After about fourteen years of school, we’re all thinking the same thing: I’m done with school! Homework, lectures, tests, quizzes; they’re all just things we never want to hear about again. It seems like our days of studying for tests and finishing up homework we procrastinated to start are never-ending and, as seniors in high school, it’s tempting to want to cut school short. “Perhaps I can find a job in an office somewhere” or “I’ll work at my local department store” are things we convince ourselves are better than spending thousands of dollars on an education we’re not sure we want. Although finding a job right after graduation instead of enrolling in college seems like a quick and easy fix, in the long-run, seeking higher education is more beneficial.

According to GenTX.com, studying for only 24-48 months can triple what you would normally earn if you were working at a job that pays minimum wage. With an Associate’s Degree or Certification, it is possible to become a medical transcriptionist and earn about $18/hour. Depending on what field you study, you could even become a registered nurse, earning $20/hour, or even a radiologic technologist, earning $25/hour. School might not be for you, but even attending college or vocational schools for a short amount of time can make a difference. Instead of earning $58 on a minimum wage “nine-to-five” workday, you can earn $200 for the same eight hours worked.

Attending a university for four years can earn you a Kinder-12 teaching certification. Teachers earn about $22/hour which sums up to be about $45,760 a year. The longer one is in school, the higher that figure will be. Two more years are all that’s needed to earn a Master’s degree. With this degree, it is possible to become either a counselor or a principal, increasing the salary from $45,760 to $49,920/year and $70,720/year, respectively. With just four more months of study a principal can earn a Superintendent certificate, thus earning herself a salary of $112,320/year. Even if someone worked 24 hours a day for 365 days a year with a minimum wage salary, the highest that could possibly be earned is $63,510!

Another example of a bountiful career is accounting. With only 24 months of study, a bookkeeping job can be attained, earning the worker a salary of $33,280/year. Upon receiving a Bachelor’s degree in two more years, all that will be needed is one year at an internship to gain experience. In 5 years, you can already be a certified public accountant, earning $58,240 a year. After getting a Master’s degree and working as a financial manager, you can get the high position of Chief Financial Officer with a grand paycheck of $166,400/year!

Although five additional years of school do not sound appealing and perhaps not even worth it, 17-year-old Christy Alarcon disagrees. As a junior in high school, Christy is already looking into prospective schools.  “I personally hate school, but after I graduate, I won’t have to work as long as people on minimum wage do. Getting an education will be worth all the trouble,” she says.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, women who graduated from college earned on average about 76 percent more than women who only graduated from high school. The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings reported that on average, full-time, year-round Hispanic workers with a high school diploma earned $1,064,984 in their lifetime. On the other hand, full-time, year-round Hispanic workers with a Bachelor’s degree earned about $1,700,896 during their lifetime.  Hispanic workers with Master’s degree earned on average about $2,614,220. Six extra years of school make a million dollars’ difference!

Judy Gutierrez, 18, says, “I didn’t like high school; the classes were long and boring. But college isn’t the same as high school! I’m taking classes that I chose and that I know will interest me, so it makes the long years go by a lot faster than in high school. In retrospect, it doesn’t even feel like school. And in the end, it’s all going to be worth it! I’ll be making enough money so I won’t have financial troubles or worries.”

It’s a normal feeling not to like school; everyone has experienced it as some point or another. In the long run though, attending and graduating from college does make a difference monetarily. It is easier finding a job as a college graduate rather than a high school graduate. In the end, an average of $2.5 million will always be better than $1.2 million. Better to spend a few years now working to gain a degree that will earn us about two million dollars in the long-term, rather than work for decades and only earning a fraction of that amount.

What are your future goals? These Latinitas are big dreamers and share their big plans for college. The educational goals of our Latinita community are optimistic, as these young women strive for higher education and maintain the potential to do so.

