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College access programs offer services that have typically only been available to students attending private schools or to students whose families could afford to hire a private college consultant.

Crosby Scholars, like many other college preparation/access programs across the country, offers similar programming and services found in private preparatory high schools. These programs aim to help public school students have access to the same level of services as students in private schools.

Here is a very short summary of what college access programs (like Crosby Scholars) do, starting roughly from the beginning (middle school) until the end (high school graduation). All of these activities are done in partnership with our local schools, and especially our guidance liaisons at each middle and high school.

College Aspirations. We help students see themselves as potential college students.

Academic Planning for College and Career. We provide information to help students and families make choices about high school programs and class options available. The goal is to have great options at graduation.

Enrichment & Extracurricular. We let students know the importance of having more than a good GPA to get into college and connect them to opportunities to build a great activities resume.

Career Exploration. We offer programs and resources for students to learn about careers, especially new and growing opportunities.

Career Assessments. We offer tools and connect students to free resources to help match a student’s interests and aptitudes to careers.

College Affordability Planning. We offer information to students and parents about the costs of college and ways to make it more affordable. We encourage families to talk about what is affordable and discuss options that are doable for the family.

College and Career Admissions Processes. We offer advising and training on how to apply to all types of college. We also help students with job-seeking skills such as resume writing, interviewing, and where to look for jobs and internships.

Transition from High School to College and Career. We offer assistance throughout the summer after graduation for any questions or issues that may arise. Students may contact us for help with changes in college plans. Crosby Scholars is unique in the fact that we offer need-based grants that are renewable throughout the four years of undergraduate study for those Crosby grads who apply and qualify.

There is SO MUCH INFORMATION coming at us these days.  It is hard to know what is accurate, what is “sort of” close to the truth, and what is just plain wrong.

Whether you are passing along the information to friends or co-workers; your reputation as a trusted source of information or a rumor spreader is based upon the “information” that you share.

1.     Is the Source Credible?

One question to ask yourself is: “Have you heard of the source?”  If so; what is their reputation?  Are they a news outlet (newspaper, magazine, television) with a reputation for providing a balanced perspective by presenting both sides of the story?  Who do they use for their source of information?  Who are their experts? 

If the source has a history of leaning too far in one direction or another in their reporting; you can presume that some bias might exist in their version of events.

2.     Be wary of the “game of telephone”

Ever play the game of telephone where a message is whispered in your ear, gets whispered around the circle, and when it gets to the end the message is nowhere close to what you started with?

This can happen with the dissemination of information, too.  The further you are from the original source of information (the author of an article, a person who conducted research, an eye-witness), the more room for interpretation and personal opinion.  Often the person re-counting the information may not be aware that their perspective tainted the accuracy of the facts.

3.  Would you use the information in a research paper for school or work?

In years gone by, we could go to the library, look at the card catalog, and head to a source we felt confident would be fact-based and true.  Some of you may remember those days; finding facts in an encyclopedia, a trusted article in a reputable periodical or newspaper, or going WAY back and looking at records and information on microfiche. 

Today, with so much “information” at our fingertips 24-7, we have to dig a bit deeper to ensure we always seek the truth.  Consider using reputable fact-checking sources, whether or not the information has been used in a professional or academic journal, and whether the information has been referenced by a respected expert.

As Winston Churchill is quoted as saying, “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”

Now go share the Facts!

*Inspired by Avery Blank, Senior Contributor to Forbes.

Did you know that one in three students end up transferring after their first year in college? Do you know why that is? Students often focus on which institution is the right match, but don’t carefully evaluate if the institution is the right fit. Let’s break down the difference between “match” vs. “fit.” When researching colleges, it’s important to know which ones are the correct “match,” meaning do your test scores, extracurriculars, and GPA meet the school’s expectations of students who apply? Finding the right college “fit” is a different story. First decide what you want out of your college experience. Ask yourself some of these questions:

Does this school have my preferred major?

Is a football team important?

Does the school have greek life?

What is the student to professor ratio?

What is the size of the school?

Can I bring my car as a freshman?

Are there a lot of campus activities to get involved in?

Is the location of the school a deal breaker for me?

