How are you preparing for you the workforce? What are your resources? Who is in your network?

Okay, so it was fun hanging out with friends this summer, you have taken a break and recuperated from all that fun, and it is now Fall many of your friends and family have been posting pics on their Instagram and Snapchat stories from Homecoming. Maybe you have gotten your own kids settled into their school routines, you want to get yourself in line for a promotion, and this is the year – you are going back to school!

Students are being affected by “Summer Melt”. No, we aren’t talking about the record-high temperatures we have been having in Alaska. This is happening across the nation. Students who graduate from high school in May/June with postsecondary plans are not entering the doors to classes and training programs in the August/September.

Before you can attend any classes, you have to schedule them. Here are some tips to maximizing your time at school.

Résumés are the perfect place to keep track of this information. As a living, breathing document, your résumé should be kept current. You never know when an awesome opportunity will present itself. Be ready for it! Having prior experience could lead to starting a little farther along in your educational pursuits and help with the costs of attendance. If you have don’t have to take as many classes, you won’t be paying for credit hours, textbooks, or lab fees for those courses an instit...

Are you looking to move from a job to a career?  Maybe you are looking for a promotion, or you’re looking to provide an example of life-long learning to your kids.  Not sure where to start or how to make the right decisions for you?  ACPE and the Alaska Career Information System (AKCIS.org) has FREE tools to help you from every angle

In a locker, in a desk? Maybe my car? Or backpack? Where did I leave the information for that scholarship? Who was I supposed to call back? When is my scholarship application due? It’s the end of the school year, there is a lot going on. How will I keep it all straight?

What will your lifestyle look like when you finish postsecondary education and training? Will you be living in a house or apartment, eating out every night, riding a bike, going on vacations around the world? Your plans now will affect the choices available later. It’s hard to plan without really mapping out what you want your life to look like. Use the Reality Check budgeting assessment to see if your education plans meet the lifestyle you have in mind.

What do you want to be when you grow up? This is perhaps one of the scariest questions adults can ask students – unless you are among the lucky and know exactly what you want to be in adulthood. There is an online tool that will let you share your career selection progress in a way that highlights your talents and your skills and shows how those talents and skills may help you along various career paths.

Have you been asked, “How do you eat an elephant?” Maybe someone asked you as you were trying to accomplish something unfathomable, a huge task. Financial Aid is like that elephant. There is so much information out there on the topic including information on grants, scholarships, loans, federal work study, etc. But where to begin? We have the ultimate tool to help you narrow down your financial aid elephant into manageable pieces.