“I am the oldest of six children and I have many large goals in life so that I can succeed and set an example for my younger siblings. My parents moved us all the way from California to Texas, three states away from our family so that we could have the great opportunity and privilege of getting a better education than they had. I plan to attend a major university after graduating high school which will make me the first in my family. Before my mom had me the doctors told her that she would never be able to have children, but she proved them wrong. This to me means that I am meant to be here and my purpose is to be a leader and do everything in my power to fix all that is wrong with our nation and more. After college I will attend law school so that I can be a lawyer and soon after, a judge. But my goals don’t end there, my lifelong dream since the age of five has been, and still is, to become the first woman president of the United States of America. I believe our country needs a woman to be in charge and clean up the mess of the all the men who have previously been in office. As you can tell, my dreams are far from small and the reason for this is because I know I can reach and even exceed my expectations. My mother tells me that ever since I was a baby, people would look me in the eyes and tell her that I am meant for great things. But of course there are always those few people that will try and put me down, they can tell me or call me anything they want because I always keep my head held high with a smile on my face. I love politics, and I have always loved the thought of peace, love, and happiness to the point where everyone who knows me calls me ‘The Future Hippie President,’ and I love it.” ~Justine Paniagua

“In the 1800s the village of San Jacinto, located in the state of Aguascalientes, Mexico, lived a girl named Emiliana Diaz.  Her father had come from Spain and he understood the importance of a solid education for women.  He made sure his daughter could read, write and have basic math skills.  As a result of the very basic education, Emiliana grew up, married and was able to help the people of her village.  People would come to her and she would read and answer the letters they would receive from family and friends. Emiliana was my great, great, great grandmother. My main educational goal is to finish school. This may sound simple, but I have met so many people that start but never finish their education. My goal is to have a very firm plan as to which classes will get me from point A to point B because tuition costs keep climbing, and there are four girls in our family. I don’t have the luxury of taking classes that I don’t need for my career path. Being the oldest daughter it is not enough to finish college. I have to finish quickly to help my younger sister, and she in turn will help the sister after her and so on. Today, I am 13 years old and I want to be a forensic scientist. My goal is to earn nothing less than a master’s degree and hopefully higher if possible. There are four generations between Emiliana Diaz de Soledad and Alicia Renée Renteria. My goal is to make the ancestors of my past and the decedents of my future proud.  ” ~Alicia Renee Renteria

“I know how important school is because of how everyone is fighting for the best jobs since, naturally, everyone wants to be on top. My parents are a perfect example because they did not go to college and it was hard for them, at first, to start careers for themselves. They did it without an education, but it took time, and to this day they regret not going to college. They want what is best for me and expect me to go to college. I have already started working hard by receiving all A’s in my classes since I was in elementary school. I am at the top of my class and hope to stay at the top of my class until the end of high school and college. My biggest goal is to be accepted into the University of Harvard on a merit scholarship and I hope to achieve that goal after high school.” ~ Samantha Angela Gutierrez

“Throughout my life I was not sure about my goals. I was not going to be a doctor or a lawyer. I wanted to be a professional basketball player. Now that I have matured and am in high school, I know what I want. My short term goals are to graduate high school and attend community college to get my basics.  After, I want to enroll in a university to take Anatomy and Bio Physiology courses to become a veterinarian. After I graduate, I will attend a veterinarian’s school outside my hometown. I want to make a difference in the world, I want to save the lives of man’s best friend. Animals do so much for us – they guard our houses, protect us, and share our emotions. After I receive my license from veterinarian school, I want to have a beautiful family. Success to me in life is to have happiness with the ones I love. To me those are the most important goals in my life.” ~Deanna Chavez

“My name is Christina. Let me tell you, a lot of people told me to be a lawyer because I like arguing. Is that what I want to be? No. I want to be a probation officer and no one is going to stop me from living my dream.  Of course in order to follow my dream I have a lot of challenges to face in the future. For now, I have to worry about getting my education.  I want to graduate with honors and within the Top Ten of my high school’s first graduating class. I would like to get all A’s through out my last two years in high school. Right now I am taking cosmetology class. Yes, I know it has nothing to do with being a probation officer but it is a step towards my goal. In order to go to college I have to have money, right? Cosmetology is something I may have to rely on to get me through college financially. While going to college I can work to earn money to pay for books and bills. My license in cosmetology is also something I can fall back on just in case my dreams change. Right after high school I want to go to college that way I will achieve my dreams sooner.  I would like to get my doctorate’s to hold the position that I would like. I am not going to let anyone or anything stop me from pursuing my education, and neither should you.” ~Christina Ramirez

Junior year in high school means being bombarded with college materials. Normally, you’d think senior year is when you have to worry about colleges. The truth is that you should start thinking about college at least in your sophomore year.

