In the News…

Newsletter: January 1, 2020

January 2, 2020

January 1, 2020
Mychal Wynn (Northeastern ’79)

Vision or Clarity?

As you enter 2020, you must do so with a vision of what you wish to accomplish. However, you must develop clarity as to how you will accomplish your vision, or whether or not you are pursuing the right vision. Each year, many students begin our college planning cohort program with a “Vision” of being offered admission to top colleges and awarded full scholarships. However, far too many students, and parents, lack “Clarity” in their understanding of the work and commitment required to achieve such a vision. Additionally, students and parents must reassess whether or not they have the ‘right’ vision. Is the vision to get into Harvard, or to get into a great college with a full scholarship? Is the vision to be a ‘good’ student or to be an ‘exceptional’ student? We are so pleased in regard to the clarity provided by our college panelists who shared their experiences at their respective institutions and the clarity in which they engaged in their college research and how they arrived at their final college choice.

College Panel

On Saturday, December 21, 2019, we hosted the Turner Chapel AME Church Education Ministry’s 9th Annual College Panel. Appearing on the panel were Turner Chapel AME Cohort and Crossroads for Teens Cohort students, Justin Matthews (Dillard), Avery Johnson (Georgia State), Nina Shack (Middle Tennessee State), Akilah Williams (North Carolina A&T), Malathi Reddy and Landon Wade (Northeastern), Whitney Williams (Spelman College), Summer Ford (University of Georgia,) Kimberly Hadaway and Loren Tsang (Williams College), and Kyrah Felder (Xavier University of Louisiana). Collectively, cohort students are attending college with nearly $1 million in scholarships, including presidential scholarships to Northeastern and Xavier, the $50,000 MC Lyte Hip Hop Sisters Scholarship, and full scholarships to Dillard and Williams College. The panel provided an inspiration for current cohort students and their parents. Video clips from the panel discussion will be posted to our website in the coming weeks.

Full Scholarships!

While many high school seniors are awaiting college admission decisions, two of our cohort students had a dream Christmas. On December 1, Grayson High School senior and Atlanta-area Cohort student, Bre’an Moore, received a congratulatory email from Carleton College, ranked #7 on the 2020 US News and World Reports Liberal Arts College Rankings, offering her admission and a scholarship valued at $273,740 over 4 years. Bre’an had only joined our Atlanta-area Cohort in September, through the encouragement of her Godmother, Juanita Wade of Wade Marketing and Consulting. Bre’an was just in time to apply to the QuestBridge Program where she was eventually selected as a QuestBridge College Match Finalist. After attending the Taste of Carleton College Fly-In Program (Note: Pictured 5th from the left on the Taste of Carleton webpage is former cohort and current Williams College student, Loren Tsang, who attended the program last year) the top ranked liberal arts college rose to the top of her list ahead of the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania.

Bre’an notes, “Through the college research conducted in the cohort, I discovered that the liberal arts college experience is ideal for me. I will have the opportunity to explore a broad range of topics and interests prior to deciding on a major. Carleton is a great place and felt like the right fit to spend the next four years of my life. If you would have told me in September, when I joined the cohort, that this is where my life would be in December, I would not have believed you!”

On December 16, St. Petersburg High School and Pinellas County Schools Cohort student, Sydney Soskin, logged into the University of Chicago’s student portal to check the status of her Early Decision Application. Sydney screamed and burst into tears when she read the words, “Congratulations! It is my pleasure to inform you that you have been admitted to the University of Chicago’s Class of 2024.” Sydney’s full scholarship financial aid award is valued at over $310,000 over 4 years. Sydney joined our Pinellas County Schools Cohort as a high junior at the urging of a friend. Having lived in Chicago as a child, top ranked UChicago has always been Sydney’s top choice college. Through the Summer Programs activity, Sydney identified and applied to the Medical Ethics Summer Immersion Program at UChicago, where she spent the summer following her junior year and built relationships with professors and admissions personnel.

“Oh My God! I can’t believe it. Due to problems at my school, I missed the QuestBridge deadline and was devastated. However, Mr. and Mrs. Wynn pulled me together and kept me focused on developing a solid college list and game plan. They helped me with my Common Application and UChicago Supplemental essays, guided me in strengthening my academic résumé, reviewed my Common Application, and supported me in developing the strongest possible application for UChicago. They assured me that Early Decision was my best chance of being offered admission and that I would be pleased with the financial aid award that UChicago would offer. If I did not get in, we had a back-up plan for the Elon University Odyssey Program and Northeastern University Torch Scholars Program. When I read the letter in my student account, I called my mom and I took a screen shot and sent it to Mrs. Wynn. I still cannot stop crying. This is unbelievable.”

Click here to read the full article…
In our May newsletter, we will provide a full listing of our 2019/20 cohort students and the colleges to which they plan to attend.

Cohort Alumni

Congratulations to cohort students who made the Dean’s List:

Akilah Williams (North Carolina A&T Honors Program)
Alana Fulmore (Lander University)
Aleah Black (Winston-Salem State Nursing Program)
Avery Johnson (Georgia State)
Aurora Valadez (Florence Darlington Tech)
Camryn Brown (Clemson)
Corey Wilson (Claflin University Honors College)
Darla Willis (Arizona State)
Dawayna Burgess (Claflin University Honors College)
Jordan Barker (Tennessee State)
Jordan Bolds (University of Central Florida)
Kyrah Felder (Xavier University of Louisiana)
Kristen Starks (University of Richmond)
LaTajah Alford (Claflin University Honors College)
Malathi Reddy (Northeastern University Honors Program)
Summer Ford (University of Georgia)
Whitney Williams (Spelman College Honors Program)
Zaria Cameron (Claflin University Honors College)

Summer Programs

Congratulations to Atlanta-area Cohort students who have been accepted into the following summer programs:

DJ, D., (11th grade) Yale Young Global Scholars Program
Omar D., Jr., (9th grade) Washington University Pre-Medical Summer Institute
TaRetta, B., (10 grade) Yale Young Global Scholars Program

Grades 9 – 11

The January module includes a self-assessment of first semester accomplishments and a self-evaluation of each student’s competitiveness as a college applicant based on their achievements to date. High school juniors in the 2019/20 9-11th Grade Classroom have been moved into our 2019/20 High School Junior Classroom (2nd Semester) where the January – May modules for high school juniors are focused on finalizing a College Application Plan prior to the end of the school year.

As a result of an enthusiastic and informative presentation by high school counselor, Mrs. Cathy Heatly, over 65 Lakewood High School juniors signed up for our Pinellas County Schools Cohort. We will also be welcoming a cohort of high school juniors at Lake City Early College High School in Florence County School District 3.

January Discussion Topics

Grades 9 – 11: Bring copies of your Common Application Table. Be prepared to discuss your self-assessment of your first semester performance and your goals for becoming an even more competitive college applicant. Also bring your narrative responses to the 5 Guiding Questions for the January Module – Self-Assessment and Setting Goals:

Am I able to fully complete the activities section of the Common Application with meaningful activities?
Do I have leadership roles across the majority of my activities?
Am I able to fully complete the honors/awards section of the Common Application?
Based on my responses to questions 1 – 3, what type of goals do I need to set or actions I need to take to become the most competitive college applicant?
What were my accomplishments, or updates to my résumé as a result of my first semester performance?
After reviewing my résumé, and evaluating the strengths/weaknesses of my Common Application, what type of goals do I need to set for the second semester?

Attention Parents

At our January cohort meetings, we plan to have conversations with students and parents (particularly juniors) about the importance of test scores and how to integrate test prep into the normal course of schooling. We encourage parents of high school juniors to review Module 1: Unit 5 “Raising Test Scores,” with their students.

Increasing Test Scores

High school juniors participating in our program will be expected to take a full length section of their test of choice (i.e., SAT or ACT), and be prepared to share their scores at each of our monthly meetings through May. Students will also be expected to set up a test prep routine and access the free tools on the ACT or CollegeBoard (SAT) website.

Why Focus on Test Scores?

While over 1,000 colleges are now ‘test optional,’ the vast majority of academic scholarships are based on grades and test scores. For lower income students, the most direct pathway to a full college scholarship is being offered admission into a top college with a need-based and ‘no loans’ financial aid policy (e.g., Princeton, Yale, Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, Carleton, Northwestern, Duke, Stanford, etc.). These tend to be among the most selective colleges in the country where median test scores are 1500+ on the SAT and 33+ on the ACT. However, less selective schools offer merit-based scholarships for students with SAT scores of 1200+ and ACT scores of 25+. Consequently, it you have a conflict with your extracurricular activities, it is advisable to reduce the amount of time devoted to activities and to commit consistent effort, over the course of several months to test prep and work closely with teachers/tutors to increase your SAT or ACT scores.

Why Focus on One Test?

After taking a full length practice test for both exams (i.e., SAT and ACT), determine which exam you have the best chance of achieving the highest scores and commit to preparing for that exam. Over the course of many years, our students who have achieved scholarship qualifying test scores did so on 2 sittings for one exam—either the SAT or the SAT. Most of our students took their first exam in January or February of their junior year of high school; reviewed their scores with their subject-area teachers; engaged in test prep over the course of several months; and earned their highest scores (SAT 1400+; ACT 30+) on the June or July exam prior to entering their senior year of high school.

