The college planning process can be overwhelming for students and parents alike.  This is the biggest decision most students have ever made, and most teenagers are not especially receptive to guidance from parents – at least my children weren’t.  Having an independent, knowledgeable adult to guide and answer questions can remove a great deal of stress and anxiety from the process.  At DuPree College Prep, we move through the process in a series of steps.

• Depending on how early you begin the process, we can develop a curriculum and discuss an extracurricular plan for high school that will best position you for admission success.
• During the junior year, preferably, we will devise a testing schedule and strategy for maximizing scores. The Smart Steps SAT Prep Course provides guidance for both the SAT and ACT and is a critical part of this process.
• Using a student questionnaire and family conferences, together we will identify a working list of colleges to investigate, narrowing the list over time following online research, virtual tours, and campus visits.
• We will create a resume, the “marketing tool”, to highlight the activities and experiences that have defined your high school career.
• We will select an essay topic that elevates you from the two-dimensional paper definition of you as a set of statistics to a rich description of you the person who will enrich the college experience of classmates at your dream school – an essay that will cause college admission committees to fall in love with you; special, unique, delightful you.  While we won’t write your essay for you, we can proofread and edit, taking care to preserve your voice.
• We will guide you through the application, paying particular attention to meeting all deadlines. Depending on your preference, we can complete the forms (except essays) for you, supervise the process, review finished applications, or provide a timeline of deadlines to prioritize tasks.
• We will also guide you through the scholarship process, including FAFSA, PROFILE, and independent scholarships and grants.
• Together we will select teachers to write recommendations and will keep them abreast of what you would like to see emphasized in their letters, and if your guidance counselor is willing, share suggestions from our meetings for his or her recommendation.
• If your schools require or offer interviews, we will coach students through that process, including role playing to minimize nervousness.
• When it comes time to decide, we can offer guidance as you make your college choice, including summer program options, honors programs and, if you are waitlisted or deferred, assistance in turning those “maybes” into “yeses”.
• Finally, we celebrate!