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The Strong Inventory is an assessment of interests to determine possible careers or subjects an individual might be interested in. The Counseling Center provides the opportunity to take the Strong Inventory and they send it off for scoring.
A: For many years (since the 1930s!), The Strong Interest Inventory has been a premier tool used by career counselors across the country. This assessment helps individuals match their interests with career and educational opportunities. The Northwest Counseling Center now has the most recently revised version of this assessment -- the 2004 Strong. This latest version captures the wide variety of careers that have evolved in recent years with the advances in technology, and it also provides a report that is geared specifically to college students. The report shows students what their levels of interest are in six broad categories and 30 more specific categories. Next, the report compares the test-taker's interests with the interests of workers in over 200 different occupations that are organized according to the six broad categories. Finally, the report suggests college majors that would most likely fit with the student’s interests, and also describes the student's preferences on several personality factors that are relevant to various types of job tasks and work environments.
A: The Strong is a helpful tool for students who are having difficulty choosing a major, and for students who are unsure if their chosen major and career path fit well with their interests and personality. The Career Center has other excellent resources for helping students make choices about their major and future career. The Strong (offered only at the Counseling Center) is particularly useful for students who are having trouble identifying their primary areas of interest, and for students who have already used the resources at the Career Center and yet continue to feel unclear and frustrated with their personal career planning process.
A: The Strong is available to Northwest students as part of a career counseling process. Any student who feels she/he would benefit from taking the Strong must call the Counseling Center to set up an Intake session with a counselor. (If referred by a Northwest professor or staff, the student must still call or come by the office to schedule his/her own appointment.) During the Intake, the counselor will listen as the student explains her or his concerns and questions, and will then explain how the Strong can be used as part of the counseling process. The student would then find a time (allowing 30-45 minutes) to fill out the Strong questionnaire during the Counseling Center's open hours, which are 8-5 M-F.
Once completed, the assessment is sent to Washington, D.C., where it is scored and then mailed back to the Counseling Center -- a process that takes 10-14 days. Once the score report is received, the student would meet with the counselor again to discuss the results. The student and counselor determine together how many times they want to meet -- which may range from 2 to 8 sessions.
A. In order to take the Strong, students must pay $10.00 (cash or check) to cover the cost of the test, shipping, and scoring.