doing involves kids, so as I try to figure out what I want to be when I grow up, examine my new skill set, and consider the schedule I want and need (with a school-teacher H who is off when my own kids will be off), I’m wondering what kind of job I can do in the school system that doesn’t require years of schooling to get started. Has anyone on here had any luck parlaying their newfound knowledge of college admissions, financial aid, and scholarships into a paying job, specifically for a school system?</p>
<p>should this go in another catagory?</p>
<p>It’s a nice idea! Seems to be a good direction to take for those who have learned lots through this process and enjoy helping others. I have no experience with this sort of thing, but was wondering…would there be anything wrong with printing up some business cards, getting a resume together (including your college research experience) and making some phone calls and meeting with hs principals/superintendents? Short of that, advertise your services throughout your district. A few happy clients will speak volumes in your resume. Good luck!</p>
<p>Our school has a College and Career Center, staffed by a person who marshals information about colleges, testing, scholarships, financial aid, military service, career speakers, etc. and helps kids with their questions. It pays on the level of a clerical job and doesn’t require a degree. It comes under the Guidance Counseling Office. This person also does whatever jobs the Counseling Office asks her to do.</p>
<p>I’d check your local high schools to see if any of them have such a center. You could volunteer at one of them and get to know people. A harder road would be to pitch starting one at a high school that didn’t have one.</p>
<p>i heard of someone who was a pta mom who became director of the school’s newly formed foundation. maybe…you could explore something with the foundation (or start one for the school) …and expand the role to include scholarship/admissions type advising services or something? development (fund raising) would be included.</p>
<p>Carolyn Z. Lawrence posts here often and also has her own advice site. (You can google her name for it.) She is very gracious, and I bet she would be willing to share some info about her career path.</p>
<p>I know someone who pursued this as a career after guiding two kids into college. She got a certificate for college counseling through UCLA, the extension program for adults. I think you can do it online.</p>
<p>You could see if there’s a way to volunteer to help students who need it at nearby high schools and start to build up a reputation and networks through h.s guidance counselors who would then refer clients to you once you’re ready to start a business.</p>
<p>All of our counselors at our school belong to the National Association for College Admission Counseling. I am not sure about how becoming a part of that works, but I also know they spend some good parts of their summer going to visit schools and attending other professional development things. There is a website so just google the organization.</p>
<p>I need help with scholarships - but I can’t pay you. :(</p>
<p>Great information! Thanks everyone.</p>
<p>I especially like the grant-writing and college and career center ideas - if I had some idea of how to fund a position, it would more likely be well-received. Anyone know any shortcuts to possible sources? </p>
<p>In our area, only a handful over the years have gone OOS for college and many stay at our local CC because they don’t know their options. I’m almost positive no one would think to hire a college consultant and most couldn’t (or wouldn’t) afford one if they did. Having someone at our high school (the only one in the county) would be the only way to help kids.</p>
<p>The committe I’m on is High Schools That Work. Our school system is really trying to improve course rigor, while adding and promoting AP courses. My son going AWAY to college is helping some in and out of the school consider possibilities. I’d like to help us move in the direction of exploring options and thinking outside the box. There are many great kids here with tremendous talent and passion, just not a lot of guidance. It’s not the school’s fault - we have 7 counselors for 3000 kids, and the overriding focus is drop-out rates and passing the high school graduation test.</p>
<p>Thanks again - keep posting!!</p>
<p>There are groups that get grants to help under-served/low income groups with college planning/financial aid issues. Our school has a fellow who comes in one or two afternoons a week to help low income Hispanic kids with FAFSA, etc., but he will help anyone who asks–without regard to income or other factors. His group is funded by a grant.</p>
<p>I’ll have to ask him more particularly about his group’s funding. But won’t see him till next school year, I am afraid.</p>
<p>I would check out other high schools in the state to see if they have a College and Career Center and how they are set up. Sometimes, being able to point out something that is already set up is a help (“Springfield, in a rival county, has a College and Career Center for their high school students. Shouldn’t we have one also?”)</p>
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<p>This is a first great step–getting kids started on a college prep curriculum will lead to more interest in colleges in general. Could the school get you a room where you could collect and display college catalogs and other material (that come to the counselors through the mail) and information about SAT/ACT testing? The counselors could refer students to you or there could be a student club formed that would come in during lunch to get info and support each other in the college search (our school has an IB club). Of course, at first all of your efforts may need to be on a volunteer basis.</p>
<p>NACAC is a professional organization that includes both college admissions officers and college counselors I think. (Remember, like interior decorating, college counseling isn’t a hobby, and there are people on both sides of the desk who make a long and serious profession of it.) See the Web site:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nacac.com%5B/url%5D”>www.nacac.com</a></p>
<p>thanks mattmom, your advice is well-received - if I did take this on, it would be done well and not just something in which to dabble - even in volunteer work I tend to go overboard rather than sell short - which is why I’ve kept career and child-raising mutually exclusive.</p>
<p>Modadunn, ellemenope, jazzymom, LurkNessMonster, condor30, and bettzke I really appreciate your ideas, information, and advice, too. I will spend some time researching them, while I ponder if this is really something to which I can commit. </p>
<p>I’ve read recently that a perimenopausal woman has a new burst of ambition and creativity beginning in this stage of her life - I’m not sure if it’s true, or if just the suggestion has me stirred. We’ll see.</p>