Is there available financial aid?

Is the student body diverse?

Do I feel safe when walking around on campus?

Is there a strong career center to help me find a job after I graduate?

There is not a one size fits all college. These questions are a good starting point, but there are many other questions you need to ask yourself. Know what is important to you in a college experience and decide whether or not the schools on your target list meet your expectations!

The Holidays are here! This is a fun time for most people. What better way to keep the fun for everyone, than discussing boundaries?

What are boundaries?

Think about a fence that surrounds a house. What does the fence represent? The area that belongs to the home owner. The owner will keep their important items inside the fence. Anything outside of the fence has to be allowed in and is not apart of what belongs to the home owner. If the owner decides to go out of the fence then they have to unlock the fence first.

Makes sense, right? – and no, I’m not here to sell you a fence. Boundaries help us stay true to who we are as individuals. They are rules that we make to stay true to ourselves. We know what we like and are able to do. Boundaries are not to block our view of the world nor keep the world from seeing us.

Sometimes around the holidays, we’re asked to do things that are outside of our “fence” and we automatically say yes. This is crossing your boundary; like going out of your fence without unlocking it. Now, you’ve either jumped it or ran through it. You can sometimes literally feel like this.

If you jumped it, you’ve used a lot of energy. Now you feel drained before you have even started to help. If you went through it, you are literally hurting yourself and you’ve damaged you’re fence. This could feel like being uncomfortable. In either case, you may have given the expectation that you’ll do this every time. Especially, if you have broken your fence; this is now an open place for anyone to come in.

So, what do we do?

I know that was a lot of “fence” talk, but the point is to take a moment. Going to unlock the fence represents taking time to ask yourself if you can and want to do this. What will you have to give up? How do you feel about doing this? If this takes a large amount of time and energy, do you have time to rest? Normalize, telling someone you need time to think about it. Knowing all the consequences, allows you to feel firm on your answer. Also, “No.” is a complete sentence. It’s okay to say no, politely.

This is the season of giving and for many of us that means time, money, and energy. You should feel good about when, where, and how much you give to others.

I challenge you to do more research on boundaries and start identifying your own!

As a high school student, conversations around the topic of money are not usually had with friends or family. Why is this? One big reason for this is because our education system in America places little importance on financial literacy in the classroom. Currently, only twenty one states in America require a personal finance course. If parents don’t discuss financial basics with their high school student either, then many are leaving high school without a foundational knowledge about money. This can be detrimental for many.

When I entered college, I didn’t know the difference between a debit card and credit card. I didn’t understand interest. I didn’t know why it was important to have a budget or savings account! Listen folks, my decisions would have looked very different had I known more about money.

In order to set yourself up for financial success in the future, take note of some important advice.

• Start a saving’s account while you are in high school! Time is a precious commodity. You have the time to start saving money while you are free from having to pay rent or bills. Maybe you babysit or lifeguard in the summer, and although it may not seem like a lot of money, at least it’s something. You will be happy you put that money aside one day.
• Do comparison shopping. Before opening that savings or checking account, research different banks to see which ones charge the least amount for routine monthly maintenance fees. Most banks charge you a fee for holding your money unless you maintain a certain balance throughout the month.
• Download a budget app like Mint or YNAB. Learning how to budget now will keep you on track when your financial responsibilities increase later.
• Don’t spend money you don’t have. Once you get your first credit card (you have to wait until you are 18), don’t use your credit card on purchases you won’t be able to pay off. The APR (annual percentage rate) for credit cards is usually VERY high. That means if you don’t pay your balance off in FULL each month, you will start accruing interest on the total balance. It’s simple- don’t spend money you don’t have. Use credit cards to build a good credit score. 
• Build a good credit score. If you don’t pay the balances off on your credit cards, your credit score will go down. Your credit score is determined by many different factors, but the important thing to remember is this:
  • Some employers do credit checks on potential hires
  • Apartment complexes run a credit check on potential tenants
  • Loan officers run a credit check to see if you are a high risk or not. This could affect whether or not you are approved for a high or low interest school, car, or home loan.

Your credit score will follow you EVERYWHERE!