REACH Fall 2014 Curriculum This syllabus is tentative and subject to change. Please note that mentors may meet with students once a week independently, as a substitution for Saturday sessions. Ultimately, mentor pairs should be meeting once a week, whether they attend REACH sessions or not. Even if you meet independently and may modify the syllabus to your individual student’s needs, please aim to follow the general syllabus guidelines by using the weekly materials posted on newhavenreach.com. 27 September 2014: Orientation Beginning: Mentees meet their mentors, get to know one another Presentation o Program overview: What is REACH? o Our goals for you! o How to succeed o Get to know us o College search process o Who am I and where will I succeed? Assignment: Bring back parent forms, schedule regular meeting times with your mentor, complete college search sheet Independent meeting Discuss your college search sheet with mentor, finalize list of colleges and put on application checklist Fill out the application checklist with mentor (for both Common App and supplements) 11 October 2014: What You Want, What Colleges Want Beginning: Finalize the application checklist with mentor, make sure all deadlines and requirements are correctly listed Presentation o What do colleges want in their students? What do they look for in applications? o Overview of the application process Common App components- get into detail What are college-specific supplements? o Collegeboard *Standardized testing (SAT, ACT, subject tests) o Resumes What are they? Format What to include Start filling out the resume sheet Assignment: Register for the SAT if you haven’t already, fill out Common App basic information sections (name, address, family information), fill out the resume sheet prior to your independent meeting with mentor info@NewHavenREACH.com www.NewHavenREACH.com facebook.com/NewHavenREACH Independent meeting Review all the basic information sections of the Common App with mentor (Applicant, Demographics, Family, Education, Academics) Using the resume sheet, fill out the activities section of Common App 18 October 2014: Letters of Recommendation & Essay Workshop Beginning: Check in with mentor on Common App- any questions? Presentation o First, quick discussion on letters of recommendation- time-sensitive! What to give to your teachers when requesting letters (resume, deadlines, process) Counselor vs. teacher letters of recommendation o What types of essays can you write? o What do colleges look for in essays? o Common App vs. supplement essays Workshop o Sample essays, evaluate with mentor o Begin discussion on potential topics Assignment: Finish brainstorming essay topics, ask two academic teachers for recommendation letters (and supplements like coaches if applicable) o If students are submitting an early application, this is the last time to meet for a Saturday Session before first deadlines! Independent Meeting Discuss with mentor: How did requesting letters of recommendation go? Look over the brainstormed essay topics and pick one to write main Common App essay on Fill out the essay sheet for a comprehensive checklist of all the essays that mentee will write for all applications, including supplements Assignment: Draft the Common App essay 1 November 2014: Essay Workshop Beginning: Workshop draft of Common App essay Presentation o Review the important elements of a college essay o What is the activities blurb? o Open discussion on essay topics, style Workshop o Using the essay checklist, try to strategize on number of essays to write and pick topics for each essay o Finalize the Common App essay o Discuss the activities blurb of the Common App- What will you write about? What angle will you take to write about it? Assignment: Draft the activities blurb info@NewHavenREACH.com www.NewHavenREACH.com facebook.com/NewHavenREACH Independent Meeting Check in: First Common App essay should be finalized Edit and finalize the activities blurb Make sure the entire Common App is correctly completed at this point; Check-in with mentor on this 15 November 2014: Intensive Essay Workshop! Beginning: Be sure that the main Common App essay is finalized! Critical check-in o Any final questions on the Common App form itself? o What are you writing the supplementary essays on? Presentation o Supplement essays vs. Common App essays o Examples of topics to write on for supplements Workshop o Individualized workshop time for mentees- what do YOU need to work on? o Draft supplementary essays Assignment: If you have remaining essays to write, draft them to workshop with your mentor during your independent meeting (This is critical- essays should be written by your independent meeting!) Independent meeting Check-in on any remaining application components, particularly focusing on supplementary materials (This is the last meeting dedicated to applications; we’ll look at financial aid and scholarships next) Workshop and finalize supplement essays Start looking into scholarships- we will go into more detail about this next Saturday Session. But, mentors should give mentees scholarship search engine recommendations. Assignment: Begin filling out scholarship search sheet 6 December 2014: Financial Aid and Scholarships Beginning: Update mentor on the status of Common App and supplementary materials o Check in on the scholarship search sheet Presentation: o Financial aid- what is it? o How do you get financial aid? (Comparing schools’ giving levels) o What are the financial aid components of your application? o Deadlines- IMPORTANT o Scholarships: need-based vs. merit-based o How to find scholarships info@NewHavenREACH.com www.NewHavenREACH.com facebook.com/NewHavenREACH Workshop: o Explore the net aid calculators for mentee’s colleges o Fill out the financial aid checklist with mentor o Finish the scholarship search sheet and finalize list of scholarships Assignment: Work on remaining essays, research the requirements and deadlines of the scholarships on mentee’s list, fill out the scholarship checklist Independent meeting Finish research on the requirements and deadlines of each scholarship, complete the scholarship checklist Pick topics for each scholarship essay o Try to re-use college application essays! o Start filling out the basic information sections of applications Assignment: Work on scholarship applications early, so mentees can ask mentors questions before the holiday break 13 December 2014: Final Submissions & Holiday Bash! Beginning: Final check-in with mentor on all college application components, referring back to the original application checklist o Applications should be submitted or in final stage for submission by this point! o Financial aid or scholarship questions? CONGRATULATIONS! o Time to celebrate! Assignment: Keep working on financial aid materials, apply for scholarships over the holiday break, relax and treat yourself! info@NewHavenREACH.com www.NewHavenREACH.com facebook.com/NewHavenREACH