College Knowledge
Griffin Tompkins
Personal Statment
Griffin has been drawn toward flying and Mechanical Engineering his entire life. When considering his options and contemplating his future he has come to the decision to pursue both. In doing his research into becoming a pilot he realised having his Mechanical Engineering degree and becoming an Aviation Mechanic would be beneficial to obtaining a job after graduation. When Griffin Graduates from HTHNC, he hopes to find a reasonable path that makes sense financially to reach his goal of obtaining his corporate pilots license in addition to attending a university and obtaining a degree. Griffin’s options are limited when researching a University that will offer both the pilot's licence and Mechanical Engineering degree. Griffins options will become more clear after he takes his SAT & ACT tests.
Essential Question
How do we learn and how can we use that information to choose a successful path in education?
Students learn new ideas best by being able to relate them to what they already know. This helps them to be able to transfer this information to their long-term memory. The more opportunities they are given to retrieve this information from their long term memory the better the understanding giving the new ideas meaning and purpose. It is much easier to learn when you are learning about things you are passionate about.
Griffin has chosen to pursue his educational path because of the many opportunities HTHNC has provided him. He became interested in engineering as a young child. Being able to attend HTHNC and experience the project based learning has given him the confidence to pursue a Mechanical Engineering degree at a University and obtain his pilot's license.
Griffin discovered he learns best by hands on experience after joining the HTHNC Robotics team. He then became Captain of the Robotics team and learned many valuable lessons that will help him achieve success in his university studies. His learned valuable leadership skills, about the importance of time management, that you can alway learn something from failure. Mostly knowing how to find that balance between encouraging and supporting other students while pushing yourself to achieve your personal goals.
Griffin is focusing on Universities that offer is passion for flying and Mechanical Engineering. His first choice is to attend Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. This university will be able to offer lots of hands on learning including labs and actual flying.
Students learn new ideas best by being able to relate them to what they already know. This helps them to be able to transfer this information to their long-term memory. The more opportunities they are given to retrieve this information from their long term memory the better the understanding giving the new ideas meaning and purpose. It is much easier to learn when you are learning about things you are passionate about.
Griffin has chosen to pursue his educational path because of the many opportunities HTHNC has provided him. He became interested in engineering as a young child. Being able to attend HTHNC and experience the project based learning has given him the confidence to pursue a Mechanical Engineering degree at a University and obtain his pilot's license.
Griffin discovered he learns best by hands on experience after joining the HTHNC Robotics team. He then became Captain of the Robotics team and learned many valuable lessons that will help him achieve success in his university studies. His learned valuable leadership skills, about the importance of time management, that you can alway learn something from failure. Mostly knowing how to find that balance between encouraging and supporting other students while pushing yourself to achieve your personal goals.
Griffin is focusing on Universities that offer is passion for flying and Mechanical Engineering. His first choice is to attend Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. This university will be able to offer lots of hands on learning including labs and actual flying.
Interview of a college student
Griffin chose to interview his sister, Piper Tompkins who is currently finishing her second year at Chapman University. Piper chose Chapman University because of her passion for television and film. Chapman University has one if the top ranked film schools, Dodge College. Piper’s majoring at Dodge College in television screenwriting and television production. Here are Piper’s thoughts on the best way to learn.
