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Crunch time for senior learners: Keep calm and inform yourself
"This is a time of the year for big decisions to be made by young people who are generally not necessarily ready to make decisions that have such long-term consequences," says Dr Felicity Coughlan, director of the Independent Institute of Education (IIE) which provides higher education on more than 20 registered campuses in South Africa.
Matric pupils have only a few days left to apply for access to most public universities, while Grade 9 learners need to make their selection of subjects for the National Senior Certificate examinations they will write in three years time.
For both these groups, deciding on what they want to do after school can seem a mountain too high to climb, but it is necessary for them to take a step back, calm down, and get as much information as possible to make the best decision possible.
"This is a time for measured action," advises Coughlan.
"These choices are daunting because they have long-term consequences, particularly in a country such as ours where space within the higher education sector is limited. However, these consequences are not necessarily as dire as the hype often suggests. As long as the decisions that need to be made now are made based on as much information as you can possibly access, you can mitigate the limiting effect of wrong decisions down the line."
Do some research
For both Grade 9 and 12 learners, the IIE suggests that they spend time investigating the websites of public and private post-school institutions to get a quick understanding of what courses are on offer and what their entry requirements are.
"It is important that you look beyond what you already know, as even if you are sure about what you want, looking at other options will do no harm and will, at the very least, confirm your choice.
"However look at programmes and institutions you have not considered before - look at fields that you have heard very little or perhaps even nothing about. We suggest you use institutional websites for this, as they are the best place to find lots of information about a variety of fields - all in one place," says Coughlan.
Once a learner has concluded their research, it is time to look at what results are required for entry to courses, to determine whether their goal is realistic.
"There is a difference between a goal and a dream. We could all dream of being vets or rocket scientists, but this is only a realistic goal for any of us if we know what we need to achieve to access this line of study and if we can detail what we are going to do to achieve what we need.
"If your answers - even to yourself - are vague about what you will need to do, then you are definitely chasing a dream and not a goal," Coughlan says.
She suggests that learners choose subjects that open doors:
The same structured decision-making should inform learners' choice of where to study:
"Big decisions loom, but the anxiety of making them can be mitigated by chasing goals and not dreams," says Coughlan.
"Doing so means you will make solid decisions that will have more managed and manageable consequences, because the match to the things that you will do to achieve your goals will already be in place."
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