Some schools offer college guidance classes where students discuss their college interests, research different majors, cost of attendance, admissions requirements, and work on outlining college essays. For those unable to take college guidance classes, you can visit Websites like CollegeBoard.com, which is the mecca for researching colleges with your specific major in mind.

In order to guarantee a stress-free senior year, follow these tips:

Choose a Major:
Research different college majors. Majors help you specialize in a certain field. It does not guarantee what you will be focusing on that after college, unless you want it that way. There are majors for just about any field like Creative Writing, Marine Biology,  Criminal Justice, and much more.

College Admissions:
Find out what admission tests your college requires. Depending on which colleges you’d like to attend, they may require, SAT, SAT Subject Test or ACT. Try your best to attend SAT prep classes. You can take the SAT in your Junior year and Senior year about 4 times altogether. If you can’t attend a course, look for tutorials online. CollegeBoard.com has a great deal of information about the requirements and deadlines for colleges.

Writing the Perfect College Essay:
Think about interesting aspects of your life, influential people and important obstacles. These are good topics to include in a college essay. Write from your heart and soul. Do not write what you think the colleges want to hear. They like originality.

Financial Aid:
Research different types of Financial Aid. Most likely, you’re going to need it. Look into Scholarships. There is no limit to how many scholarships  you can get. Some colleges offer their own scholarships when applying and then there are other scholarships that you have to find on your own. There are scholarships for pretty much anything.

Start Early
“The college process is very annoying. It is better if you start early, so you can get everything done and know with time where you wanna go. There’s a lot of paper work and you need patience.” – Jessica Garcia, 17, High school graduate

Stay Confident
“I mean applying to college was the most exciting/frightening time of my life. I had colleges telling me how much they would love to have me while others were telling me I was not good enough for their establishment. It breaks or makes your ego for a while.” – Alexis Killeen, 19, Sophomore in College

College is great! You will meet new people, learn lots of things, get a taste of independence, and much, much more! Just look at all the studiously happy faces on these brochures! Yes—attending college is an exciting life experience that you will remember forever, but at the beginning of this new chapter of your life, it’s easy to forget that college isn’t just what they mention in the brochures. Here are a couple of things they don’t tell you:

Studying is an everyday task. In high school, you might be get away with studying for a test a week in advance, or, for expert-level procrastinators, maybe even the night before the exam. For the most part, studying is something you will have to do every day. You don’t necessarily have to set up camp in library with your nose buried in a book for hours at a time every day. Studying includes little things like reviewing your lecture notes after every class to make sure you really understand the lesson and doing your daily homework assignments. At least look over the material every day to keep the information fresh in your mind,” Teresa Rodriguez, 20, suggests.  A day should never go by when you don’t at least review or read something for every class.

The Freshman 15 is real! Sometimes it can snowball into the Sophomore 20 and the Junior 30 if you’re not careful.  If you go to a school with great dining halls that dish out meals chockfull of rich, grease-laden foods, it’s easy to get excited and go overboard. Plus, with the added stress of college and less time to exercise, the pounds are more likely to add on at this transitional time of your life. If you find that you are uncomfortable with the increasing number on the scale, adopt a healthier diet, make time for a work-out regimen and find ways to de-stress.

Prepare to be knocked down a few pegs. We all have a subject area in which we are better  than in others. It’s important to remember that graduating to an institution of higher learning means that the material will be more challenging. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself struggling in a subject you used to conquer. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it, either from a TA (teacher’s assistant), professor or peer. It is a growing experience to realize you aren’t the know-it-all you thought you were, so there is no reason to be embarrassed about not understanding something right off the bat. Instead, look at it as an opportunity to humble yourself and acknowledge that even you can learn a thing or two.

The campus bookstore is usually a rip-off. Even after all the tuition students are expected to pay, universities continue to enjoy picking your pocket for additional cash through book sales. Rule of thumb: Always buy used. Don’t get suckered into thinking you have to have brand-spanking-new text books for every class. There are plenty of used books at the bookstore that are in excellent condition for up to half the price. You can also search for discounted books online at Websites like chegg.com, half.com,  textbooks.com, or knetbooks.com. You also have the option of renting some books, both paper and electronic, from some of these sites. If you’re looking to save even more money, you can check your campus or local library for the books you need. Unlike the campus bookstore, the library is your friend, agrees Joe Depalma, blogger for readysetrise.com. The key is being able to hunt for alternative resources—a skill that will help you save money and dignity.

