Most high school seniors think this year is the end. Finis.

Senior year also is a beginning for those who want to continue their education. And, Selma City Councilman Corey Bowie of Ward 8 knows a lot of preparation for college needs to begin now.

Bowie held a session Monday night for parents and students of his ward to talk to them about getting ready for the next step. In addition to serving as a member of the city council, Bowie works as the retention counselor for Wallace Community College Selma.

“It is vital for parents to prepare their students for college,” Bowie said. “There are a lot of unknowns when students begin the transition from high school to college. There are a lot of important elements like the priority dates, financial aid and the admissions process.”

For example, Bowie pointed out the fall of the senior year is the time to finally decide on that list of colleges and universities best suited for the student. Students need to check those schools, find out admission criteria, fill out applications, determine costs, find out about scholarships and begin the financial aid process, if necessary.

Additionally, if ACT or SAT scores aren’t what the college or university requires for study, the student needs to see about taking those tests again to bring up the scores.

All this information, said Bowie, is to give students and their parents a firm foundation from which to work.

“There’s an old platitude that is used,” he said, “’with quality information, you can make a quality decision.’”

Apparently, the hour-long seminar had an impact on at least one parent.

Sandra Parrish has a daughter who will attend college in the fall. She came to the seminar after her daughter brought home a flier announcing the time and date.

“The information he gave us was very, very informative because I know the school counselors have so much on their hands they cannot give us all this information,” Parrish said. “When I get back home, I’m going to start doing what I need to do to get my daughter in college.”