Why Focus on the ACT?

We believe in using the ACT as a tool for increasing your academic achievement in your core subjects, as you increase your test scores with a goal of achieving your highest test scores by June of your junior year of high school. However, if your high school supports the SAT, then you must consider where you will receive your best test prep support. Additionally, there are many resources for increasing SAT scores, beginning with the College Board website. However, for the majority of students, the ACT has proven to have strategic advantages over the SAT, such as:

When submitting SAT scores, many colleges also require that students take and submit SAT Subject Test Scores in two of more subject-areas. Typically, this is not required when submitting ACT scores. (Refer to Chapter 7: Standardized Testing/Exit Exams, pp. 118-127.)
The ACT is content-based and tests what you should have learned in high school. Consequently, you should be able to close any knowledge gaps by seeking help from your high school teachers.
The ACT has a collection of free test prep tools, including the ACT Academy.
While the SAT has changed many times over the years, the ACT has remained consistent from year-to-year.
The ACT has predictable and consistent structure from year-to-year, so it stands to reason that you could develop a test-taking strategy in the 9th grade, consistently work to master the ACT subject-area content throughout high school, and earn a top score as a high school junior or senior.
The ACT is straight forward in its language and wording of questions.
The SAT has been shrouded in controversy for being culturally and socioeconomically biased, “These four charts show how the SAT favors rich, educated families,” “Race gaps in SAT scores highlight inequality and hinder upward mobility.”

The bottomline…choose the test to focus your test prep efforts with a goal of achieving your highest test scores by June/July of your junior year of high school.

Mark Your Calendar

Sunday, January 5, 2020: United Ghana Christian Church Cohort (10:00 am – 12:30 pm).

Friday, January 10, 2020: Lake City High School Juniors Cohort (9:00 am – 2:30 pm). Students will be excused from class to the Lake City High School College Corner. Seniors will be seen by appointment.

Saturday, January 11, 2020: ASA Guide Right Cohort Fortis College (9:00 am).

Saturday, January 11, 2020: Guilford County Schools Cohort: Seniors (9:00 am – Noon); Juniors (Noon – 3:00 pm). Location: GTCC Greensboro Campus

Sunday, January 12, 2020: The Next Episode: Teen Bible Student/College Planning Session for high school juniors and seniors. Turner Chapel AME Church • Marietta, GA Boardroom (9:30 am – 11:30 am).

Sunday, January 12, 2020: Atlanta-area Cohort: Turner Chapel AME Church • Marietta, GA (11:30 am – 12:45 pm).

Sunday, January 12, 2020: Crossroads for Teens Cohort grades 9 – 12. Johnson Ferry Baptist Church • Marietta, GA (3:00 pm – 4:30 pm).

Saturday, January 25, 2020: ASA Guide Right Cohort Fortis College (9:00 am).

Saturday, January 25, 2020: Pinellas County Schools Middle School Cohort grades 6 – 8. Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle School Media Center • 3901 22nd Ave. S • St. Petersburg, FL (9:30 am – 11:30 am).

Saturday, January 25, 2020: Pinellas County Schools High School Cohort grades 9 – 12. Lakewood High School Media Center • 1400 54th Ave, S • St. Petersburg, FL (1:00 pm – 4:00 pm). All Lakewood High School juniors who signed up at the information session are expected to attend.

Attention High School Juniors – Join a Cohort: Register Now

Our online registration is only open to students interested in joining an Atlanta-area Cohort or working independently through our online classroom. Students participating in a school district or community partner should register with their program facilitator.

Students in Guilford County Schools, Florence County School District 3, and Pinellas County Schools must contact your school district representative.

New Students who will be joining our Atlanta-area Cohort or participating in our online program, can register at the following links:

Click here to learn more about our cohorts and other programs…

Newsletter: December 1, 2019

December 1, 2019

December 1, 2019
Mychal Wynn (Northeastern ’79)

College Discussion Panel

On Saturday, December 21, 2019, from Noon – 2:00 pm, The Turner Chapel AME Church Education Ministry will host a College Panel Discussion with cohort students representing a wide range of research universities, liberal arts colleges, cooperative education programs, honors colleges, and highly selective scholarship programs. Students will share their candid insight into how they navigated the college admissions process, arrived at their college choice, how they have immersed themselves in their respective college communities, and will respond to audience questions.

Click here to see a video of one of our panels…

High School Seniors

We are pleased that so many of our high school seniors successfully submitted Early Action and Early Decision applications to increase their chances of being offered admission and considered for large dollar institutional scholarships. By December 15, many students will be receiving admission decisions. However, December will be a stressful month, not only for students expecting Early Decisions, but for students still busily finalizing essays in advance of Regular Decision deadlines.

High school seniors who are still finalizing college applications must ensure that:

Teacher recommendations have been submitted
Common Applications have been reviewed
Essays and writing responses have been edited and reviewed
Résumés have been updated

Take advantage of any remaining Early Decision II and Early Action II application deadlines. It is important that you update the following documents as you receive each college and scholarship decision:

College and Scholarship Table
College Costs Comparison Sheet

Both of these documents are contained in Module 16: What to Do After Receiving an Admission Decision. It is also important that you update your Username and Password Table each time you receive an email from your colleges with information pertaining to accessing your student account. Many colleges will only send the initial email and will not notify you when scholarship and financial aid information has been posted to your student account. It will be your responsibility to regularly access your student accounts to respond to document requests and to accept/decline financial aid awards or student loans.

Grades 9 – 11

Once again, our Atlanta-area cohort has settled in and students are engaging in deep and insightful round table discussions at our monthly meetings. Mr. Charles Williams is leading our 9th-10th grade discussions and Mrs. Lora Williams is leading our high school junior discussions. We are overjoyed at having such an academically accomplished and artistically talented group of students participating in our 2019/20 program. We are equally impressed with our other Atlanta-area Cohorts—Crossroads for Teens, ASA Guide Right, and Ghana United Christian Church.

Please note the following actions:

Finalize your Interest Profiler and complete your career research
Submit a copy of your report card
Submit a copy of your high school profile
Finalize your responses to the November Guiding Questions

The December focus will be on summer planning. The September, October, November, and December modules, provide the foundation of our focus on, “Backwards Mapping:”

Identify your desired colleges and scholarships
Identify the body or work required to be a competitive applicant
Set academic, leadership, and community service goals
Identify the career and college major you are interested in pursuing
Identify the summer programs that will allow you to explore your career and college options, while continuing to build an impressive résumé

On January 1, 2020, high school juniors will be moved from the 9 – 11th grade classroom and enrolled into the high school junior classroom. During the second semester, high school juniors will be guided through the process of creating College Application Plans. Those juniors who apply themselves to successfully completing the January – May activities, will enter the summer months well ahead of their classmates by having finalized their college lists, identified their admission cycles, and identified the institutional scholarships for which they qualify. Consequently, students will be able to devote their summers to finalizing essays and writing responses

ASA Guide Right Student – G. Tyriq S.

We have selected another of our 9th graders, G. Tyriq S., a participant in the ASA Guide Right Cohort, as an example of a thoughtful response to one of the November’s Guiding Questions.

Guiding Question #1 – What are the scores from your Interest Profile?

I found the scores that I received from my test to be very interesting. There are six categories to the interest profile. My highest score, 34, was the Social area and matches well to such careers as being a coach, physical education teacher, and a special education teacher. My second highest score, 21, was in the Enterprising area. A high score in enterprising suggests that I am good at persuading and leading people, making decisions, and taking risks. My third highest score, 17, was in the Conventional area. This score suggests that I enjoy working with clear rules and following a strong leader. The fourth highest score, 17, was in the Realistic area suggesting that I may enjoy working with plants and animals, real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery, and outside work. My two lowest scores were in the Investigative area (13), and Artistic (8) suggesting that I may be weaker at searching for facts, and figuring out problems, creativity, and working without a set of rules. I was not at all surprised by my low score in art as I have never liked art. — G. Tyriq S., ASA Guide Right

December Discussion Topics

Grades 9 – 11: Bring copies of your Summer Programs and Scholarship Competition Table. Be prepared to discuss your narrative responses to the 3 Guiding Questions for the December Module – Summer Planning:

What are the available summer, pre-college, and volunteer opportunities relating to my gifts and talents, interests, career, or desired college major?
What programs are hosted by, or on the campuses, of my top colleges?
What scholarship competitions relating to my gifts and talents, interests, career, or desired college major were you able to identify?

Enjoy your holiday break and time with your family.

Mark Your Calendar

Sunday, December 1, 2019 – United Ghana Christian Church Cohort (10:00 am – 12:30 pm).

