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College/Career Planning

WANT TO BECOME A TEACHER? Students interested in becoming educators have the opportunity to earn an Education Pathway Endorsement from Fulton High School and the State of Illinois. Some of the benefits are below.

• Completion of the pathway allows the students to earn a certificate of completion from the state of Illinois.
• Golden Apple Scholarship
  • Golden Apple Scholars receive:
  • Up to $23,000 in financial assistance for college, inclusive of paid Scholar Institutes
  • Extensive classroom teaching experience
  • Academic and social-emotional support
  • Job placement assistance
  • Mentoring from our award-winning teaching faculty
  • Students will automatically move to Final round and be in the top 20% of the applicant pool.

  • Gives them hands on experience and early on.

Please click on the title above to get a copy of an Individualized Learning Plan chart and Education Pathway Requirement Check List to see what it would take to earn this endorsement.

College Planning Resources

• 12 Reasons to Stay in Illinois-

  • This is your complete guide to admissions for Illinois State Universities. From tuition and fees to housing, scholarships, and open hours dates this guide can answer many of the questions you may have about Illinois State Universities to learn if one is a good fit for you! 

• College Bound checklist- 

  • Senior year is such an exciting and busy time for Seniors. When it comes to college preparation, there are so many things to keep track of that the process can quickly become overwhelming. Parchment has created a college preparation checklist for the busy college-bound senior. Students can access step-by-step guidance on what to do, when to do it, with quick links to resources. Just download the tool, track your progress and jot down notes. Access the Digital Checklist Now!

• Big Future - The College Board College Search & Selection tool-

  • You have taken their tests, now save all your college planning activities by signing into your College Board account and create your road map. Although there’s no magic formula for choosing a college, you can start by asking yourself some questions that help most students find the right fit. Learn about some key college search categories. Answer questions to discover what’s important to you. Get advice from college students and educators.

• Common App
  • Explore more than 900 colleges that accept Common App. Find application requirements and deadlines. Each year, more than 1 million students apply to member colleges worldwide through our online college application platform.  Use this guide if you’re in high school and intend to apply as a first-time full-time freshman. It will walk you through the application from start to finish. Just click on the link and get started.

• College Questions to Ask Your High School Counselor - 

  • Get started on your college journey by asking your high school counselor these college questions.

• First Generation Scholars Network!

  • If you will be the first in your family to earn a college degree, join our network to get support and resources from ISAC, your peers at your college, and colleges across the state! If you are heading to your first year of college this fall, we’ve got events and programs that can give you tools, resources, mentoring, and a great network of connections to make your transition and first year of college a whole lot easier—and successful.

• College Visit Form - 

  • Junior and senior students are allowed 2 college visit days each year. The form must be completed and turned in to the Student Services Office 2 days before the visit. Parents are still expected to call in the approved absence on the day of the visit.

• 12 Financial Aid Questions to Ask Your College -

  • Each college may differ in how much financial aid it awards, the number of scholarships and grants it makes available just for first-year students, what it calls each type of financial aid and its financial aid appeals process. In order to find a college, you can afford, it is recommended that students ask financial aid offices these questions before deciding whether to attend the school.

• Student Mentor, Financial Aid, and ISAC resource help- 

  • Our representative from ISAC (Illinois Student Assistance Commission) has reached out with a resource she created for students and families to contact her this year. Due to the virtual nature that ISAC is in, this is also how she will be scheduling mentoring time with students. You will also see that there are various links in this document to ISAC programs and other financial aid resources.

• Don't make these application mistakes- 
  • Excellent advice from experts in the field of College Admission Strategies

• The Ultimate Guide to Trade & Vocational Schools- 
  • Today’s economy demands a skilled, trained and educated workforce and completing a degree or certificate program has become a requirement for more and more occupations. In fact, research from the Center for Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University projected that by 2020, 65 percent of all jobs in the United States will require some type of postsecondary education. Vocational and career-oriented schools offer a specialized education for students who have specific career goals. Unlike community colleges and more general education avenues, students are able to focus solely on their career choice and receive training in the field.

• Illinois Student Assistance Commission- 
  • ISAC's web-site is focused on helping students and families navigate the numerous steps involved in career and college planning as well as finding, applying to and paying for college. Also included are activities that provide tremendous support to improving the high school to college transition for students in need.

• Complete List of Accredited Online Colleges and Universities in Illinois- 
  • Students looking for online universities and colleges in Illinois have a large number of options available to them at both the public and private level. Many of the public higher education institutions in the state offer full online degree programs in Illinois. The University of Illinois’ system, the largest in the state, offers online degree programs through three of their campuses. They also provide a number of student services to online students. Even Northwestern University, one of the most selective colleges in the state, offers four online master’s degrees through their school of continuing studies.

• The Students Guide to Choosing a Major- 
  • ​​​​​​​This comprehensive guide uses measured student outcomes, job market statistics and other higher education data to explore the various benefits and drawbacks of the nation's most popular undergraduate major subjects. The goal is to provide a helpful resource for students who are unsure about which major is the best choice for them financially, professionally and personally.

• Accredited Online Colleges & Schools- 
  • ​​​​​​​This 2019 comprehensive list of accredited online schools and colleges covers over 32,011 fully online degrees at the associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral and certificate levels. All schools are accredited by agencies recognized by the Department of Education, and they have an average annual tuition of just $24,606. All degrees were provided by the schools themselves or manually researched and verified using the colleges’ official websites. Our recommend rate is based on feedback from former students through our partner site and the largest database of independent online college reviews, GradReports.com. In addition to this comprehensive list, we provide rankings of the best online colleges.