August 25, 2023

While college planning should begin long prior to entering high school, high school juniors literally have one year to get it right. The Brothers triplets joined our program as high school sophomores with a family aspiration of minimizing college costs and avoiding student loan debt for their parents who would be sending 3 children to college at the same time.

High school juniors in our program begin the school year with a set of goals aligned with their college and career aspirations. Throughout their junior year of high school they fine tune and perfect their plan across the areas of academics, leadership, service, and their intangibles (i.e., gifts and talents, interests, sociocultural background).

Mid-year is an important touch point where we meet with students and families to discuss their goals, monitor their progress, reassess their college list, and reassert student’s second semester goals.

In May, we engage in a year-end assessment, finalize their college and scholarship lists and enter the phase during the summer months of finalizing their college application and scholarship strategy; brainstorming essay topics; writing essays; identifying application deadlines and admissions cycles within a strategic context.

The triplets followed this plan to perfection. Kailer was offered admission to Wesleyan University with a scholarship funding over 95 percent of the cost of attendance. Sydnee was selected as a North Carolina A&T Dowdy in the A&T Honors College and awarded a full scholarship. Tristyn was offered a near full scholarship to Carleton College, but wanted to be closer to home. After making calls to our college partners at Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina, Tristyn and her family toured the campus, met the president of the college, and was offered admission, together with a full scholarship to the Claflin University Alice Carson Tisdale Honors College. The triplets are the best examples of our program providing the guidance and support, and students committing to developing the body of work to make themselves competitive candidates for the many opportunities that our program is designed to expose them to. And their parents, are the best examples of parents who support the process and who embrace the idea that avoiding student loan debt should be a family priority.