Saturday, December 7, 2019: Guilford County Schools Cohort: Seniors (9:00 am – Noon); Juniors (Noon – 3:00 pm). Location: GTCC Greensboro Campus

Sunday, December 8, 2019: Atlanta-area Cohort grades 9 – 12. Turner Chapel AME Church • 492 N. Marietta Pkwy • Marietta, GA (11:30 am – 12:45 pm). Parents are invited to attend the worship service (9:30 am) and high school juniors and seniors are invited to attend The Next Episode (9:30 am -11:30 am Teen Bible Study held in the Boardroom).

Friday, December 13, 2019: Florence County School District 3 Cohort – Meeting in the Lake City High School College Corner Juniors and Seniors from 8:30 am – 4:00 pm.

Saturday, December 14, 2019: Florence County School District 3 Cohort Information Meeting and for High School Juniors and Parents (9:30 am – 3:00 pm). 125 S. Blanding St., Lake City, SC 29560 (District Board Room)

Saturday, December 21, 2019: College Panel Discussion – Turner Chapel AME Church (Rev. Dr. Kenneth E. Marcus Chapel) • 492 N. Marietta Parkway, Marietta, GA 30060 (Noon – 2:00 pm). Light Refreshments to be served afterwards.

All Atlanta-area cohort students are required to attend the Students from our Atlanta-area, Turner Chapel AME Church, and Crossroads for Teens Cohorts will be appearing on the panel. Scholarship, Leadership, and Service are the cornerstones of our College Planning Cohort Program. Our panelists are demonstrating scholarship and leadership on their respective campuses, and continue to serve our program through their mentorship and opening doors of opportunities for other cohort students.

Join a Cohort: Register Now

Our online registration is only open to students interested in joining our Atlanta-area Cohort or working independently through our online classroom. Students participating in a school district or community partner should register with their program facilitator.

New Students who will be joining our Atlanta-area Cohort or participating in our online program, can register at the following links:

To pay your registration in two installments, contact our office: ph: 678.395.5825 or email: cpc@collegeplanningcohort.com
Click here to register for returning students (who participated in our 2018/19 cohort).
Click here to learn more about our cohorts and other programs…

Newsletter: November 1, 2019

October 31, 2019

November 1, 2019
Mychal Wynn (Northeastern ’79)

Cohort Alumni

Turner Chapel AME Church Cohort alumna, and Spelman College Honors College freshman, Whitney Williams, has been selected for the prestigious Bluford Medical Healthcare Leadership Institute. Customarily open to rising sophomores, the program identifies undergraduates with exceptional leadership potential for today’s challenging healthcare landscape, cultivating them for future leadership roles in the field of healthcare. As a result of her academic achievement and demonstrated leadership, which includes being elected Vice-president of the Spelman College Freshman Class, Whitney will join scholars from throughout the country at the leadership institute in Kansas City, Missouri.

High School Seniors

High school seniors have been working hard to finalize essays and college applications as outlined in, “Chapter 13: Your Application Strategy,” of A High School Plan for Students with College-Bound Dreams, in advance of today’s Early Action and Early Decision Deadlines. Applying Early Action expands scholarship consideration, while applying Early Decision, increases your chances of being offered admission. Beyond today’s deadlines, seniors will need to continue working to meet Regular Decision, Early Decision II, and Early Action II deadlines.

Note: All cohort students must complete their College and Scholarship Table, noting all colleges to which they have submitted applications, and tracking admission decisions and scholarship offers.

Congratulations to Rashaad and Bre’an

Rashaad (pictured here), from our Florence County School District 3 Cohort, and Bre’an, from our Atlanta-area Cohort, join our cohort of QuestBridge Finalists with their selection as 2019 QuestBridge College Match Finalists. As a College Match Finalists, Rashaad and Bre’an will have the opportunity of matching to a full scholarship at one of the 40 QuestBridge partner schools, including 5 of the 8 Ivy League schools.

Grades 9 – 11

Please note the following actions:

Finalize your 4-year course schedules and academic goals
Submit a copy of your report card
Submit a copy of your high school profile
Finalize your responses to the October Guiding Questions

The November focus will be on careers and college majors in advance of the December focus on summer planning. The September, October, November, and December modules, provide the foundation of our focus on, “Backwards Mapping:”

Identify your desired colleges and scholarships
Identify the body or work required to be a competitive applicant
Set academic, leadership, and community service goals
Identify the career and college major you are interested in pursuing
Identify the summer programs that will allow you to explore your career and college options, while continuing to build an impressive résumé

Our 10th Annual Turner Chapel AME Church Education Ministry College Fair was a huge success with several hundred people attending my pre-college fair workshop during which I spoke to students about backwards mapping and shared startling statistics about scholarships and student loan debt:

Only .3% of all college students are on full scholarships
Only 2% of college athletes are receiving athletic scholarships
Over 70% of college students have incurred an average of $30,000 in student loan debt

We were elated to have fraternities, sororities, and 100 Black Men of Atlanta sponsor busloads of young men and women to attend the college fair and workshop. Many high school seniors, who followed our advice and brought copies of their résumés, transcripts, and SAT/ACT Score Reports, were blessed with on-the-spot college acceptances and full scholarships.

Pictured here with a representative from Duke University, is Omar, a high school freshman and member of our Atlanta-area cohort. Omar has demonstrated an incredible work ethic and clarity of focus as he has embraced our College Planning Cohort curriculum and been intentional in setting academic, leadership, and community service goals. Although our Summer Planning units are not introduced until December, as a high school freshman, Omar has already conducted his summer planning research and been invited to theWashington University Pre-med Summer Institute. Omar is on track to take the most rigorous classes offered at the Paulding County High School Academy of Science, Research, and Medicine. Paulding County High School Salutatorian and cohort alumna, Kimberly Hadaway, a third-year student at Williams College, who received $1.8 million in scholarship offers from Duke, Amherst, Williams, Vanderbilt, Washington & Lee, and Princeton, provides a roadmap for Omar. In his response to one of the October Guiding Questions, Omar embraces the concept of “Backwards Mapping,” by providing clarity and intentionality in his 4-year planning.

Guiding Question #3 – Engage in a self-assessment of your 4-year course schedule? Are you planning to take the most rigorous classes offered? If yes, why? If no, why not? Are you planning to take electives relating to your gifts and talents, such as music, art, computer programming? If no, why not? What academic honors are you pursuing?

“I am planning to take the most rigorous courses that my school offers because I want to succeed in these courses and show colleges that I can handle a rigorous workload and I believe this will make me more of a competitive candidate for the colleges I apply to. I also want to take AP courses to earn college credit.I am taking electives that relate to my interests. For example, I am taking the Healthcare pathway that my school offers. As a magnet program student, I am considering taking the Allied Health Pathway because I want to become a neurosurgeon. I am also considering doing speech and debate because I don’t play an instrument.The academic honors I am pursuing include Dean’s List, graduating with honors, AP Scholar, and High-Class Rank.” — Omar D., Atlanta-area Cohort

As a high school freshman, Omar’s response provides insight into how cohort students who are intentional in their college planning distinguish themselves from the millions of US high school students who, because of their laissez-faire attitude toward school, are failing to successfully compete with international students, as profiled in the documentary film, “2 Million Minutes.”

Atlanta-area Cohort student and high school junior, Tyra G., is an alumna of the Harvard Debate Council’s Diversity Project, and is one of several cohort students whom we are nominating to the Yale Young Global Scholars Program. Participation in summer and pre-college programs pertaining to your current passions and future career interests, can positively impact your competitiveness as a college applicant. Our older son (Amherst ’12), attended two football camps hosted, through which he built relationships with coaches and admissions officers at Amherst College long prior to submitting his Early Decision application.

SAT, ACT, and PSAT Testing
As you review your first semester grades, determine how much, if any, you have closed your SAT/ACT knowledge gaps. If you took a practice test prior to the beginning of the school year, take another practice test and carefully review your wrong answers. If you are not closing your knowledge gaps, then revisit Module 2: Unit 6, “Lesson – Test Scores.” Meet with each subject-area teacher and incorporate the strategies outlined. Current high school seniors who did not follow our recommended timeline of achieving their target test scores by June of their junior year are now dreading having scores too low to qualify for institutional scholarships or admission to their top college choices. While test prep strategies can help, there is no substitute for ‘knowing the information.’

November Discussion Topics

Grades 9 – 11: Bring copies of your Narratives and Careers and College Majors documents. Be prepared to discuss your narrative responses to the 4 Guiding Questions for the November Module – Careers and College Majors:

What are the scores from your Interest Profile?
What careers are associated with your profile?
What career are you most interested in and what did you learn from researching this career?
What are the best colleges for your career or college major?

Get a Jump Start on Preparing for the December Discussion Topic: Summer Planning

Lessons Learned

This month, we are reminded of our 2016 newsletter, which provides a context for cohort students who are under the mistaken belief that ‘A’s and B’s’ in rigorous classes are enough to be offered admission to selective colleges ahead of more accomplished ‘A’ students. While cohort students are developing their course schedules, researching colleges and careers, and will be researching summer programs in December, we felt it appropriate to revisit the sound advice that was presented in 2016.

