PURPOSE
The College & Career Center is here to help students set goals and plan for their future after high school. We work closely with your Counselors and are located in the Counseling Office.
WHO DO WE SERVE
You! Whether you plan to go to a 4-year college/university, a community or junior college, or a trade/vocational school, we are here to help you get there. Maybe you want to join one of the branches of the Armed Forces? We can help you get there as well. The Center has program and contact information for just about every school or institution you can think of, and what we don’t have we will get!
Not ready to apply to college yet, but need some help with Xello requirements, or just shaping your skills and interests into future goals and options? We can help there too. Just come on by!
PAYING FOR COLLEGE
Need help with financial aid? Who doesn’t? That can be a complicated process. There are lots of resources to help students pay for college, from Federal and State programs to individual grants and scholarships offered privately, or through PSD, or directly through the college you plan to attend. It can be overwhelming to navigate it all on your own, but luckily you don’t have to! We’re here to help. We have program information and deadlines for the various types of aid. Currently, as we only have Juniors and below, we will keep you informed about district-wide events to help educate students and families in this area. It’s a good idea for Juniors to start learning about financial aid options now so families can be better prepared. Starting next school year, 2024-2025, we will have much more targeted information that we send directly to Seniors, and we will be hosting more informational nights and financial aid help events right here at our school.
WHAT IS CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT (CE)
Concurrent Enrollment offers PSD students the opportunity to take pre-approved college courses while still in high school. We partner with Front Range Community College (FRCC) to offer courses right here at WMHS taught by PSD instructors. This option is called High School Select. Students can also take courses either in-person or online directly through FRCC or Aims Community College, taught by FRCC/Aims instructors. This option is called Campus Select. This is an amazing opportunity available to students, as early as 9th grade, to take courses that satisfy PSD graduation requirements while also earning college credit. Tuition, books and fees are paid by the district. That means students are earning college credits while in high school at no cost to them! Talk to your Counselor or Ms. Ford in the College & Career Center for more information, to go over your current course schedule/graduation requirements and how CE would fit in, and to begin the steps necessary to enroll. Click here to learn more about Concurrent Enrollment in PSD.
WHAT IS THE FUTURES LAB
Simply put, the Futures Lab operates out of Poudre High School, and is designed to offer targeted programs to students (called Pathways), through hands-on and experiential learning. Programs can last for one semester or the full school year, and some are offered in the morning and others in the afternoon. Transportation is provided to and from WMHS so that students will be here for their core classes for half a school day, and they will attend Futures Lab at Poudre High School for the other half of their school day. The Futures Lab is not a separate/Charter school. It is not part of Poudre High School, either. It is a separate PSD program, operating out of Poudre High School. The instructors have either extensive experience in PK-12 education or have significant industry expertise in their Pathway areas. Students taking courses at the Futures Lab will earn high school credit. Many of the courses also offer CE (Concurrent Enrollment) opportunities, meaning that they also earn college credits through PSD’s higher education partners at FRCC, Aims, UNC, and Community College of Aurora. Many of the Pathways provide the opportunity for students to earn industry-recognized certifications, and enrollment in Futures Lab is completely free. Click here to see the different Pathways available at the Futures Lab and to read details about each, including the credits the program will satisfy.
WHO IS A GOOD FIT FOR THE FUTURES LAB
Futures Lab is for you if you recognize yourself in any of these:
- “I’m going to college, and I know what I want to do…” Fantastic! Futures Lab provides opportunities to engage in deep, authentic learning around specific areas of interest that can complement and round-out your academic success.
- “I like to learn, but I don’t like school…” You’re in the right place. Futures Lab provides an experiential learning environment and a small learning community. We provide opportunities for students to rediscover their passions and their natural love for learning.
- “I feel disengaged and don’t know what I want to do…” We get it! If you are looking to try some stuff and see what clicks, you will fit right in at Futures Lab. Come explore your options and learn more about yourself while developing the skills and experience employers and post-secondary schools are looking for.
Whether you want to build a business, an app, a drone, or a net-zero tiny house, we offer Pathways leading to industry-recognized credentials in a variety of in-demand areas. Futures Lab is a place where all learners can find success.
HOW IS FUTURES LAB DIFFERENT FROM A TYPICAL CLASSROOM SETTING
Futures Lab was built from the ground up as an experiential learning environment. Learning at the Lab is rarely “sit-and-get” and is primarily built around student-run projects. We live by our Design Principles.
We believe that the most powerful learning happens when students engage with the world beyond the classroom and work on authentic projects that impact our community. Futures Lab students benefit from frequent guest speakers, regular one-on-one check-ins with instructors, and opportunities to get off campus and into the community. Our PSD community is fortunate to have so many outstanding, comprehensive and alternative high school options. Futures Lab is designed to complement, not replace, the courses and programs offered at WMHS.
WHAT IS THE ASCENT PROGRAM
ASCENT is a tuition-free fifth-year high school program that lets eligible seniors take an additional year after 12th grade of only college classes at FRCC or Aims Community College. ASCENT students do not attend high school classes. The tuition, books and fees are paid by PSD. The huge benefit of this program is it gives students the opportunity to earn a year’s worth of college credit for free. Students must have 9 post-secondary (college) credit hours to be eligible for this program. These credits can be obtained through the Concurrent Enrollment opportunities at WMHS. **This program is only for eligible high school Seniors, so none of our current WMHS students would be able to apply for the 2024-2025 school year, but Juniors, please keep this in mind when you become Seniors next school year so you can be completing the 9 credit hours of college coursework pre-requisite and apply for the following year. Plan ahead! A year’s worth of free college is worth it. Talk to your Counselor or Ms. Ford in the College & Career Center to learn more and express interest. Click here to read more about the ASCENT Program.
FREE SCHOOLING FOR FUTURE TEACHERS - TREP
TREP is the Teacher Recruitment Education & Preparation Program. TREP is a fifth and sixth year tuition free college credit program for future educators that lets eligible Seniors take college-only classes at Front Range Community College or Metro State University. TREP students do not attend high school classes. Eligibility is based on the successful completion of 1 college course from the Educator Pathway (of Concurrent Enrollment) during Senior year. So, again, Juniors be thinking about this as you approach Senior year so you can let your Counselor or Ms. Ford know of your interest in the program and also make sure you have time to complete the required CE pre-requisite course. Click here to read more about the TREP Option.