Career Resource Center
at Eden Prairie High School
The Career Resource Center at EPHS has a wealth of information to aid in identifying a career and/or a college to fit a student’s interests. It is run by Mary Kerns with the help of a staff of volunteers and is generally open to students and parents from 7:30 am-3:00 pm or later on school days. The phone number is 975-8038. Parents and students are welcome to come in and ask for a tour or help in locating any specific information. Here is some of the information available to you:
Bulletin Board of EPHS Staff/Colleges Attended – Find out where your favorite staff member attended college – or look at a college of interest and see which staff members are graduates.
Career Information – Clusters of careers are located in file cabinets, with an index to aid you. Among other information will be copies of pages from the Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook. There are also numerous books on careers, including “esoteric” books like Careers For Puzzle Solvers (which discusses such careers as archaeologists, police detectives, scientists, interior designers, etc.).
Career Interest Survey – For $2, a student may pick up a self-scoring career survey, the Career Decision-Making System. Results will identify career clusters. A MN Careers booklet accompanies the survey and has its own assessment system. It also gives facts about the occupational group, skills needed and job outlook in Minnesota. Specific occupations within the cluster are listed, along with wages, growth, education required and general job outlook.
Catalogs Of Colleges – Many different types of catalogs are available including 4-year schools, 2-year schools and vocational schools and books on specific programs such as Nursing. Data on schools is available in different formats. Just a sampling: Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges has detailed data on more than 1600 schools, giving you info on freshman and total enrollment, SAT/ACT average scores, housing, activities and sports, programs of study, admissions requirements, etc. It also includes tips on college searches and financial aid and an index of colleges by major. The Best 345 Colleges (Princeton Review 2003 ed.) gives feedback from 100,000 students about their colleges’ classes, teachers, dorms and campus life and also gives data on selectivity and financial aid. Rugg’s Recommendations on the Colleges groups schools within a major into Most Selective, Very Selective and Selective.
College Bulletins – There are bulletins for all Minnesota colleges and universities, many from other state, military, vo-tech (now called private career colleges), international, etc. These contain course listings, requirements for entrance and for graduation in various majors, and more. Any duplicate bulletins may be taken for free.
College Essays and College Visits – “How to” books may be checked out.
College Mailings – There are file cabinets full of college materials. Viewbooks, financial aid information, appli-cations, etc. are included. Students may take any information and are encouraged to bring any of their unwanted college mail for the use of others.
College Rep Visits –The upcoming schedule is in the HS Daily Bulletin and posted on the website and outside the CRC. Students can get passes to excuse them from class to meet with specific reps. Often these reps are the people influential in making admission decisions!
Financial Aid Information – There are booklets on financial aid, flyers from local banks, FAFSA forms, various books on the subject, etc.
Freebies – In this section there may be applications for a number of local colleges (online application is much more widespread now), pamphlets about MNSCU (Minnesota State Colleges and Universities), older catalogs the CRC is culling, etc.
Minnesota Career Information Systems (MNCIS) – This on-line service is available to look up careers and colleges and allows specification of multiple criteria. The website address is mncis.intocareers.org. User name and password are available at the CRC.
Recommendation Request Form – This form helps counselors (and teachers) to better recommend your student to a prospective college. It asks for information about your academic background, activities, honors and awards, leadership, church and community involvement, work experience, leisure time pursuits, special qualities, educational goals, teachers who know you best, etc.
Scholarships – Two duplicate binders contain one-page summaries of available scholarships (from colleges and private organizations). The corresponding application form is located in the scholarships cabinet in the same area. This scholarship list is also on the high school website, updated weekly. Most scholarships are for seniors, but there are a number for younger students.
Summer Opportunities – One-page summaries of summer opportunities (classes, camps, service, etc.) are available, with more detailed information in a file cabinet.
Test (SAT, ACT) Preparation – List of Logical Options – There is a useful handout that explains which teacher or organization is offering preparation in one or more of the standardized tests. Information is given about times, dates, locations and expense.
Test (SAT, ACT, PSAT) Registration Forms and Practice Booklets – Any student may sign to pick one up. (PSAT is recommended for juniors and used to identify National Merit recipients; sophomores may elect to take it as a practice.)
Test (SAT I & II, ACT, PSAT and AP) Study Books – These may be checked out for a short time. SAT II books are available for a few subjects, such as Writing, Math I & IIC, Chemistry and Physics.