Being a teacher’s pet is cool. Getting to know your professors professionally as well as personally can go a long way to help you in your undergraduate years. Go to office hours. Whether or not you think you need the additional help, getting to know your professor outside of the lecture hall will help you stand out. If your professor is able to place a name to your face and sees that you make an earnest effort in the class, they are more likely to take an interest in helping you succeed. “When you’re in class, the professor will see you and pay more attention to you, and if you have an 89 and you need one point to get an A, the professor will remember you and will be more likely to give you that point,” Cynthia Amaya, 20, points out. Plus, professors love to write letters of recommendation to students with whom they are well acquainted.

You should still apply for scholarships. Although the bulk of scholarships out there are for high school students, there are still plenty of college level scholarships that are up for grabs. Websites like collegeboard.com, fastweb.com and scholarships.com are great scholarship generators.

To go away for college or to stay local, that is the question.  Some of us could answer it in a heartbeat depending on whether we’re

looking to start over somewhere new, or prefer to spend our college days living in the comfort of our own homes.  For some of us, we aren’t quite as sure which option is better.  Maybe you’ve been offered a full ride scholarship in your hometown, but have always wanted to venture out of state or maybe you’ve scored a scholarship somewhere.  It’s a big decision that can determine the rest of your life (no pressure), so we got some current college students and recent graduates to share what their experience was after committing to a location in order to help you.  You’re welcome.

BENEFITS OF STAYING HOME
Let’s start with one of the biggest benefits of staying home for college.  It can be helpful to have the convenience of continuing to live at home, rent-free and not worrying about moving your entire life to a dormitory in a new city.  This is quite beneficial if you’re long term goal is to save some dinero.

Angelica, a student at Cal State Fullerton University, started at a local community college and shares, “I’m getting my [Bachelor's] at a local state college….because it was cheaper….and it allowed me to live at home and save some money.”

Another bonus of staying home is that you get to stay close to friends (at least the ones that also chose to stay) and family.  ”I definitely think that when you stay local, you have a stronger support from your friends and family because they’re literally one call away” says Maryella, 19 from Texas.

Although she sees the financial benefit of staying home, Angelica also says, “while I do like being close to my family, I do want to experience life beyond my little bubble and try out what it’s like to be out on my own. I think…it pays to be a little worldly…but in the end a lot of it has to do with what you can afford and the amount of work you are willing to put into it that makes the experience worthwhile.”

BENEFITS OF LEAVING HOME
Leaving home and starting over in a new city can be quite intimidating but it also challenges you to make new friends.  ”When I was younger, my father was an active-duty military member and I was used to moving around the country,” shares recent Northwestern University grad, Cathy.  “To me, college was just another adventure.  But prior to college, I had a very hard time making friends. I blame it on a combination of moving every three years and my generally introverted personality.  The single most important part of my college experience was forcing myself to….learn how to make friends. If I had attended a college closer to home and lived with my parents, I would have missed out on the most important emotional growing period of my life.”

It may take time to establish a support network of friends but eventually you get the hang of it.  Maryella eventually decided to leave home for college in order to set an example for her younger brother.  ”No one from my high school was going where I was, so I was definitely nervous. But within a week of being in a new city, I met a few people and I didn’t feel alone anymore. My homesickness subsided, and I was having fun going to college far from my home and family….when you go to college far from home, you gain a greater sense of independence. You’re friends and family will still be there, but you’re ultimately testing your own abilities to make it.”

By Marcela Evans

Your senior year of high school is such an exciting time. Your high school career is almost over and you’ve picked the colleges you want to attend. What is the next step?

No, the answer is not how to decorate your dorm room (that comes later). You need to start thinking about how to pay for the next two, three, four, or more years of school.

A college education is expensive. The costs soar with the tuition and fees, food, housing, books and assorted extras. According to The College Board (www.collegeboard.com) the price of a private four-year university comes in at a little over $20,000 per year, and the price of a public four-year university is around $5000.

