You're a high school student. You've heard that going to college can make you successful, though you don't know too many people who've been. What will you do to start preparing for college?
(if: $onTeam is false)[[[Join a sports team|Join a sports team]]]
(if: $job is false)[[[Get a job|Get a job]]]
(if: $score is 0)[[[Take the ACT|Sign Up for ACT classes]]]
[[Apply!]]
You looked up college admissions practices, and to get into a four year institution, you need some out-of-class activities. You're a decent basketball player, so being the captain could be a way to show leadership.
[[Sign up for the team]]
Your mom says that she is struggling to pay for you and your siblings, so she says you should get a job now that you're in high school. You know of a few places that hire high schoolers. Where do you apply?
(if: $rest is true)[[[Grocery Store|Grocery Store]]]
[[Restaurant]]
(if: $job is true and $onTeam is false)[You use your hard earned money to pay for an ACT tutoring class. Most of the other students in the class aren't employeed. This leads you to believe that their parents are paying for the class.(set:$tookClass to true)]
(else-if: $job is true and $onTeam is true)[You have a steady flow of income, but you can't afford the classes because you spent it on the shoes and the uniform.]
(else:)[However, you aren't able to attend these classes becuse your mom is strapped for cash. Choosing to attend an expensive ACT class would result in your mom not being able to pay rent that month.(set:$tookClass to false)]
[[Take the ACT]]
(if: $job is false)[Your mom can't afford to buy your uniform, new shoes, and the fee for joining the team this month. You don't have income of your own to spend on it either.[[Back->Main Menu]]
]
(else-if: $tookClass is true)[You have income, but you spent it on your ACT prep class, so you can't afford the uniform, shoes and team fee.
[[Back->Main Menu]] ]
(else:)[Your mom couldn't afford it, so you spent most of your income this week on your uniform, shoes and team fee. However, you love playing basketball, and it might help you get into your dream school.
(set:$onTeam = true)
[[Practice]]
]
At practice, you overhear two white teammates saying that if they were black, they would be able to get into a good school. They joke about putting 1/16th Native American on their college applications. How do you react?
[[Laugh along]] (75% chance to be captain)
[[Argue with them]] (25% chance to be captain)
The store manager says that he can interview you tomorrow for a job as a cashier. You're nervous because you don't know what to wear, or if you even have the clothes to wear.
[[The Interview]]
The restaurant owner says he's not hiring, even though you've seen some of your white classmates recently get jobs here.
(set: $rest to true)
[[Back->Get a job]]
Can you get in? A game about college admissions by Blake Falanga and Fritz Arnson.
[[Begin!|Main Menu]]
(set: $job to false)
(set: $onTeam to false)
(set: $score to 0)
(set: $captain to false)
(set: $rest to false)
(set: $tookClass to false)
(if: $score is 0)[ You can't even think about applying yet. You need to go back and take the ACT because this is required to apply to college.
[[Back|Main Menu]] ]
(else:)[You spend countless hours writing an admissions essay. You bring the essay to your mom, but she has never written a college essay. She proof reads and edits your essay but you feel that these changes go against what you have learned in English class.
[[Continue|Proceed]]]
Their comments on race make you uncomfortable, but you pretend you didn't hear it. After all, you're nervous enough about getting into school as is.
(set: $argument to 0)
[[Pick a captain]]
The coach tells the team to vote on a captain. You thought you showed good leadership in practice, but aren't sure everyone likes you.
(set: $votes to (random:1,4) - 2*$argument)
(if: $votes > 1)[
[[Captain Results->You're the Captain]]
]
(else:)[
[[Captain Results->Someone Else is Captain]]
]
Your team voted you captain! This will be great leadership experience on your application. Go lead your team to victory!
[[Main Menu]]
You think you made a good impression on your teammates, but they didn't vote you captain. You might not get the leadership experience you wanted for your application. You still love playing basketball, and are excited for the season.
[[Main Menu]]
The manager asks you questions about what you do in school, as well as what you do outside of school. You talk about your classes, and other experiences you've had. You think the interview went well, but you really can't tell.
[[Continue]]
You got the job! You were nervous, but you might be able to pay for some of your necessities and ease the burden on your mom.
(set: $job to true)
[[Main Menu]]
(set: $score to (random:23,27))
(if: $tookClass is true)[(set:$score to $score + 4)]
You scored $score.
The average ACT score in the United States is 21.0.
[[Main Menu]]
(if: $job is false)[You enjoy the rest of your senior year. However, you begin to worry about the strength of your college application and your savings.]
(else:)[The commitment of your job (if:$onTeam is true)[and(if:$captain is true)[ leading your] sports team] (else-if:$tookClass is true)[and your ACT class] is starting to wear on you. You have a stressful senior year. When applying to college, you feel as though your application is strong based on your experiences.
(if:$onTeam is true or $tookClass is true)[You feel your 2 commitments are beginning to affect other aspects of your life. Your (either:"schoolwork","sleep","social life") suffers as a result.](else:)[You've saved up some disposable income from your job. Your mom is happy that you are now able to help out with rent and groceries.]]
[[Apply to College]]
You see your upper-middle class classmates enrolling in ACT classes (some enroll in private, one-on-one tutoring, while others attend a class with other students). Do you want to sign-up for ACT classes?
(set: $tookClass to false)
[[Yes|Study for the ACT]] (Score Range: 27-31)
[[No|Take the ACT]] (Score Range: 23-27)
Having sent the application in, you anxiously await the decision in March.
(set: $roll to (random:1,20))
(set: $target to (45 - $score))
(if: $onTeam is true)[(set:$target to $target - 2)]
(if: $captain is true)[(set:$target to $target - 3)]
(if: $roll >= $target)[[[Find out your decision|You got in]]]
(else:)[[[Find out your decision|You didn't get in]]]
"Congratulations! You have been admitted to the freshman class at..."
You got into your dream school!
Now you just need to see how much tuition costs...
[[Play Again|Intro]]
"It is with regret that I write to inform you that we are unable to offer you admission to the freshman class..."
You wonder what you could've done differently...
[[Play Again|Intro]]
You bring up how being black doesn't mean you'll get into a good school. Your teammates say that you don't know what you're talking about and that their only friend who got into an Ivy League school was black. They seem annoyed.
(set: $argument to 1)
[[Pick a captain]]