Preparing students for success in college, career, and in life is written into our DNA at DSST. However, the colleges our graduates ultimately attend can either serve as a launchpad into a fulfilling career, or a frustrating roadblock to excellence. It’s why we take extra care to ensure that our students have the opportunity to choose a college that will support their academic, social, emotional, and financial needs. This spans from college fairs and college visits to using individual student and college data to help students craft their college list. Across the network, students have been participating in various activities to help find their perfect fit, because we know that college acceptance does not always mean college success. Read on for the highlights and how you can help your students succeed!
More than 30 seniors have already taken advantage of DEEP (DSST Early Exposure Program), where they visited colleges across the country, including colleges like Occidental College, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Howard University. College visits are an opportunity for students to learn more about the college campus and its people. Students tour the campus and its surroundings, observe classes, and interview with students and admissions officers. The more students know about the college they are considering, the more informed their decisions will be when creating their college list and choosing which to attend.
DEEP is just one of many programs that staff and students alike participate in to prepare for college success.
In fact, there have been many activities across our network to help nurture college success. College View High School held a Financial Aid Night on October 3rd, where seniors and their families either completed or started their FAFSA. To continue the excitement around choosing a college, 10-12th graders attended two college fairs, one featuring a wide range of universities across the nation, and another showcasing 35 colleges across Colorado and the central and western United States. Fourteen college reps from some of the most popular senior choices have also visited College View this month, including Worcester Polytechnic Institute, University of Puget Sound, Fort Lewis College, and Seattle University.
College View 11th graders also got a chance to go out and visit University of Northern Colorado, UCCS, or School of Mines, depending on their academic, career, and extracurricular interests.
Across town, over half of the GVR HS senior class and their families participated in a College Application party on Tuesday, October 30. Just applying to college can be expensive- we encourage students to apply to 6 different colleges on average to help them choose a best fit college. So it was no coincidence that the party was on Free College Application Day, where students applied to all public universities and several private ones for free.
How can you further help your students on their college journey? You can continue to encourage them by following up and ensuring they meet deadlines, ask how they are feeling about the college process, and listen to the what and why of where they are applying.
Remember that your own story is also inspirational! Share your college stories at Morning Meeting, during advisories, and beyond. And finally, we all know how important it is to provide feedback- reading and providing feedback on a college essay is incredibly helpful to students as they put their best foot forward. Plus, give your students an extra boost by writing a letter of recommendation- it will help them stand out from the competition and start their next chapter strong.
Want to hear more about the lives of our seniors? Check out some videos on Facebook where College View and Stapleton seniors give us a glimpse into their college success journey.
Do you have your own college success stories to share? Email us at mac@scienceandtech.org
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