About the Convening
Welcome to the Class of 2022 CollegePoint Kickoff Convening, where advisors and staff from CollegePoint’s four advising partners come together to officially launch the program year while learning, discussing and share best practices in the evolving landscape of higher education and virtual college advising. The goal of this convening is to provide advisors with context about the mission and goal of the CollegePoint initiative as well as resources and insights into the higher education landscape in that can be applied in their work with students as they apply to best match and fit colleges. We’ll cover trends in admissions and financial aid, and wrap the week with a virtual college fair where attendees will be able to interact directly with admissions professionals from institutions all across the country.
We look forward to seeing you there!
CollegePoint advisors and staff convened at Georgia Institute of Technology in January 2020 to share best practices and strategies for increasing family engagement during the college decision-making process.
Registration
Registration for the Kickoff Convening has now closed.
Agenda
The Class of 2022 kickoff convening will follow three major themes: (1) CollegePoint’s mission, (2) the College Admission Landscape, and (3) Financial Aid. Each theme will focus on the tools and skills needed to support students and their families in completing college and financial aid applications to institutions that best meet their interests, qualifications and financial needs. These sessions will be contextualized with insights from higher education professionals who will speak to the impact of COVID-19 on admission and financial aid for the Class of 2022.
The convening will take place from Tuesday, August 3rd, 2021 – Friday, August 6th, 2021 and will be held from 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM Eastern Time each day. Attendance is required at all sessions with the exception of Tuesday, August 3rd and the Virtual College Fair on Friday, August 6th. The sessions on Tuesday, August 3rd are optional for returning advisors (advisors who have advised CollegePoint students for at least one program year prior to the Class of 2022), and the Virtual College Fair is optional for all, but strongly recommended.
Guiding Questions
CollegePoint Overview | Tuesday, August 3, 2021 | 12:00-3:00PM ET
What is CollegePoint’s goal? What can advisors expect from their advising experience? What is the student experience of CollegePoint?
Navigating the Admissions Landscape | Wednesday, August 4, 2021 | 12:00-3:00PM ET
Given the impact of the past ~18 months on the higher education ecosystem, how can advisors best set up students for success in the admissions process?
Financial Aid in Context | Thursday, August 5, 2021 | 12:00-3:00PM ET
Given the limitations students, families, and institutions are facing regarding financial aid and college affordability, how are advisors setting students and families up for success during the financial aid process?
Virtual College Fair | Friday, August 6, 2021 | 12:00-3:00PM ET
Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with admissions officers from different regions of the country to learn more about their institutions and bolster their institution-specific knowledge. Final list of attending institutions forthcoming.
Agenda last updated 7.30.21 at 4:00 PM ET
Recommended Reading
Below are a series of articles, videos, and podcasts that are relevant to the topics that will be covered during the upcoming Kickoff Convening. We encourage attendees to review the below content in advance of the convening to add context and further enrich the conversations that will take place.
Pre-reading for Tuesday, August 3, 2021:
- Bloomberg.org: Follow The Data Podcast: Virtual College Advising – Does it Work?
- Bloomberg.org: Follow The Data Podcast: Peer-to-Peer College Advising – Does it Work?
- The Missing “One-Offs”: The Hidden Supply of High Achieving, Low Income Students
- NPR: Why Many Smart, Low-Income Students Don’t Apply To Elite Schools
Download PDF. - Slate: Smart, Poor Kids Are Applying to the Wrong Colleges
Download PDF. - University Business: How Virtual Advising Makes Dreams Come True During COVID
Download PDF
Pre-reading for Wednesday, August 4, 2021:
- Forbes: Redesigning College Admission: COVID-19, Access And Equity
Download PDF. - The Hechinger Report: ‘Right now is not my time’: How Covid dimmed college prospects for students who need help most
- NPR: How The Coronavirus Has Upended College Admissions
- TFA: College Dreams Collide with COVID-19
Pre-reading for Thursday, August 5, 2021:
- Inside Higher Ed: Ethical College Admissions: Financial Aid Transparency
Download PDF. - Inside Higher Ed: How Colleges Can Better Provide Financial Aid to Students Who Need it Most
Download PDF - The Chronicle of Higher Educati0n: Students Unhappy With Financial-Aid Decisions Can Appeal. But Who Does That?
Download PDF
Speaker Bios
Recordings
FAQs
Q: How will the Virtual College Fair Work?
A: Participating institutions will be grouped in breakout rooms by region (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and West), and attendees will have 3 different 45-minute opportunities to engage with a group of institutions between 12:00 PM ET – 3:00 PM ET on Friday, August 6th. During each 45 minute segment, every institutional representative from the region will be asked to provide a brief 5 minute overview of their institution, with a particular emphasis on resources available for high achieving low-and-moderate income students, after which the floor will be open for Q & A with advisors. There will be a 10-15 minute break between each round, and attendees will have the opportunity to join a total of 3 different regional breakouts.
Q: What institutions are participating in the Virtual College Fair?
A: We will have a list of confirmed institutions posted by mid-July.
Q: I’d love to take more of a leadership role as an advisor. How can I contribute to the Kickoff Convening?
A: We’d love to have you as a panelist for a returning advisor panel during the convening to share your expertise with new advisors! Please indicate your interest on the registration form, and/or reach out to your leadership team to raise your hand.
More Questions?
Advisors, please direct any questions to your organization’s leadership point of contact, listed below.
College Advising Corps: Warner Lambeth (wlambeth@advisingcorps.org)
College Possible: Rowan Tanner (rtanner@collegepossible.org)
Matriculate: Lakisha Gonsalves (lgonsalves@matriculate.org)
ScholarMatch: advising@scholarmatch.org
Invited guests, please reach out to Jhenielle Reynolds (jhenielle@bloomberg.org) and cc: Many Correa (gcorrea@bloomberg.org)
About CollegePoint
Each year, tens of thousands of hardworking, high-achieving students from low- and moderate-income families fail to apply to leading colleges and universities that they are qualified to attend.
To address this college undermatching challenge, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched the CollegePoint initiative, a coalition of nonprofit organizations and philanthropic institutions committed to increasing the number of high-achieving, low- and moderate-income students enrolling in top colleges from 1/3 of 70,000 to more than 1/2 of that same number by 2020.
Since 2014, the coalition has served over 80,000 students. CollegePoint partners with respected national organizations, including ACT, College Advising Corps, College Board, College Possible, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, Matriculate, ScholarMatch and uAspire to provide students with personalized information on their college options and the associated costs, and, ultimately, to support them to apply to and enroll in top-performing colleges nationwide.