About the Student Leadership Network Office at BEA

https://www.studentleadershipnetwork.org/

CollegeBound Initiative (CBI) is a year-round comprehensive college guidance program that works with students from the 6th – 12th grades to ensure that they have access to and can afford a college education. CBI’s full-time, school-based college counselor (Director of College Counseling, or DCC) works closely with principals and teachers to promote a college-going culture that raises parent and student expectations. DCCs guide students to overcome barriers to college entry through early college awareness, application, financial aid, and enrollment support.  As a result, CBI increases students’ college enrollment rates and helps secure the critical financial aid that makes higher education affordable and achievable.  For CBI students, the question is not if but where they will go to college.

The College Office is open and accessible to all BEA students and their parents. The office’s library offers resources to assist students in the college research process, including college catalogs, guidebooks, and computer and web resources. The Director of College Counseling is available throughout the year and encourages students to begin exploring early. 

The CBI Office also hosts a Senior Parent Night in the fall, a Financial Aid workshop, and a Junior Parent Night in the spring. The twelfth graders attend a college fair in the Fall semester and the juniors attend another college fair during the spring semester. Both college fairs are held at college campuses and are sponsored by CBI.

Parents are welcome to meet with the Director of College Counseling or to telephone or email the staff with questions whenever they come up.

Admissions staff from 40-50 colleges and universities schedule individual visits to BEA each year (fall for seniors, spring for juniors) to meet with students. Meeting with these representatives is a good way to learn more about colleges and to show the visiting representative interest in their institution. 

The CBI office delivers many year-round services to students including but not limited to: 

Complete application support

Directors of College Counseling (DCCs) assist students with registering and preparing for the SAT exams DCCs offer 12th graders one-on-one assistance with college selection; help students hone their interviewing skills; and assist seniors in the writing of essays, letters of recommendation, and resumes. DCCs manage each student's application process and offer parent education and outreach for all aspects of the CBI program.

Enrollment and financial aid support

DCCs provide comprehensive financial aid counseling and assistance for students and their parents, including: financial aid workshops for parents and 11th and 12th graders; FAFSA application support; one-on-one meetings with individual students and families; and advocacy on behalf of students via direct communication to college financial aid officers.

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Experiential learning opportunities

DCCs lead students on college trips to various colleges. It is guaranteed that every 9th and 10th grader will visit at least one college campus per year and the juniors and seniors at least three. Select rising seniors from each CBI school are invited to participate in the CollegeBound Summer Institute at Saint Thomas Aquinas College, a two-day commuter program.  Counselors also introduce students to opportunities for pre-college summer programs and scholarships.

Alumni exposure and support

DCCs connect current students to college-enrolled alumni to reinforce the school’s college-going culture and students’ attainment of their post-secondary goals. They also identify and support at-risk students during summer months to support their transition to college. Every January BEA hosts its annual Alumni Day where alumni from an array of higher education institutions visit each advisory class to speak about college preparation and readiness. 

DCCs work closely with several partner colleges (e.g. Gettysburg College, University of Rochester) to increase students’ preparation for, access to and enrollment in a college that supports their success. DCCs also benefit from SL Network’s shared network-wide resources and best practices and activities such as college fairs and trips to ensure the highest quality delivery of services. While DCCs are based full-time in each of our partner schools, they receive extensive training, supervision, and professional development opportunities from CBI administrative staff.