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First Posted: 2/22/2014

WILKES-BARRE — Sitting on a couch in King’s College’s Sheehy-Farmer Campus Center on Saturday, Denis Blazick had a pile of pamphlets on information ranging from financial aid to academic offerings at local college and universities.

She also had six-plus pages of notes from four workshops.

Glancing at her information, the Shavertown resident said there is “a wealth of knowledge here.”

Blazick and her two daughters — Aleaha, a junior, and Makalie, a sophomore — were three of the 350 high school students and parents that attended the third annual Looking Forward event.

The event aims to prepare students for life after high school. It provides an educational setting for students in eighth through 12th grades to talk with professionals within their fields of interest and college students to solidify a career path. Parents attended workshops on financial aid, admissions and preparing for college.

The day began with registration at 8 a.m. Workshops ran in 45 minute intervals from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch and tours of the King’s College campus were also provided.

“They came to find out what they want to do,” Blazick said. “I came to find out how to pay for it.”

After attending a seminar on the college selection process, Blazick said it was interesting to learn some colleges are beginning to make SAT and ACT tests optional.

“My older daughter is interested in criminal justice, and she does very well with testing,” she said. “But my other daughter is interested in physical therapy, and she does not perform well with tests.”

Stephanie Shandra, a college advisor at MMI Prep, many institutions are realizing because a student may score well on the SAT does not mean they will perform well in school. Some colleges and universities are beginning to opt out of the tests. Ann Lew, a counselor of Wyoming Seminary Upper School, warned parents, however, that accepting this option could have an effect on scholarship eligibility.

“Make sure you read the fine print,” Lew said.

To help parents, Shandra and Lew gave a presentation on college preparation, which can begin in the sophomore year of high school.

“Consider having them take an interest inventory or career assistance test,” she said.

In their junior year, start visiting college campuses, Shandra said.

“Visit them when they are in session,” she said. “Not during the summer.”

In the students’ senior year, start applying to colleges and keep up with community service and grades, Shandra said.

With the cost of higher learning growing, the importance of helping students use their time in college wisely is imperative.

“It is important to make the most of their time and money,” Dawn Shedlarski, a faculty member with LIU 18, said.

Megan Mundy, admissions counselor with King’s College, said she is seeing students start thinking about college and a profession in their sophomore and freshman years.

“They are starting to make decisions about a career path earlier,” Mundy said.

Coming into the area from New York, Sharon Jones attended the workshops with her grandson, Davion, of Hazleton. When Davion first began thinking of a future career, he was first interested in sports medicine, but now he is leaning toward studying business.

“This was the best event,” Sharon Jones said. “The things I thought I knew were wrong.”