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
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www.NewHavenREACH.com
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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