Enrolling in Two-Year Colleges or Universities is Not Child’s Play
A student is mostly a normal individual enrolling in a specific school or educational institute and who is on a quest to acquire academic knowledge, developing professional skills and attaining employment in preferred field as per their choice. The term student was first used in UK in the 18th century and was defined as an individual who was admitted as a pupil. Student is defined as a male or female who studies for education. It can also be described as a person studying or enrolling at a certain school or educational institute.
The term student body consists of different categories of students including those from primary, middle, secondary and high schools. Primary students may consist of children who have yet to reach puberty and therefore are not regarded as ‘mature’ and are thus able to pursue higher studies. Middle schools and secondary schools on the other hand provide opportunities for students with a gap year or those who wish to extend their studies after they have matriculated and are now eligible for higher studies. High school students may be intending to enter any of the four higher ranked universities – Royal College, University of London, University of Cambridge or University of Oxford.
Most colleges follow a policy of accepting students coming from disadvantaged background and thus most of the colleges have certain scholarships schemes and grants aimed at ensuring that most of the students come from lower economic group. There are also some private colleges that adopt this same policy. This has resulted in widening the range of students from low income group. In fact there are some very famous private universities like Harvard University and Yale University that have adopted similar initiatives to ensure that the needs of the disadvantaged are well taken care of.
There are also institutions that offer student affairs programmes that are specifically designed keeping in mind the needs of economically and socially disadvantaged students. The first project of any such programme is college placement which helps these students in coming out of the traditional higher education institutions. Placing is done after a thorough interview with the student so as to assess his/her personality and aptitude for further studies. If one is placed at a good college, it will give him/her an opportunity to interact with people who are at the same level or above him/her. Such experience can be an essential stepping stone to further honing one’s skills and getting an edge over others in the competitive higher education sector.
One may also get placements at two-year colleges and universities under the direction of student services, placement coordinators and faculties. Some of the leading two-year colleges and universities that run student services programmes are Balliol and University of Manchester. At times, there are also institutes that run student services on their own but they are few and far between and are usually associated with smaller private institutions.
Student services provided by student affairs officers are aimed at providing information about financial aid, admissions procedures and placement services. Financial aid is provided to eligible students based on their grades and ability. Places are also awarded on the basis of criteria such as nationality, race and/or sex. Campus-based career services may include career counselling, career guidance and career transition services.