Planning for College

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What do you want to do after high school?

The first step in planning for college is to think about what you want to do after high school. What skills do you have already? What kind of job would you like to have one day? What college programs fit those interests, and which schools offer those programs? For help finding your strengths and defining your interests, take the Interest Profiler, Career Cluster Survey, and Career Keys survey provided by CFNC.

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What kind of college do you want to attend?

"College" could be a certification program, trade school, two year degree, four year degree, or beyond! Each of these different kinds of schools offers unique experiences, opportunities, and costs. This slide set from the College Board outlines the many different kinds of postsecondary education options.

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Which schools are you interested in?

Once you have an idea of what you'd like to study and what kind of school you're interested in, think about where you want to apply. The CFNC college search tool allows you to search schools in North Carolina, filtering by dozens of different criteria. Big Future's college search tool does the same for the entire country.