BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – It’s a busy time of year for high school seniors beginning to make decisions about what they want to do when they graduate. In the most recent survey conducted by the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, 70% of seniors said they were looking to continue education or training after high school. The rate had been about 75% every other time the biannual survey was conducted since 2012. VSAC officials say Vermont’s rate of college-bound students is slightly below the national average.
“Kids generally are looking at doing things other than the college pieces because of the cost,” said Bob Hall, a guidance counselor at Colchester High School.
He says in the past five years he’s noticed students and parents spending more time considering finances before applying to college. Oftentimes, those conversations involve those who don’t qualify for full need-based tuition but still have trouble fronting the bill.
“For those college-bound students, we’re definitely seeing a big increase in early college,” Hall said.
Hall says 11 students pursued dual enrollment last year, where students can earn college credits in high school. He says he’s also seeing a steady interest in trade programs.
“It’s good for them, it’s good for us, it’s good for the economy because we’re short tradespeople,” said Hall.
“Those internships and shadowing experiences, especially with the cost of higher education, is becoming a bigger consideration for a lot of our graduates,” said Ry Hoffman, the director of counseling at Champlain Valley Union High School.
Hoffman says with more alternatives available like apprenticeships in nursing and engineering, some students are looking beyond the traditional two or four-year college path.
Hoffman says 74% of their students are seeking higher education.
“A lot of students are still heading off to those four-year colleges, but a lot of undeclared, so a lot haven’t defined what their direction is quite yet,” Hoffman said.
He says they have noticed over the past few years that more students are focused on the college fit and less on a specific major, noting more and more colleges aren’t allowing students to choose a major in the first year.