In 2016, an estimated 60,000 students submitted applications for the 1,000 coveted Gates Millennium Scholar scholarships. The chances of being selected as 1 of the 1,000 recipients was 1.66 percent. Students stood a lower chance of being selected as Gates Millennium Scholars than being offered admission to Stanford (5.1%), Harvard (6.0%), Yale (6.3%), or MIT (7.9%) (Top 100 – Lowest Acceptance Rates).

What We Learned

Over the course of the five-year period between 2011-2016, we assisted students in preparing their GMS applications and were gratified with the selection of Brianna Moses (2011) Howard University, Jalani Wynn (2012) Morehouse College, Brittany White (2013) Spelman College, Mikayla Hanna (2015) University of Maryland-Baltimore County, and Rebeca Pacheco (2016) Francis Marion University as Gates Millennium Scholars. For these students, the guidance began long prior to finalizing their GMS applications, with conversations about their course taking, leadership, and service, the cornerstones of our College Planning Cohort Program.

Course Taking

The GMS application, mirrored many of the component’s of today’s Common Application, by requiring students to enter academic and college prep classes. Students who met the qualifying 3.3 unweighted GPA by earning high grades in on-level classes, found themselves at a huge disadvantage when competing against students who achieved comparable grades through honors, AP, and dual enrollment classes. Students earning high grades in rigorous high school classes, and dual enrollment classes were the most competitive.

The lesson learned was that far too many students focused on class ranking instead of course taking. A student ranked #5 in her class with few honors, AP, or dual enrollment classes was not as competitive as a student ranked #80 in her class, but who took the most rigorous schedule of honors and AP classes offered at her school.

For example, one student’s transcript reflected how she maximized her course taking opportunities:

English/Language Arts: 2 honors, 2 AP classes
Math: 2 Advanced, Pre-Calculus, AP Calculus
Science: 2 honors, 2 AP classes
Social Studies: 2 honors, 1 Pre-AP, 3 AP classes
Foreign Language: 3 honors, 1 AP classes
Fine Arts: Advanced Orchestra, 2 AP classes

Another student’s transcript reflected how she maximized her course taking opportunities:

English/Language Arts: 3 honors, 2 college classes
Math: 3 honors, 1 AP, 1 college class
Social Studies: 2 honors, 1 AP, 2 college classes
Foreign Language: 4 honors classes
Fine Arts: Choir, Ensemble, 2 college classes

Each of these students maximized the opportunities available to them within their respective high schools, earning A’s in most of their classes. Paulding County High School Salutatorian and cohort alumna, Kimberly Hadaway, entered Paulding County High School in 2013, with a 4-year strategy of being selected as a 2017 Gates Millennium Scholar. Unfortunately, the GMS program was discontinued in 2017. However, Kimberly’s intentional 4-year planning, and academic performance, resulted in 6 full scholarship offers.

Course Alignment

Students are wise to align their high school coursework, whenever possible, with their career aspirations. This is a particularly important consideration when pondering elective classes and the opportunity for strengthening a student’s overall application. When the course taking options are available, high school transcripts should reflect that students interested in pursuing STEM-related careers are taking the highest level of math and science. Too many students claim that they aspire to pursue dentistry, nursing, or pediatrics, while slogging along earning ‘B’s’ in on-level math and science classes. Doing so, will make them less competitive when part of the applicant pool, with similar aspirations, are taking AP Calculus, AP Environmental Science, AP Biology, AP Physics, AP Chemistry, and AP Psychology. Similarly, students pursing careers in art, music, philosophy, or psychology should be taking available classes to demonstrate a commitment to furthering develop their gifts and talents.

The lesson learned is to take the highest level classes available, especially in your desired field of study.

Grades Earned

Perhaps, more than any other part of the GMS application, students regretted not having paid closer attention to their grades. First: many students are not aware of the weighting policy for their high school. For example, is a ’90’ reflected on your transcript, actually an ’83’ artificially raised 7 points because of being an honors or AP class? This would mean that a ’90’ is worth 4 points in calculating a GPA (4-point scale), while the ’83’ is worth 3 points. Since many colleges strip away the additional ‘weight’ added to grades, the goal of every student must be to earn an unweighted ‘A.’

To avoid confusion:

Focus your attention on the final grade reflected in your teacher’s grading book, not what is reflected on your transcript, unless you attend a school where they are both the same.
Fully understand the grading breakdown, i.e., 70 – 79=C; 80 – 89=B; 90-100=A.
Know exactly what your grades are for each of your classes.
Whenever you find yourself close to the next grade, e.g., 78-79 or 88-89, talk to your teacher to explore options of making up the difference. You never want a ‘B’ when you have the option of earning an ‘A.’

Our mantra is, ‘Don’t leave any points on the table.’ Earn an unweighted ‘100’ and you end up with ‘107.’ However, an ‘A’ is an ‘A.’

Foreign Language

Taking the minimum required 2 years of a foreign language put students at a disadvantage when so many of the GMS applicant pool spoke multiple languages. Every immigrant student spoke at least two languages—their native language and English. Students at the top of the bilingual pool of applicants were those who read, spoke, and wrote in multiple languages.

Students should consider:

Achieve fluency in reading, writing, and speaking in your native language.
English-language speakers should be on track to take the highest level of English/Language Arts classes to achieve fluency in reading, writing, and speaking English
Spanish-language speakers should be on track to take the highest level of Spanish language classes to achieve fluency in reading, writing, and speaking Spanish

While the same applies to other languages such as German, French, and Chinese, for native language speakers, students should consider pursuing fluency in a second language based on the available conversational usage in their communities. For example, consider the immigrant population in your community and identify a second language offering frequent opportunities for engaging in daily conversational usage.

Writing

The GMS application had 8 essays with 23 imbedded prompts, or questions, to which students had to respond. Unfortunately, far too many high performing high school students are not learning to write effectively.

The major areas in which students must increase their writing skills over the course of their four years of high school:

The ability to effectively respond to writing prompts. For example, a question that asks, “What did you do, why did you do it, and what did you learn?” requires a 3 narratives incorporated into the body of the essay…I did…The reason that I did…What I learned from experiences were…
Technical writing skills involve proper grammar and punctuation. Unfortunately, far too many students are failing to develop academic writing skills. In essence, they write like they talk, i.e., informal, frequent use of contractions, and improper use of commas and semicolons.
Artistic writing skills involves the ability to use imagery, language, quotes, and poetry to tell your story in a meaning and engaging way.
The ability to provide insight for the reader. Students use terms and references without providing insight, background data, or analogies, that provide a context so that readers understand what the student is communicating. For example, a reference to sickle cell anemia, performing in the ensemble, or working in the fields as a migrant farm worker, all require a much descriptive context.

While students must have someone edit their essays, this is not enough. Students must learn how to:

Respond to the prompts
Reduce or eliminate contractions
Understand the difference between talking and academic writing
Have a dictionary, Thesaurus, and grammar book within reach (either on the desk or through the Internet)
Have examples of well-written essays to which they may refer
Research their facts, identify quotes, and research examples
Tell a complete story, how they were challenged, how they were supported, what they learned, how they overcome, what they will do differently in the future, how they have used their experiences for the benefit of others

While the focus of an essay is typically what the student has done, readers frequently assess a student’s ability to incorporate non-cognitive variables into the narrative, such as:

What are your short- and long-term goals?
What is your self-assessment of your gifts, talents, and abilities?
Who do you acknowledge as having provided support?
How have you demonstrated leadership?
What has been your respond to community issues?
What have you done in the face of racism, bigotry, or injustice?

Many students struggle with self-reflective narrative writing. The only way to become better writers is to begin writing regularly,

Leadership

Each year, students come to the realization that they have been involved in many activities, but have served in few leadership roles. While many students ‘join’ things, few students seek to ‘lead’ things. Other students seek to ‘run’ for office, while few such students seek to ‘make a difference’ in office. Perhaps the best example is the U.S. Congress where congressional leaders spend millions of dollars and thousands of hours running campaigns to get elected, then re-elected, and actually do very little while in office.

Consider the following questions, PRIOR to joining a club, organization, choir, or athletic team:

What gifts, talents, or abilities will I contribute?
What title or position would I like to earn?
What impact would I like to have?
What changes would I like to make?
What results would I like to achieve?
How would I like to be recognized for my contributions?
What type of recommendation letter would I like for the coach or club sponsor to be able to write on my behalf?

Students require clear descriptions of their clubs, roles, and involvement. Rather than joining many clubs and organizations, students should consider:

Join the clubs that reflect your passions, aspirations, values, and where you can make a difference:

Athletics
Fishing
Bowling
Math
Science
Skateboarding
Art, dance, music, and/or theatre
JRTOC
Chess
Speech and Debate

Determine your passions, gifts, talents, interests, and aspirations. These can become the topics of great essays based on the depth of your involvement, commitment to you make to developing and expanding your skills.

Community Service

Each year, students come to the realization that they have performed very little service to their school or community. They attend church, but do nothing at the church. They are in a club, but do nothing to benefit the community through the club. They are in student government, but have done little to have a positive impact on their school. Far too many students, after nearly four years of high school have been served by the school, but have not been servants to the school.

