Category Archives: College Readiness

Michelle Obama Speaks to Students at 5th Annual Beating the Odds Summit

Reach Higher hosted the fifth annual Beating the Odds Summit Tuesday to support first-generation college-bound students.

“No matter how much you may front, there is a part of you that is wondering whether this was a mistake and whether I belong and whether I can do this. Can I go on this campus or start this program? Am I really worthy of it? Those were the messages I had going on in my head and they still come up in life,” former First Lady Michelle said.

“…But here’s my one big message. This is not a mistake. You are here because you are more than capable of doing it.”

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Imagine Grant Pairs Up Graduate Students and School Counselors for College Readiness Event

Courtesy of Julie Cerrito

School counselors face large caseloads and an ever-growing list of demands as they work to serve the social, emotional, and academic needs of their students. But could a small part of this workload be shared by counseling graduate students?

This is the idea behind Postsecondary Readiness Night, a program that pairs the school counseling program at the University of Scranton (PA) with local school districts in Pennsylvania.

The most recent event, funded by a NACAC Imagine Fund grant, was geared toward high school juniors, seniors, and their parents and offered stations focused on topics such as financial aid and college visits.

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School Districts to Offer ‘Graduation Guides’ to Keep Students on Track

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DC public schools (DCPS) are hoping to get and keep high school students on track to graduate and head off to college with their new “Guide to Graduation, College, and Career.”

Personalized for each student, all high school students in DCPS will receive a PDF document twice a year that will track their progress to graduation and offer college and career options, NPR reported. The guides will be mailed and available online.

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#NACACreads: Author Tony Jack to Discuss ‘The Privileged Poor’

Everyone wants to hear what Tony Jack has to say.

In the past three months, the Harvard sociologist has been featured on NPR, CNN, PBS, and other media outlets talking about disadvantaged students, college access, and the admission process.

And this September, he’ll be chatting with NACAC members.

Jack, author of The Privileged Poor, has agreed to join us for a #NACACreads discussion focused on his book. The conversation—which will also provide opportunities for admission professionals to share their insights about the experiences of disadvantaged students—will kick off on Twitter at 9 p.m. ET on Sept. 17.

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Dealing with Stress as a Teenager

Teenagers are stressed. And pressured. And anxious. And overwhelmed.

According to a recent study, 45 percent of teenagers in the US are stressed “all the time.” And though anxiety levels have risen in teens across all backgrounds, it has risen more among teens in affluent areas.

In an essay for Philly magazine, Tom McGrath explores the idea that “it’s the kids with the seemingly endless opportunities who are most anxious about their futures.”

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The New ‘Senioritis’: Finding Your Motivation

The school year is almost over and motivation for many high school seniors is quite low.

Commonly known as “senioritis,” this is the time after college acceptances arrive and high school seniors start to feel like school isn’t important.

Senioritis often has a negative connotation. But past #NACACreads author Ned Johnson thinks the term and the feeling need a rebrand.

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Imagine Grant Supports College Admission Program for Non-Native English Speakers

Courtesy of Robbie Cupps

For non-native English speakers, figuring out the college admission process often has an additional layer of challenges.

Robbie Cupps, a college and career counselor at Capital High School (ID), works in the Boise School District, which has a significant population of Spanish-speaking students.

Working with these students, she knew she had to take a different approach and a grant from the NACAC Imagine Fund helped make it possible.

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Member View: Ditch the College Admission Stress

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The college search and application process can be a stressful time for families and students. But there are ways to manage this stress and anxiety.

Sherri Geller, co-director of college counseling at Gann Academy (MA), recently shared her stress management tips with JewishBoston.

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A New Way to Measure Student Success

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Could a video game ever replace standardized testing’s role in college admission?

Enter 27-year-old Rebecca Kantar and Imbellus Inc., her start-up that aims to reinvent testing.

Imbellus wasn’t started with the recent bribery scandal in mind, but Kantar told Bloomberg Businessweek that it is “cheatproof.”

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The Student-Athlete Aftermath

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More than 8 million high school students play a school sport. But of that group, less than one percent will go on to play sports at the collegiate level. And even fewer of those will ultimately go pro.

What do you do when your identity as a student athlete has been stripped away?

Dr. Hillary Cauthen of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology recently spoke to Teen Vogue about this struggle, which impacts many incoming college freshmen.

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