College ADMISSIONS SUPPORT GROUP©

The Intake Form for the 2022-2023 College Admissions Support Group© is now Live

It all started when…

During the pandemic, I realized that the high school seniors in the class of 2021 needed support on with their college admissions journey. They lost the entire senior year and were terrified about admissions. Their counselors had a lot on their plate- managing virtual learning, filling in for teachers and staff for in-person learning. Many of the counselors told me they wanted to support my students but were being placed in positions where they would not be able to provide the support they needed.

I had always wanted to do a project where I gave back to my community, especially to young women. After the pandemic wiped my business out, I had a significant amount of time that I could commit and the ability to work alongside students to make an impact.

I spoke with two senior students, Chloe and Stephanie. We discussed what we thought seniors would need to feel supported during the college admissions process. At first, we thought they needed access to information, a place they felt safe to answer questions.

Over time we realized they need a place where they could receive support during the application process and support one another. The Admissions Support Group was formed.

The Admissions Support Group started with private & public conversations with admissions/enrollment counselors (watch those here). We noticed over time that students had questions and needed a space to discuss what they learned and what they were thinking about admissions in-depth.

The admissions support group was formed with 8 Black female senior students from Prince William County and Fairfax- Bereket, Chloe, Dinan, Halla, Judith, Randa, Stephanie, and Sydney. The admissions support group met every Sunday at 7:30 pm at night and we would sometimes not end until after 1/1:30 am in the morning. We scheduled additional group and one-on-one sessions as needed so students felt supported in their admissions journey and never felt alone.

I also had the opportunity to work with Dania, a Syrian immigrant who volunteered as a frontline hospital worker during the pandemic while attending community college. We worked together one-on-one while she prepared to transfer to a 4-year college. In addition, after the official season ended I worked with students who needed support with their rolling admissions applications and to assist with financial aid negotiation and issues relating to enrollment. I also had a chance to work with students who decided to enroll in Northern Virginia Community college and a rolling admissions candidate who decided to enroll at Norfolk State University.

In the college admissions support group our students were awarded Presidential, Full-Ride, and 100% need-met offers. We secured a Ron Brown Scholarship and had a Ron Brown Captain. We were able to negotiate between $5-15k in financial aid appeals.

We have had students/parents/caretakers featured in Oprah Magazine, The Washington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Higher Education Dive, Forbes Magazine. I also hosted two student panels for the National Association for College Admissions Counseling with members of the group (watch those here). We also host public and private chats with admissions professionals from all over the country (watch those here and here)

The students in our Admissions Support Group were accepted into multiple schools: Adelphi University, Agnes Scott, Albright College, Bowie State, California Technical Institute (CalTech), Carnegie Mellon, Claremont McKenna, Clark Atlanta, Columbia, George Mason, Georgetown, Grinnell, Hampton, Harvard, Harvey Mudd, Hollins, Howard, Jackson State University, Johns Hopkins, Kean University, Loyola Marymount, Morgan State, Mount Holyoke College, New Jersey Institute of Technology, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina State, Norfolk State, Old Dominion, Pace, Penn State: Brandywine, Pepperdine, Spelman, Temple, Thomas Jefferson, Towson, University of Arizona, University of California: Berkeley, University of California: Davis, University of California: Irvine, University of California: Riverside, University of North Carolina: Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina: Greensboro, University of Maryland: Baltimore County, University of Maryland: College Park, University of Maryland: Eastern Shore, University of Massachusetts: Amherst, University of Massachusetts: Lowell, University of Richmond, University of San Diego, University of Sciences, University of Southern California, University of South Carolina, University of Toledo, University of Virginia, Western Michigan, Williams, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Vanderbilt, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia State, Virginia Tech, Yale

The Admissions Support Group will return for the 2022-2023 admissions cycle.