by Kassandra Nevarez, Marketing and Communications Intern
Two weekends ago we hosted our very first Row(d) Map to College event for all of our high school participants and parents! Our goal was to provide information about the steps to take to plan for college.
“The Row(d) Map to College event was important because the access to quality college counseling across the city is so variable. We want to ensure that all of our students and their families are getting the best access to information. Secondly, part of creating a “college going culture” is talking about college, having those conversations, and sharing accurate information. A huge impediment to college access is the not knowing what you don’t know.” – Bailey Griswold, Director of Academics and College Readiness
We prepared families for the college process by laying out a timeline for exploring prospective universities, applying to college, and finding financial aid. Additionally, we covered the college recruiting process for students interested in collegiate rowing. A special workshop was hosted for seniors to discuss how to succeed in their first year of school.
Thanks to our friend from Hunter College, Lakhbir Singh, for hosting our financial aid workshop and to Kara Courtois and Emily Toffelmire from College Coach, who led a workshop on choosing schools and the application process.
Our athletes learned many wonderful bits of information – like how to use the IRS retrieval tool on FAFSA and choosing a school that’s truly a good fit, not just based on reputation. Grace Bosley, a student-athlete, learned how and when to fill out FAFSA, the existence of state aid (as opposed to federal aid), and that “college won’t be as expensive as [she] thought”.
