And, the students take it more often. Smith works with students in seventh through 12th grades. The counselors also are seeing colleges and universities become more aggressive in their recruitment, sometimes setting sights on students as early as junior high school. Generally, scholarship applications are due before students enter the first semester of their senior year, she said. If a student needs to take particular college-preparatory courses in high school, such as physics or chemistry, the prerequisite courses need to be taken in junior high.
Counselors cite many factors that have changed the way people approach higher education.
Now that more information about colleges, financial aid and scholarships is readily available on the Internet, students simply know more about preparing themselves for college, said Connie Williams, senior counselor at Springdale High School. Students also are becoming more astute because counselors and teachers are doing a better job of informing them about the kinds of jobs out there, counselors said. And they're better informing parents about how to help their children go to college, some going so far as to offer workshops on getting financial aid. Prichard further attributes the early bird trend to other forces. She points to news articles through the years that have focused attention on the importance of college preparation and the emergence of more prestigious scholarships, such as the state's Governor's Scholarships and the Sturgis, Bodenhamer and Chancellor's scholarships at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.