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by Mark Robinson

Yoana Ayala could have taken the road most travelled on her way to college.

Just filled out an application, gotten accepted and figured everything out as it came along.

But the Plano East graduate is not that type of person. She began planning for college since she was in the ninth grade, and she certainly was not going to wing her away through her freshman year.

Instead, Ayala, the first college student in her family, participated in several Destination College workshops, a program offered by Collin College—where Ayala will spend her first two years in higher education—to prepare students and their parents for hectic collegiate years.

Name it, and Destination College covers it. Admissions, financial aid, housing, transferring, degrees, scheduling, in addition to all the other lessons a college student will need to learn about all the life style changes that will be coming their way."

All for the sake of college preparedness. A well-prepared student (academically, mentally) is more likely to not only succeed, but stay in college—an issue plaguing colleges and universities around the country.

According to one survey cited by Marcy Wilson, director of Destination College, a poll of high school principals and teachers showed that they felt their students were well prepared for higher education. A poll of college professors indicated the exact opposite.

"There is a disconnect of perception of how well prepared the students are," Wilson said.

Kristin Anderson is the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) coordinator in Plano ISD. The AVID program is designed to better prepare students for college by teaching college readiness skills, by taking students to visit colleges and universities, and by requiring participants to take pre-AP and AP courses in high school. Many of the Plano AVID students have benefitted from programs implemented by Destination College.

"Most kids think they are going to college, but the knowledge of what to do to get there is sometimes lacking," Anderson said.

To give students and their parent’s credit, college isn’t the easier road to hoe. Before the student ever steps into a class, there are admissions, housing, financial aid, tuition and entrance exams like SAT and ACT.

In addition, students can get caught up in the concept of the college classroom. Wilson cited habits of the mind, critical thinking and one’s ability to handle criticism as being roadblocks in the classroom.

For the parent, a big roadblock is in the pocketbook.

"Parents are always caught off guard by sticker shock of what college costs these days," Wilson said.

Money in the college universe means a lot—applying for scholarships and federal financial aid, researching how to write a scholarship-winning essay, obtaining grants and possibly going to the bank for a loan. On a macro scale, it’s about maintaining a budget in the dorm room for food and entertainment and balancing a checkbook. Or—clutch the pearls—getting a job while maintaining one’s academics.

All covered by Destination College. Whether it’s in a brochure, a meeting with Wilson or attending one of the many workshops held throughout the year all over the county, parents and student do not have to go blindly into college. There is help.

For the parents, there’s the free workshop, "Destination College: Parent Workshop." For the students, Wilson and Co. kicked off its Cougar Town program.

Cougar Town is a hands-on simulation of real life. Bills, banking, savings, taxes, groceries, transportation and more. Students are forced to take into account education and its effect on income while understanding how a budget works with a family and a property tax bill.

Also, Wilson and others involved with Destination College has worked to establish another program—run as a pilot with the McKinney ISD AVID program—to involve first-generation college students in college prep activities in their junior and senior years in high school, including observing college classes first hand.

With the new programs, "growth" is the keyword for Destination College. The program started three years ago as a one-off evening event with civic and education leaders discussing the importance of college readiness to a conference center full of parents. Brochures and other resources were on hand, but it pales in comparison to what the program is today.

This 2008-09 year, for example, about 13 workshops are scheduled in addition to the countless one-on-one sessions, phone calls, e-mails, meetings with school districts and on-site programs Destination College will take in. Wilson said some programs have been standing room only.

Mark and Kim Malouf are parents who have experienced Destination College for themselves by attending a Smart Money workshop. The Plano mother of a 15-year-old 10th grader attended the University of Oklahoma in the 1970s, but she said a lot has changed over the years. But one thing stays the same in the Malouf household: College is a must.

"It’s more and more competitive," Malouf said of college admissions. "College is on a national scope. Before, when I went, you went to your regional university or college. Not now and not at Plano West. It’s quite competitive. We’ve told the kids that if they want to be competitive nationally, a master’s degree (is required), at the very least."

Van and Donna Wilson have been discussing college with their Plano Senior High 11th grader John for a while and as graduation gets closer and closer the family will start digging deeper and deeper into the college lexicon. Van said they’re discussing what John wants to study and spend as a career. That decision will help determine a college. The Wilsons did not attend college and are using resources and information from Destination College to assist them.

"We’re pretty much operating on a day to day basis on getting through high school but we’re looking at college and getting a fundamental mindset about higher education," Van said. "It’s more of a process of making decisions what our son’s true interests are as far as a career goes—deciding where he’d like to go and, certainly, the process of application and maybe the process of looking for financial support. We’ve been blessed, but if he can get some grant or scholarship, we’re not opposed to getting support in that regard. It’s getting down to the nuts and bolts and signing up for the right courses. And all of that is on the fairly near horizon."

For more information about Destination College or a list of their upcoming workshops, visit www.ccccd.edu/destinationcollege.com.