In the photograph, my older son volunteered hundreds of hours, and was also employed, throughout high school as a Martial Arts Instructor—an activity directly aligned with one of his passions. In the photographed he is pictured holding board for his younger brother. Students who volunteered an hour here or an hour there, cannot compete with students who started a nonprofit and advocated for issues through rallies, newsletters, YouTube Videos, and fundraisers. They cannot compete with those students who tutored students at Boys and Girls Clubs, in elementary schools, middle schools, and throughout their community.

You can perform a community service self-assessment based on your ability to respond to the following prompts:

I saw a need in our community of … and I did … which resulted in …
In my community, we have a problem with … so I organized … and we … which resulted in …
I joined the … so that I could … and learned that … so we … and now our community is …
I created a … for the elementary school students in our community who … and I got my teammates to … and afterward we … and we were able to … and now elementary school students in our community are …
After I was inducted into the National Honor Society, I recognized a need to … so I became the … and I contacted … to help me get the word out to … and I organized a … and got the … to partner with our organization by … and we were able to … and now our community … and we plan to continue this program each year so that …

One of the best examples we have ever experienced reflected in a student’s essays are those 2016 Gates Millennium Scholar, Rebeca P, now attending Francis Marion University. Rebeca shared her story as being from of a migrant farm worker family who use her fluency in English and Spanish to serve as a translator and tutor for migrant workers, families in her community, schools in her school district, church, and school-based clubs. She started programs, volunteered hundreds of hours of free tutoring and translation services, and served families in her community and church since becoming bilingual during elementary school.

Mikayla, our 2015 Gates Millennium Scholar, served the elderly in her community by driving them to doctor and dental appointments, assisting with reviewing legal papers, writing letters, balancing budgets, and grocery shopping throughout her four years of high school.

What you can do to prepare yourself for the future

Although the assessments of your academic performance through grades and test scores are important, it is more important that you commit yourself to becoming an actively engaged learner. Commit yourself to learning:

How to solve problems
How to write
How to articulate yourself
How to substantiate your opinion with factual evidence
How to explain your dreams and aspirations

Read and expand your vocabulary. Many students are literally handcuffed by essays. They cannot formulate their thoughts. They cannot find the vocabulary to articulate their ideas. They cannot engage in the critical thinking process to formulate their opinions. Worksheets and multiple choice tests are dumbing down students to the point where they become angry and frustrated when presented with a sheet of paper and pen, and instructions, “Write.”

Teachers lament that they cannot get students to write…hogwash! We are able to get students to write hundreds of pages of narratives. Most students with whom we assist with their GMS essays, struggle with keeping their word count below the 1,000 word threshold. So we know that the problem is not student motivation. However, our students are so limited in their vocabulary, have such a poor understanding of academic writing, and are lacking in the skills and methods to organize their thoughts that they are frustrated with their inadequacies—inadequacies that should have been corrected over the course of 3 1/2 years of high school writing.

If you are planning to apply for the GMS program or other scholarship programs in the future, begin writing your essays now! You do not become an elite athlete by training occasionally training, nor do you become a good writer by occasionally writing. Athletes train daily, students should be writing daily. The same applies to math. Work through problems every day.

In regard to developing more impressive community service and leadership credentials, students should:

Assist club sponsors in developing more thoughtful and comprehensive descriptions of the mission, vision, and core values of their club or organization
Expand official roles beyond formal officers, such as Outreach Coordinator, Community Liaison, or new Projects Facilitator
Expand award opportunities, such as Most Outstanding Youth Leader, Significant Impact on Community Change, Innovative Future Leader, or Difference Maker
Align your club role with your gifts and talents, such as developing logos and brochures for artists, maintaining web pages for techies, publishing newsletters for writers, providing tutoring opportunities for academicians, and providing public speaking opportunities for those who lavish talking

Students cannot only advocate for these opportunities at their high school, but at the faith and community organizations where they commit their volunteer efforts.

Important Dates and Deadlines

Many Early Action Deadlines 11/1
Many Early Decision Deadlines 11/1 and 11/15
Yale Global Scholars Early Action Deadline 11/12
Cook Foundation College Scholarship Program 11/13/19

Mark Your Calendar

Friday, November 8, 2019: Florence County School District 3 Cohort meeting in the Lake City High School College Corner throughout the day (8:30 am – 4:00 pm). Only students in good standing, and those who have confirmed FAFSA submissions, will be called from class.

Saturday, November 9, 2019:Guilford County Schools Cohort: Seniors (9:00 am – Noon); Juniors (Noon – 3:00 pm). Bring copies of your transcripts and SAT/ACT Score Reports. GTCC Greensboro Campus.

Saturday, November 9, 2019:ASA Guide Right Cohort • Fortis College (9:00 am).

Sunday, November 10, 2019:United Ghana Christian Church Cohort (10:00 am – 12:30 pm).

Sunday, November 10, 2019:Atlanta-area Cohort grades 9 – 12. Turner Chapel AME Church • 492 N. Marietta Pkwy • Marietta, GA (11:30 am – 12:45 pm). Parents are invited to attend the worship service (9:30 am) and high school juniors and seniors are invited to attend The Next Episode (9:30 am – a Teen Bible Study held in the Boardroom).

Sunday, November 10, 2019:Crossroads for Teens Cohort grades 9 – 12. Johnson Ferry Baptist Church • Marietta, GA (3:00 pm – 4:30 pm).

Saturday, November 16, 2019:Pinellas County Schools • Lakewood High School (Media Center) • 1400 54th Ave, S • St. Petersburg, FL (9:00 am – 2:00 pm). All high school students and parents are invited to attend.

All Atlanta-area cohort students are required to attend the College Panel Discussion on Saturday, December 21, 2019 from Noon – 2:00 pm. Students from our Atlanta-area, Turner Chapel AME Church, and Crossroads for Teens Cohorts will be appearing on the panel. Scholarship, Leadership, and Service are the cornerstones of our College Planning Cohort Program. Our panelists are demonstrating scholarship and leadership on their respective campuses, and continue to serve our program through their mentorship and opening doors of opportunities for other cohort students.

Join a Cohort: Register Now

New Students who will be joining our Atlanta-area Cohort or participating in our online program, can register at the following links:

Newsletter: October 1, 2019

October 6, 2019

October 1, 2019
Mychal Wynn (Northeastern ’79)

Welcome to Our College Planning Cohort Program

We are excited to welcome new students and families to our ASA Guide Right, Atlanta-area, Crossroads for Teens, Florence County School District 3, Guilford County Schools, Pinellas County Schools, Turner Chapel AME Church, and United Ghana Christian Church Cohorts. We are equally excited to be working with students in California, Texas, and Indiana through our online program. Our program is a family affair, where we are working together to assist students in expanding their college and scholarship options.

Congratulations to Sydney and Sydney

Sydney S. and Sydney B. from our Guilford County Schools Cohort continue to receive all-expenses paid Fly-in invitations from some of the country’s most selective colleges:

Bowdoin
University of Richmond
Washington & Lee
Williams

Fly-in Programs are highly competitive and require high quality applications and well written essays. Students invited to Fly-in Programs, are in essence, recruited students. Paying travel expenses for 200 students to visit a campus, and hosting them for a weekend, is a significant financial investment. Consequently, receiving a Fly-in invitation can increase a student’s chances of being offered admission to a selective college from less than 20% to over 90%! Sydney S., just visited Bowdoin and Williams, and pictured here is Sydney B., who will be on her way to a Fly-in visit to Washington and Lee. The two Sydneys provide an example for current high school juniors of the importance of identifying and matching to the right Fly-in opportunities, with many applications opening during the spring of your junior year of high school.

High School Seniors

We encourage you to step up your game! Despite our constant prodding, many of you are far behind in finalizing your College Application Plans, choosing your essay topic, writing your essays, requesting recommendation letters from the ‘right’ teachers, and identifying the institutional scholarships for which you are the most competitive. Those of you who have not reached the SAT/ACT scores needed to be offered admission to your colleges, must refocus your attention on either Community College or Test Optional Colleges. It is time to finalize your Action Plans.

Today is the opening of the FAFSA filing period. Most colleges and universities will require that students submit a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) prior to being considered for financial aid, including need-based grants and scholarships. Some schools will begin distributing their FSEOG funding as completed FAFSAs are received, so submit your FAFSA as soon as possible! Mark your calendar for one of our FAFSA sessions in your area. Modules 13 and 14 in the 2019/20 High School Senior Classroom provide complete guidance to completing the FAFSA and CSS/Profile.

Today is the application deadline for the Engineering Fly-in opportunity at the Voices of Tufts Diversity Experience. The Arts and Sciences application deadline is October 8, 2019.

As a Community-based Partner with Smith College, we can provide students interested in applying to Smith College with CSS/Financial Aid Profile fee waivers. The deadlines to apply for financial aid are November 15 for Early Decision I, January 2 for Early Decision II, and January 25 for Regular Decision. If you are planning to apply and would like a CSS/Profile fee waiver, contact us.

To be considered for merit scholarships at Ursinus College, you must apply by their published deadlines.

