Academic Mentoring Program
The Academic Mentoring Program matches students one-on-one with college-educated volunteers to strengthen the student's math, language arts, and social skills while preparing them for the college journey. Students meet with their “partners” at one of our academic mentoring sites throughout the school year to work on a range of academic development and college prep processes. In addition to the one-to-one mentor relationship, College Bound offers a myriad of enrichment activities to supplement the students’ experience and continue to foster a college-going culture.
Our Partners are committed to helping their students achieve their personal and professional goals of a college education.
Junior Retreat
This one-day retreat gives Juniors the chance to begin their college application process. Students will learn how to use websites to conduct effective college searches to meet their best fit. They will hear from resident experts on the various essential components of the college application, the role recommendations and standardized tests play in admissions process and what constitutes a strong personal statement. Students will participate in an interactive essay writing workshop with writing experts who will help students to identify a suitable topic for their personal statements. Students will also hear from our financial aid expert on the best way to pay for your college education. This year, the retreat will place on February 25th 2012. Please contact the College Bound office for more information.
College Bound’s College Tours give students an actual taste of college. During the fall, students spend one day traveling to schools within the greater Washington/Baltimore/Richmond Metropolitan Areas. For our spring college tour, students take a 4 day tour to a myriad of schools throughout the East Coast. In the past, we have visited schools in New York, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Georgia. The Spring 2012 College Tour will take place April 2nd - April 5th. Please call the College Bond office for specific details.
The Taste of College Night is our annual College Fair. In addition to providing on-site admissions, representatives from various colleges and universities share relevant information with students and their families about admission options, summer bridge programs and open houses. College Bound partners also represent their colleges and universities at the fair and speak with students about student life and their time at the school.
Career Night, which is co-sponsored by the University Club, is our annual career fair. Students meet with individuals from various career fields to engage in roundtable discussions about their career interests. Career Night will take place on March 5th 2012. Please contact the College Bound office for more information.
The culminating event of each year, the End of Year Celebration is our graduation and recognition ceremony. We award scholarships at this event to selected students and alumni. In addition to recognizing our students, College Bound uses the End of the Year Celebration to celebrate community partners and individuals who have greatly impacted the mission of College Bound through our Community Leadership and Hall of Fame Awards. This past year’s recipients were Ms. Debra Lee (Community Leadership Awardee - Black Entertainment Television) and Mr. Sol and Mrs. Diane Pelavin (Hall of Fame Awardees - former President/CEO and Senior Vice President of the American Institutes for Research).
Our Virtual Mentoring Program is an extension of the traditional College Bound mentoring. This program is virtual---meaning regular contact will be done electronically. The goals of this program are simple: to help College Bound alumni enrolled in college, stay in college; to help them navigate through the college experience; and to increase the college graduation rate of Metropolitan area youth.
The Prep Sessions are 8- to 9-week courses where students meet with trained SAT/ACT Prep Instructors to learn skills and strategies to help increase scores on these college entrance tests. Prep course spaces are open to students not enrolled in college bound. Please contact the office to inquire about the next SAT or ACT test prep session.
College Bound awards ten scholarships to selected students annually. These scholarships are typically for $6,000, though donors may specify larger amounts to be awarded. Students must be participants of the Academic Mentoring Program for at least one full year to apply for the scholarships.
Applications are open in January and close in March.