May 13, 2013 — Higher Achievement hosted a Smart College Selection Workshop for our alumni in high school and their families.
Chelsea Jones from Center for Student Opportunity I’m First
Our partner Chelsea Jones from Center for Student Opportunity/I’m First presented the workshop, which covered everything that prospective college students need to consider when selecting the institutions to which they will apply. Chelsea gave a presentation with a special focus on first-generation college students, who often need more support through the process. At Higher Achievement, we prioritize finding colleges for our alumni that best fits their individual needs. As Chelsea explained, this often involves asking detailed questions about each potential college – go deeper than just asking, “are the academics good?” Students should look each institution’s fine points such as class size, extracurricular activities, type of college (liberal arts, private versus public, research university, historically black college or university, etc.), and student life. When asked about the importance of rankings, Chelsea advised the young people to use rankings as a starting point, but what you should be really investigating is how an institution is the “best fit” for you.