Join the College Greenlight online Block Party on October 16 and 17, with Stanford, Northwestern, Rice, Tufts, Colgate, and Vanderbilt. Click here to register.

US News profiled 8 students from one of our local high schools (Roswell High School, Roswell, GA) in the article, “How 8 Georgia Students Made Their College Choices.” What most struck me about the article was the college planning components that were not mentioned, i.e., Net Price Calculator, College Match, The Common Data Set, Fly-in Programs, and most importantly, matching to institutional and full scholarship opportunities. However, I was pleased to see that the class valedictorian, Sameer Khan, was offered admission to Amherst College, where our Guilford County Schools Cohort student, Brenna K., is now a 2nd-year, and found his way to Williams College, where our Georgia Cohort students Kimberly H. and Loren T. are now 3rd-year and 2nd-year students respectively. We are going to contact US News and suggest an article, “How 8 College Planning Cohort Students Made Their Way into Full Scholarship Opportunities.” (University of Richmond, Amherst College, Northeastern University, Northwestern University, Claflin Honors College, UMBC, Williams College, and Elon University)

High School Juniors

To better assist you in avoiding the challenges confronting so many of our current high school seniors, who are struggling with finding the time to finalize their College Application Plans, we will be streamlining our modules for high school juniors to provide step-by-step guidance through your college and scholarship research, within the context of the college list and school-year goals that you developed in the October Module, “Setting Goals within a College Context.” The timeline will be focused on finalizing your College Application Plans by June, 2020. If you know any high school juniors who are in need college planning guidance, particularly those who are academically accomplished, encourage them to register as we will no longer be registering high school juniors after November 1.

FREE College Fair

Plan to attend the 11th Annual Turner Chapel AME Church College Fair on Saturday, October 26, 2019 from Noon – 3:00 pm. I will be kicking off the college fair with a Pre-college Fair Workshop, “Show Me the Money: Scholarships, Financial Aid, and Making the Right College Choice,”from 11:00 am – Noon. Each year, over 2,000 students and parents take advantage of the opportunity to speak with college representatives and college planning advisers. Over 50 colleges will be represented, including Harvard, Duke, MIT, UGA, and many HBCUs. Some schools will offer on-the-spot scholarships so be sure to bring copies of your résumé, transcript, and SAT/ACT Score Reports.

October Discussion Topics

Students in Grades 9 – 11: Please bring copies of your My Narrative Document, Résumé, 4-year High School Schedule, and Common Data Set Table. Be prepared to share your narrative responses to the 4 Guiding Questions for the October Module – Setting Goals Within a College Context:

What type of grades, course taking, and test scores do you believe are expected by the type of colleges to which you would like to apply for admission?
After reviewing the Common Data Set for each of your colleges, how does your planned course schedule compare to the type of classes and level of rigor recommended by each of your colleges?
Are you planning to take the most rigorous classes offered? If yes, why? If no, why not? Are you planning to take electives relating to your gifts and talents, such as music, art, computer programming? If no, why not? What academic honors are you pursuing?
Which test does your school or school district support? Will you focus your test taking strategy on the SAT or ACT? What is your test preparation strategy (describe in detail)?

Thank you to Atlanta-area Cohort Student, Faith K., for her insightful response to the September Guiding Question:

Writing Prompt – Why Am I Here?: Are you intrinsically motivated to be here, or are you here because of a parent, counselor, teacher, coach, or friend? If you have participated in our program previously, why have you returned? What do you want to gain from your involvement in our program, such as expanding your college options; expanding your scholarship options; or taking a more intentional role in guiding your high school journey through activities, leadership, service, or course taking?

“I am intrinsically motivated to be a part of this cohort program because my goal is to go to law school and through this I have to get my undergrad, pass my LSAT, and be offered admission to law school. This may take a total of 7 years and I want to learn the best way to go about this so that I don’t accumulate debt and have to take out a lot of loans. This is my second year participating in the program, and honestly from last year my mom gave me the option to quit and asked if I still wanted to come back this year and I honestly did want to! I am motivated this year to take it seriously and with this program I want to have scholarship options, leadership opportunities, and overall insight for what I can do to make myself a competitive college candidate.” — Faith K., Atlanta-area Cohort

As a high school junior, Faith’s response provides insight into an important consideration that too few students of color are factoring into their college planning—avoiding student loan debt. The Business Insider article, “8 startling facts that show just how hard the student-debt crisis is hurting black Americans,” notes that 86.6% of black students are using student loans to pay for college and that black students attending HBCUs are graduating with 32% more student loan debt than their black peers at PWIs. Perhaps if more school districts adopted Faith’s attitude, “We don’t want our students to accumulate debt and have to take out a lot of loans,” they would be more supportive of our efforts to expose our program to more students.

Get a Jump Start on Preparing for the November Discussion Topics

Grades 9 – 11: Bring copies of your My Narratives and Careers and College Majors documents and be prepared to discuss your narrative responses to the 4 Guiding Questions for the November Module – Careers and College Majors:

What are the scores from your Interest Profile?
What careers are associated with your profile?
What career are you most interested in and what did you learn from researching this career?
What are the best colleges for your career or college major?

Get Your Questions Answered

As our program expands, we rely on cohort facilitators from our partners to respond to student questions during monthly meetings and in their round table discussions. However, questions may be submitted to us under the following guidelines:

Questions should be emailed, by registered students, to cpc@collegeplanningcohort.com.
The subject line should identify the online class, module, and unit: “Question: 9-10 Grade: Module 1: Unit 2.”
The body of the email should contain your question: “I do not fully understand the differences between AP and dual enrollment classes.”
The email must contain the student’s email signature.
Students in grades 9 – 11: Questions must pertain to currently assigned units.
Seniors: Questions may pertain to any module or unit.
Questions must be submitted by the 21st of the month.
We will respond by the last day of the month to the entire classroom.

For example, if a student in our 9th-10th grade program, raises a question, we will summarize our responses to all questions presented by students in our 9th-10th program during October and send an email to all registered 9th-10th graders by the final day of October.

Important Dates and Deadlines

Mark Your Calendar

Friday, October 4, 2019: Florence County School District 3 Cohort meeting in the Lake City High School College Corner throughout the day (8:30 am – 4:00 pm).

Saturday, October 5, 2019:Florence County School District 3 • FAFSA Completion in the School Board Room at the School District Offices (9:30 am – 4:00 pm). All seniors and parents are invited to attend.

Sunday, October 5, 2019:United Ghana Christian Church Cohort (10:00 am – 12:30 pm).

Saturday, October 12, 2019:Pinellas County Schools FAFSA Completion • Lakewood High School (Media Center) • 1400 54th Ave, S • St. Petersburg, FL (9:00 am – 2:00 pm). All high school students and parents are invited to attend.

Sunday, October 13, 2019:Atlanta-area Cohort grades 9 – 12. Turner Chapel AME Church • 492 N. Marietta Pkwy • Marietta, GA (11:30 am – 12:45 pm). Parents are invited to attend the worship service (9:30 am) and high school juniors and seniors are invited to attend The Next Episode (9:30 am – a Teen Bible Study held in the Boardroom).

Sunday, October 13, 2019:Crossroads for Teens Cohort grades 9 – 12. Johnson Ferry Baptist Church • Marietta, GA (3:00 pm – 4:30 pm).

Saturday, October 19, 2019:Guilford County Schools Cohort: Seniors (9:00 am – Noon); Juniors (Noon – 3:00 pm). Bring copies of students’ transcripts and SAT/ACT Score Reports. GTCC Greensboro Campus.

Saturday, October 19, 2019:ASA Guide Right Cohort • Fortis College (9:00 am).

Saturday, October 26, 2019: 10th Annual FREE Turner Chapel AME Church College Fair will host over 50 colleges, community organizations, fraternities, sororities, and workshops. (Noon – 3:00 pm). Mychal Wynn will present a Pre-college Fair Workshop from 10:30 am – Noon on issues raised in, “Show Me the Money: Scholarships, Financial Aid, and Making the Right College Choice.”
Join a Cohort: Register Now

New Students who will be joining our Atlanta-area Cohort or participating in our online program, can register at the following links:

To pay your registration in two installments, contact our office: ph: 678.395.5825 or email: cpc@collegeplanningcohort.com

Click here to register for returning students (who participated in our 2018/19 cohort).

Click here to learn more about our cohorts and other programs…

Newsletter: September 1, 2019

September 2, 2019

September 1, 2019
Mychal Wynn (Northeastern ’79)

Welcome to our 2019/20 College Planning Cohort Program!

We had a great information session with students and parents from our partnership with the Alpharetta-Smyrna Alumni Chapter of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., ASA Guide Right Program (pictured below with Doug Lucas, ASA Guide Right Cohort Director). We were excited to introduce the many changes to our program and examples of the great student outcomes we can achieve through a strong collaboration. We are also grateful to Eric Nelums, a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and Turner Chapel AME Church, who has agreed to photograph and videotape our Atlanta-area Cohort meetings to assist us in developing a Cohort Facilitator Training Curriculum.

