FOUNDATION FAQ

WHY THE HIGH SCHOOL TO COLLEGE
SCHOLARSHIP GUIDE?

As parents, and extended family, watching our children and children in the family work through high school, we saw the need for a roadmap or guide to assist each child in the pursuit of higher education.

This need is especially critical for those children that are working to be the first generation to attend college, without the personal experience of parents to lead them.

This guide needed to not only have the long view in mind of college admissions and scholarships, but it needed to fill the immediate necessity for those beginning high school to know what to expect, to be familiar with the system, its terms & definitions, a step-by-step process for graduation covering each class, semester, and season.

ISN’T A HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELOR ALL A STUDENT NEEDS?

Studies show that high school counselor’s efforts, though well intended, unfortunately still yield serious shortfalls. Less than 40% of counselors can actually assist with college admissions or college selection. Less than 20% spend time on college readiness, selection, or applications.

By the spring of a students’ junior year, only 63% had discussed college with the counselor. Considering those students will be graduating the following year, the junior year is too late. Finally, those that procrastinate and wait until the senior year to meet with the counselor, magnify the setback and lost opportunity.

With student to counselor ratios of 461 to 1, counselors are understaffed and therefore don’t have enough time or resources to effectively assist each and every student.

The preparation and qualification process of a college education can be daunting, even when accompanied by two-parent families or from parents that have already attended college. Students need a program, a system, a constitution to individually take ownership of the process, guiding the pathway to college with parental support and structure.

For more information, please see the Studies published by National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), and The United States Department of Education (ED) Office of Federal Student Aid (OFSA).