That big price tag might be discouraging, but don’t fret. Did you know that the government and numerous organizations give out free money? Some students even pay for their entire college education through grants and scholarships. Lucky for Latinas, financial aid opportunities aimed at Hispanics abound. Simply doing an internet search for “scholarships for Hispanic girls” resulted in 96,500 hits. Many schools offer their own scholarships for individuals of Latin American descent. In addition to this, numerous private organizations also offer scholarships. You can find scholarships for Hispanic journalists, future business majors, engineers, creative writers, graphic designers, community activists, Salvadoreñas, Mexicanas and many other specific groups. You’ll have better luck if you start scholarship hunting early in high school.

Searching for opportunities can be daunting. You can start by searching the internet or visiting your local book store or library. Check out these online resources: www.finaid.org, www.brokescholar.com and www.fastweb.com. A good publication to read is the Directory of Financial Aids for Women. In addition, many organization’s websites have scholarships listed, like:

• Latin American Educational Foundation, www.laef.org
• The Hispanic College Fund, Inc, www.hispanicfund.org
• The Gates Millennium Scholars, www.gmsp.org
• The Sallie Mae Fund, www.thesalliemaefund.org

What’s great about all these opportunities? Well, you can apply for and receive several different scholarships. Remember to be mindful of the application deadlines and requirements and start looking!

By: Yvonne Morin

Hola Latinitas! My name is Yvonne Morin and I’m a 19 year old Mexican American girl from George West, Texas (a tiny town in South Texas). This is my second year at the University of Texas in Austin. I’m currently majoring in Mexican American studies and plan to minor in education. My dream is to be a high school principal and eventually work in Washington, D.C trying to improve the educational system. Below are some more interesting facts about me:
Birthplace: I was born in a house in Beeville, Texas by a midwife!
Favorite color: black
Favorite book: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
Favorite author: Sandra Cisneros
Favorite food: my momma’s everything….especially her enchiladas
Role model: My mom, my dad, and Dolores Huerta
Most embarrassing moment: I was walking to the bus and a friend of mine came up to me and said that my skirt was lifted up underneath my backpack so that you could see my whole bum!

Monday 4:30 pm

Dear Latinitas,
A few weeks back I was supposed to keep a diary for Latinitas and submit it to them for the website, unfortunately, with school and work I started getting sidetracked with other projects and never got around to writing it. Now I’m going to start and try to keep it going all week long. I don’t know how Alicia and Laura (editors of the site) do it!!

Today I had psychology and physical geography. I had to drag myself out of bed to make it in time to catch the bus and get to class on time. My first class doesn’t start until 10 am. However, I didn’t get in from work until 11:30 pm and stayed up studying for cultural anthropology, so I didn’t get to sleep until 2:00 am. I was really sleepy when I woke up and just threw on whatever clothes were around.

I remember my first semester in college I would wake up an hour and a half before I had to leave for class, take a shower, straighten my hair, put on makeup, and pick a cute outfit to wear to school. Not anymore! The best I go for now is to look decent, not cute. My new routine is to take a shower at night (I still straighten my hair the night before because I don’t like my curly hair), wake up, wash my face, brush my teeth and put on a t-shirt, track pants and sneakers or flip flops. Sleep is far more important to me right now than looking cute in class. Besides, there is always the weekends to dress up and go out.

Looking at the clock now, I realize that I have to get dressed for work.

Gee…..I can’t wait for the weekend….this looks like it’s going to be a long week.

Tuesday 11:38 pm

Dear Latinitas,
I just got in from work. I’m a cashier at Target. Most days I can enjoy myself because I like interacting with people; working as a cashier I get to talk to different people all day long. Today was not an easy day though.

More often than not, I have really nice and friendly people come through my line. And then there are people that make me want to quit my job. I had someone in my line like that.

He had an entire cart full of merchandise he was purchasing, some of which included a huge tub of kitty litter and a big bag of dog food. Luckily for me, the handheld scanner that I use to scan items was broken, so I was going to have to lift the heavy stuff. Most people are nice and will help you. This man did not, he stood there and watched me struggle with them.

After he paid for his things and I was already ringing the next customer up, he came back and said that I overcharged him on some cat food. Unfortunately, I couldn’t fix the problem, when things like that happen we have to send the customer to guest services where they fix it. But, he didn’t want to go there, he wanted me to fix it. After yelling at me for not noticing the price (like I know the price for every single thing in the store) the manager finally came, explained to him that he had to go to guest services, and the customer followed him there. The grand total difference of what the scanner charged and what he said the price was? A whopping $.45. That’s right ladies….45 cents!

Only three more days until the weekend………