High School Seniors

We are excited to extend our support of high school seniors with our 2019/20 High School Senior Online Activities, providing comprehensive guidance through the college admissions, financial aid, and enrollment processes. After each registered senior completes the pre-registration activities on our New Student webpage, we will provide students with a College Planning Assessment and Recommendation Action Plan.

High School Students in Grades 9 – 11

What are your college/career aspirations? What are your family’s financial needs? Answering these questions is at the heart of our 2019/20 College Planning Program for high school students in grades 9 – 11. The activities and monthly round table discussions will be focused on developing the strongest possible, “Body of Work.” Students will be guided in grade level appropriate conversations (9th-10th and 11th Grade) into a deeper understanding of the importance of pursuing, “Exceptionality” in their gifts, talents, and academic focus as they are guided in aligning their classes, grades, test scores, activities, leadership, and service with their college aspirations, and family’s financial needs. High school juniors will receive a College Planning Assessment and Recommendation Action Plan at the end of the first semester.

Guiding Questions

At the core of our 2019/20 College Planning Program are ‘Guiding Questions’—questions which provide a context for round table discussions at our meetings and conversations between students and parents at home. Activities will be introduced 6 weeks in advance to allow students time to prepare for our monthly meetings. Atlanta-area Cohort students who complete all activities, attend all meetings, and submit a year-end action plan will receive a 2020 Cohort Kente Cloth in recognition of their participation in our program.

Materials

Students will be receiving books and materials from their cohort facilitators. Students in our Atlanta-area cohort will receive their books, binders, t-shirts, and backpacks at our September meeting. All students will be working from the text, “A High School Plan for Students with College-Bound Dreams: Third Edition.” High school seniors will also be receiving the text, “Show Me the Money: A Comprehensive Guide to Scholarships, Financial Aid, and Making the Right College Choice” later during the first semester.

New Student Pre-registration Activities

All newly registered and returning students must complete the 3 pre-registration activities on our New Student webpage. Students must submit fully completed profile forms and résumés prior to being issued login credentials.

September Activities for Grades 9 – 11

After receiving your username and password, log in to the 2019/20 9th-11th Grade Classroom and complete all of the units in ‘Module 1: Welcome.’ Be prepared to discuss your response to the question, “Why Am I Here?” at the September meeting.

October Activities for Grades 9 – 11

Complete ‘Module 2: Setting Goals Within a College Context’ and be prepared to discuss your answers to the Guiding Questions at the October meeting.

Get Your Questions Answered

Questions should be emailed, by registered students, to cpc@collegeplanningcohort.com.
The subject line should identify the online class, module, and unit: “Question: 9-10 Grade: Module 1: Unit 2.”
The body of the email should contain your question: “I do not fully understand the differences between AP and dual enrollment classes.”
The email must contain the student’s email signature.
Students in grades 9 – 11: Questions must pertain to currently assigned units.
Seniors: Questions may pertain to any module or unit.
Questions must be submitted by the 21st of the month.
We will respond by the last day of the month to the entire classroom.

For example, if a student in our 9th-10th grade program, raises a question, we will summarize our responses to all questions presented by students in our 9th-10th program during September and send an email to all registered 9th-10th graders by the final day of September.

High School Seniors

Complete the the New Student pre-registration activities so that you may receive your login credentials. There is much work to be done!

Important Dates and Deadlines

Fly-in Opportunities

For those seniors who do not know the impact that being invited to a Fly-in/Diversity Weekend can have on their college admission chances, or for those cohort students who forgot what they learned in the ‘Fly-in/Diversity Weekends’ lesson as a junior, the following Fly-in opportunities are still open:

Congratulations to Sydney, a high school senior from our Guilford County Schools Cohort, who has been invited to the Fly-in Programs at Bowdoin at Williams. Sydney has embraced our program since entering high school, been intentional in pursuing her goals, and has developed an extraordinary body of work, including a #1 Class Ranking. We are confident that we will be reporting Sydney’s extraordinary college options in April, 2020.

Congratulations

Last month, we reported that Nina Shack from our 2019 Turner Chapel AME Church Cohort, was a participant in the Tuskegee Next Aviation Program. We are pleased to congratulate Nina on receiving her private pilot’s license and drone certification (pictured in the first roll, 4th from right! See the Good Morning America interview.

Aleah, from our 2018 Guilford County Schools Cohort has checked in, “I am happy to report that I have been admitted to the third cohort of GAP students at Winston-Salem State’s upper division of nursing.”

Darius, from our 2018 Guilford County Schools Cohort has checked in, “Hello Mrs. Wynn, I wanted to share my first East Carolina bulletin of the year as an RA. Remember our conversations about strategies to avoid student loan debt? Well, I have followed your advice and become an RA! In addition to my state scholarship, I now have my meal plan and housing paid for. Now I don’t have to take out loans or pay out of pocket. Thank you so much for the continuous support and I will keep you updated.”

Morgan, from our 2017 Turner Chapel AME Cohort has checked in, “Hello Mrs. Wynn, I’m still loving Pitt and excited to go back! My major is Economics and my minor is Administration of Justice and I plan to attend law school as soon as I graduate. If I don’t attend law school I’m going to get my Master’s in Economics and branch off from there. I’m also thinking about studying abroad this Spring in Madrid, Spain since I am still taking Spanish classes. Last year I joined the Ultimate Frisbee team, so I get to travel to other states and play against other college teams. On top of that I’m in other clubs which allows me to keep up socially!”

Peyton, from our 2018 Turner Chapel AME Cohort has earned her way into a full scholarship! Peyton, a Posse Scholar (full tuition), has been selected as a George Washington University Resident Adviser (room and board). Peyton is actively involved at George Washington and invites you to read her blog, Words by Peyton.

Summer, from our 2018 Turner Chapel AME Cohort has checked in, “I am absolutely in love with UGA…however, I have switched from Genetics Pre-Med to Genetics Pre-Dental…completing a dental internship this summer has really shown me that dentistry is my passion. Freshman year, I involved myself in a variety of orgs including the Black Affairs Council (I was on the freshman advisory board), minority science student association, and girls in healthcare…this upcoming year I am the programming chair of the Black Affairs Council and Co-Secretary of Girls in Healthcare. Freshman year I also had the chance to go on a mission trip and I plan on engaging in this opportunity annually.”

Congratulations to Turner Chapel AME Cohort student, Nalah Tann-Wilson, who received the Les Dames d’Escoffier Scholarship, valued at $31,493. Nalah will be attending Johnson and Wales University where she will be pursuing a degree in Baking and Pastry Arts.

Mark Your Calendar

Sunday, September 1, 2019: Turner Chapel AME Church deadline for submitting report cards. Full year report cards required for consideration for 2019 Marcus Awards.

Sunday, September 1, 2019: Mr. and Mrs. Wynn will speak to students and parents at the United Ghana Christian Church Cohort at 10:30 am.

Sunday, September 8, 2019: Atlanta-area Cohort kickoff meeting for grades 9 – 11 will provide an overview of changes to our 2019/20 program; round table discussions with high school seniors; and a meet and greet opportunity for students and parents in grades 9 – 11. TCC ‘The Next Episode’ Ministry Leaders, Charles and Lora Williams, will lead our round table discussions for grades 9 – 11. Mr. and Mrs. Wynn will lead the round table discussions with seniors and their parents. All registered students will receive their books, backpacks, binders, and t-shirts. Please bring copies of your high school transcripts and SAT/ACT Score Reports. Turner Chapel AME Church, Room 187 (11:30 am – 12:45 pm). Atlanta-area cohort juniors and seniors are invited to attend The Next Episode, a teen Bible Study and College Planning Session, from 9:30 am – 11:30 am in the Boardroom.

Sunday, September 8, 2019: Crossroads for Teens kickoff meeting. Johnson Ferry Baptist Church (3:00 pm – 4:30 pm).

Saturday, September 14, 2019: ASA Guide Right Cohort will meet at Fortis College (9:00 am).

Friday, September 20, 2019: Florence County School District 3 Cohort meeting in the Lake City High School College Corner throughout the day (8:30 am – 4:00 pm).

Saturday, September 21, 2019: Guilford County School: Seniors (9:00 am – Noon); Juniors (Noon – 3:00 pm). Parents should plan to attend. Bring copies of students’ transcripts and SAT/ACT Score Reports. GTCC Greensboro Campus

Sunday, September 22, 2019: Turner Chapel AME Church Academic Celebration.

Saturday, September 28, 2019: ASA Guide Right Cohort will meet at Fortis College (9:00 am).

Join a Cohort: Register Now

New Students who will be joining our Atlanta-area Cohort or participating in our online program, can register at the following links:

To pay your registration in two installments, contact our office: ph: 678.395.5825 or email: cpc@collegeplanningcohort.com

Click here to register for returning students (who participated in our 2018/19 cohort).

Click here to learn more about our cohorts and other programs…

RaiseMe

December 12, 2018

I met representatives from RaiseMe at a recent conference for college admissions professionals held in Salt Lake City. The idea of being connected with colleges that recognize and reward your academic performance, leadership, and service is a good thing. However, prior to setting up a RaiseMe account and logging all of your achievements into your profile throughout high school, you may want to consider what has been written about the program and concept.