I think the best way to learn is to take notes in the best format for you to learn, whether this is Cornell note style, or drawing pictures that make sense to you. Retaining exactly what a teacher saying in lecture is the best way to be successful in a classroom setting. Learning your best study pattern also helps you retain information and helps in future career endeavors. Havings a communicative relationship with your educators is also very helpful, office hours are always a good reference point for homework assignments and exams that you have to take in class. Communicating with peers in class, to double check that you are understanding the curriculum is engaging because it gives you the ability to understand what your peers retained from the professor. -Piper
I think the best way to learn is to take notes in the best format for you to learn, whether this is Cornell note style, or drawing pictures that make sense to you. Retaining exactly what a teacher saying in lecture is the best way to be successful in a classroom setting. Learning your best study pattern also helps you retain information and helps in future career endeavors. Havings a communicative relationship with your educators is also very helpful, office hours are always a good reference point for homework assignments and exams that you have to take in class. Communicating with peers in class, to double check that you are understanding the curriculum is engaging because it gives you the ability to understand what your peers retained from the professor. -Piper
Colleges
Safety SchoolCost: $18,000. per year living at
home $25,000. per year living on campus 17,000 students on campus Grade of “C” or higher in A-G Courses College Admission based on eligibility index. Combination of GPA and SAT or ACT Score. Scores of at least 500 in English, and 550 in math on the SAT, or Scores of 22 in English and 23 in Math on the ACT Griffin’s safety school is California State University San Marcos. He would Major in Mechanical Engineering while also becoming a student at Pinnacle Aviation Academy Palomar Airport. Cal State San Marcos is opening up a new engineering program starting in the fall which is appealing since it’s financially a smarter option. He is concerned about difficult it might be to get desired classes since it’s a state school along with the large class size and large student population |
Fit SchoolStudent population: 2,400 students enrolled Acceptance Rate: 80.2%
Cost: $47,000 per year tuition, room and board Additional $15,000 to $25,000 per year for flight training GPA Requirement 3.52 out of 4.0 Average SAT: 1160 (Math & Reading) Average ACT: 24 Griffin’s Fit School is Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in AZ. His Major would be to obtain his Corporate Pilot License and a Minor in Mechanical Engineering. Embry Riddle has a really nice campus with lots of hands on learning. Embry Riddle is the only accredited aviation oriented university in the world. Griffin knows that he would have a better chance of obtaining employment after graduation. |
Reach SchoolCost: $65,000 per year tuition, room and board
Student population: 8,300 GPA Requirement 3.69 out of 4.0 Average SAT: 1380 (Math & Reading) Average ACT: 30 Griffin’s reach school is Chapman University. Griffin would major in Mechanical Engineering and would have to obtain his Corporate Pilot License separately. Chapman University is a private college with a high cost. Fortunately Griffin is guaranteed 1/2 tuition paid scholarship for all 4 years.This option would still be costly but Griffin knows he would get a great education at Chapman and benefit from the smaller 14-1 student teacher ratio. Chapman University is only one hour away from home and would also offer Griffin a well rounded college experience with all the amenities and sports events. |
Education and Career Pathway
2028 (or earlier)
Become a full time corporate pilot
2026
Continue to work on my required flight time hours while working as a flight mechanic
2023
Graduate from University with Corporate Pilot License and a Minor in Mechanical Engineering degree
2019-2023
Attend University
2018-2019
Take SAT & ACT in spring of 2018 & Decide which I prefer SAT & ACT
Focus on improving score for preferred test & retake in fall 2018
Complete 1 month internship spring of 2018
Attend Pinnacle Aviation Academy Palomar Airport Summer of 2018
Attend COSMOS summer program at UCSD Summer 2018
Apply for Summer 2018 class at Palomar College
Apply for 6 colleges in the fall of 2018
Obtain 6 month internship for spring of 2019
Graduate from HTHNC spring of 2019
Become a full time corporate pilot
2026
Continue to work on my required flight time hours while working as a flight mechanic
2023
Graduate from University with Corporate Pilot License and a Minor in Mechanical Engineering degree
2019-2023
Attend University
2018-2019
Take SAT & ACT in spring of 2018 & Decide which I prefer SAT & ACT
Focus on improving score for preferred test & retake in fall 2018
Complete 1 month internship spring of 2018
Attend Pinnacle Aviation Academy Palomar Airport Summer of 2018
Attend COSMOS summer program at UCSD Summer 2018
Apply for Summer 2018 class at Palomar College
Apply for 6 colleges in the fall of 2018
Obtain 6 month internship for spring of 2019
Graduate from HTHNC spring of 2019