FHSTheFlash The Flash Volume 54, Issue 3 May 2014 | Page 18

Informative Features

11

Get a Grasp on Your Future
Emily Drumm
Flash Staff Reporter

Picture a dystopia where
students without an education
come home to parents without
a job or any way to secure their
child’s future. In today’s rising
economy, it is imperative to
sustain an efficient and updated
education. Times have changed
since our parents were in
school. A proper high school
education seems harder and
harder to attain with the rising
tech industry, and college seems
further and further away with
financial problems sweeping the
nation. What is it exactly that
each student can do to secure a
stable future?
There are multiple tests that
students can take during their
high school years to help them
get into college. Many students
take the AP test, the SAT, or the
ACT in hopes to receive college
credits or apply to universities.
Hundreds of students

crowded in a room filled only
with desks and suspicious eyes
of supervisors hover over the
same dense paper packet. The
scratching of pencils and the
occasional exasperated moan
can be heard from outside the
room. This series of multiple
tests is known either as the ACT
or SAT and can be the
start or end of a student’s
future.
The ACT is an
achievement test that
assesses what has been
learned in high school
English, mathematics,
science, and reading.
When a final score
ranging from 1 to 36 is
reached, you may send
it to colleges. The SAT
is an aptitude test with
a mandatory writing
portion and is said to be
more difficult than the
ACT. The brilliant thing
about both tests is that

you can retake them as many
times as you want. Second
chances do exist.
“I took the ACT early to get
my nerves out before our ACT
in March and to work on timing
to improve my score,” junior
Becky Carson said.
Many teachers and parents

have hopes of their children
going to college after high
school. The ACT is the prime
way to invest in the future.
Once the test is taken,
colleges are now able to find
you, which is another way
prepare for your life after
high school. Taking the ACT
early is the best
way to get ahead.
“Personally, the
ACT went well for
me. I took it early to
help me see where
I am in terms of
college acceptance,”
said junior Jessica
Allison. “It helped
to narrow down
where I want to go.
Also when I saw
my scores I knew
the areas where I
needed to improve.”
Another way to
get an early start
with college would

ACT booklet.
Credit: Emily Drumm

May 2014, Volume 54, Issue 3

be to take early college credit
courses during the school year
or in the summer.
“The college classes I’m
taking are to get ahead and save
money also prepare myself for a
college schedule,” Carson said.
Macomb Community College
offers high school juniors
classes to take, so that when
you start freshman year of
college, you’ll already have
credit earned. This saves you
time and money. On top of
that, these courses help prepare
students for skill training and
more choices in college life.
“In regards to taking classes
at Macomb, it helped me
get an idea of what college
life would be like, and it was
academically challenging,” said
Allison, “However, I decided
the program wasn’t for me. I
believe the program is a great
opportunity for students who
are independent and may not
be able to afford college, but
that just wasn’t me.”

The Military Life

Jessa Stallsmith

Flash Staff Reporter

Thaddeus Soboleski saw
joining the military as the plan
of action for him to follow after
high school. At the young age of
18 he chose to leave for the
Marines. He started in second
Marines stationed on a camp in
North Carolina, and then he
was later on a