Raise.me is opaque in ways that invite skepticism. Start with the name — Raise.me. I know of no other domain name ending in “.me.” Is Raise.me profit or not for profit? Did they cleverly avoid .com identification with the .me designation?

The background story suggests someone is in it for the money. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Raise.me is also known as Raise Labs, Inc., a privately held company financed primarily by venture capitalists. Venture capitalism is not inherently evil, but venture capitalism is surely not charitable. Raise.me seems to be a very sophisticated “cause-related” business, seeking to capitalize on student and family anxiety, concerns about higher education costs, and colleges’ hopes to capture more student interest at an earlier point in their academic lives. (Nelson 2/23/16)

In the almost three years since the service launched, 700,000 high schoolers have signed up. The company says 45% of its users are the first in their family to go to college, and 40% come from a low-income background. These students often don’t have the same access as their wealthier peers to guidance about the variety of colleges and financial aid opportunities— but both Raise.me and its college partners say the service is trying to close that gap. (Mulhere 6/2/17)

Our analysis is that if you are a good student, who is intentional in earning good grades, assuming leadership roles, and performing community service, you will have many need- or merit-based scholarship opportunities at a broad range of colleges. You may identify some of those colleges as RaiseMe partner schools, or you may identify such schools through your own research.

Need-based Financial Aid

January 18, 2018

Need-based Financial Aid

Having worked with hundreds of students through our College Planning Cohort Program, and having reviewed hundreds of Financial Aid Award Letters, we have gained first-hand insight into the array of financial aid policies across the college admissions landscape. Students and parents typically believe that the EFC (Expected Family Contribution), as computed by the U.S. Department of Education, after processing a student’s FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), is the amount that parents (or independent students) are required to pay toward the costs of attending college.

Many institutions will play on the naiveté of students and parents by providing intentionally misleading Financial Aid Award Letters, which suggest that students with ‘0’ or low EFCs will not pay anything toward their college costs. The most common practice involved in this deception is to list Federal Student Loans under the caption, ‘Awards,’ or using such language as, “We are pleased to offer.” while also failing to disclose the estimated Cost of Attendance.

As a result, students and parents assume thousands of dollars in student loan debt as a means of reaching their ‘0’ EFC. Any remaining financial aid gap is oftentimes closed with a combination of small scholarships such as, Achiever’s Scholarship, Trustee Scholarship, Dean’s Scholarship, etc., which are not renewable after the student’s first year. To register for second-year classes, students simply take out more student loan debt and the process continues year after year until students reach their federal student loan maximums, at which time, many students simply stop attending college.

So what does ‘Need-based’ financial aid really mean?

Need-based financial aid simply means that a college will assist in meeting a student’s full financial need, based on either the EFC, as generated by the FAFSA, or the financial need as determined by the CSS/Financial Aid Profile. However, the means through which a student’s financial need is met will vary widely from being met with generous need-based institutional scholarships and grants, to being met with thousands of dollars in student loans. In this regard, there are institutions that have ‘no-loan’ financial aid policies, where student loans are not considered as part of their financial aid formula, and other institutions where student loans represent the most significant part of their financial aid formula.

How do I identify the institutions that offer the most generous institutional scholarships and grants?

Go to the US News and World Reports college rankings and the colleges with the most generous need-based financial aid policies are atop the rankings and among the most selective institutions to which a student can be offered admission. For example, Williams College is the top ranked liberal arts college in the United States and has the most generous financial aid policies that we have experienced through our students. Students with demonstrated financial need receive free books, assistance with their health insurance, transportation, and other unexpected costs associated with attending Williams College. Amherst College, the number two ranked liberal arts college is nearly as generous. Our students with demonstrated financial need have received institutional scholarship offers from Amherst College covering overing 94 percent of the $72,000 per year estimated Cost of Attendance (after application of the US Pell Grant).

Students and parents must carefully research colleges long prior to submitting applications if students are to position themselves for being offered admission to institutions with the most generous need-based financial aid policies. We have listed institutions, of which we are aware, with some of the most generous need-based and institutional scholarship programs:

Top liberal arts colleges: Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, Swarthmore, Middlebury, Pomona, Carleton, Claremont McKenna, Davidson, Washington & Lee, Colby, Colgate University, Harvey Mudd, Smith, Vassar, Grinnell, Hamilton, Haverford, Wesleyan University, and Bates.

“Williams has one of the most generous financial aid programs in the country, thanks to generations of gifts from alumni, parents, and friends. It allows us to award more than $50 million a year in financial aid to more than half of all Williams students. Our financial aid program is based entirely on need, and we meet 100 percent of every student’s demonstrated need. We are committed to working with you and your family to make a Williams education affordable.”

“We aim to ensure high-achieving students from all backgrounds realize a Colby education is accessible regardless of their families’ means,” said Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Matt Proto. “Colby has many ways of expressing this commitment, most notably that we meet the full demonstrated need of admitted students using grants, not loans, in financial aid packages. This cost estimator is another tool for families to see that a Colby education is possible.”

The Ivy League: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale.

“Princeton has a long history of admitting students without regard to their financial circumstances and, for more than a decade, has provided student grants and campus jobs — not student loans — to meet the full demonstrated financial need of all students offered admission.”

Top national universities: University of Chicago, MIT, Stanford, Duke, CalTech, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Rice, and Vanderbilt.

“Providing for college is one of the largest single investments a family will make, and we strongly believe that a Vanderbilt education is well worth the investment. Opportunity Vanderbiltreflects our belief that a world-renowned education should be accessible to all qualified students regardless of their economic circumstances.”

“We make three important commitments to U.S. Citizens and eligible non-citizens to ensure that students from many different economic circumstances can enroll at Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt will meet 100% of a family’s demonstrated financial need. Instead of offering need-based loans to undergraduate students, Vanderbilt offers additional grant assistance. This does not involve income bands or “cut-offs” that impact or limit eligibility.”

How many colleges should I apply to?

Because financial aid policies so widely vary by institution, the rule of thumb for students who qualify for need-based financial aid, is to apply to as many selective institutions as possible, to which the student is a strong candidate for admission, so that they student and their parents will have many financial aid award letters upon which to base their financial college choice.

The devastating impact of making the wrong college choice

University of Virginia Jefferson Scholars

August 22, 2017

The Scholarship

Thomas Jefferson’s University of Virginia is a place where producing leaders for a self-governing people has always been a primary goal. The undergraduate scholarship program has been attracting and cultivating undergraduate leaders since 1980, providing them sufficient financial support so that they are free to develop their talents and to use them for the good of the University community.

Award – Intended to cover the entire cost of attendance for four years at the University of Virginia plus coverage of the supplemental enrichment experiences

Total value of the scholarship exceeds:

$280,000 for non-Virginian students
$150,000 for Virginian students

The Jefferson Scholar Stipend in 2017-2018 will exceed:

$62,000 for non-Virginian students
$31,500 for Virginian students
Jefferson Scholars’ stipend includes tuition, fees, books, supplies, room, board, and personal expenses.

Enrichment – The scholarship also includes an extensive enrichment program which supports and nurtures these students throughout their four years at U.Va. Opportunities include:

Team Challenge Program
Institute for Leadership and Citizenship
Foreign Travel Studies
Alumni Connections Program
Career Counseling
Public Service Fellows
Enrichment Dinners and Receptions

LTC Nursing Home Administrator Scholarship

August 4, 2017

2017 LTC Nursing Home Administrator Scholarship

LTCExam.com, the premier Nursing Home Administrator exam preparation resource nationwide, is proud to announce our first annual scholarship for advancement in higher education. This is a general scholarship which will award the selected applicant with a scholarship award of $2,000. This scholarship will be awarded to students enrolled in an accredited college or university in the United States during the academic year.

Selection and Eligibility Criteria

The annual scholarship award is for one (1) student enrolled in an associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree or graduate level program at an accredited 2-year college or 4-year university during the 2017-2018 academic year.

Applicants must include a 250-word maximum introductory bio with their 500-750 word essay and sign the Scholarship Award Agreement.

A $2,000 scholarship will be awarded to one (1) individual students who write the most compelling essay as judged by LTCExam.com staff.

Guidelines for Applicants

Please include the following three items in your submission:

250 word maximum introductory bio about yourself – you may choose to include your work or educational background, why you’re seeking a degree in your field, and why this scholarship interested you.
500-750 word essay response to the question: How can technology improve the lives of retiring seniors?

Other requirements:

Applicants must be residents of the United State of America
Acceptance into an accredited college or university in the United States of America
Signed and dated Scholarship Award Agreement.

Submission Deadline: December 31, 2017

How to Apply

Email scholarship@ltcexam.com to submit your essay, introductory bio, and signed Scholarship Award Agreement. Also provide proof of official transcript & proof of acceptance into an accredited college or university.

Award recipients will be notified individually and announced by January 05, 2018.

Forest County Potawatomi Scholarships

March 22, 2017