215: 17 Things Students of Color (+ Their Counselors and Parents) Should Know When Applying to College

In this episode we cover, among other things: Ways that students of Color can advocate for themselves while in high school How to research Historically Black Colleges and Universities Ways to learn more about fit at colleges that are not minority-serving Where to find more financial aid after you’ve been accepted How parents can get involved to advocate for their students in high school and college How counselors can more fully serve students of Color & First steps that counselors can take to become focused on racial equity and anti-racism Resources: Shifting Narratives Toward Healing: Disrupting Trauma Exploitation in the Admissions Essay Writing Process  https://www.bigjeducationalconsulting.com/resources https://www.smontgomeryconsulting.com/admissions-news-and-topics/2020/8/3/how-to-estimate-your-familys-financial-aid http://www.thehundred-seven.org/ https://hbculifestyle.com/ https://uncf.org/scholarships https://www.blackscholarships.org/p/black-student-organizations.html https://www.aises.org/ Race and Equity Resources  Graduate Certificate in Anti-Racism in Urban Education The Institute for Anti-Racist Education  Center for Racial Justice in Education Reimagining Education: Teaching Learning and Leading for a Racially Just Society Summer Institute Anti-Racism, Education, Programs, and Resources Checklist for Combating Racism https://www.smontgomeryconsulting.com/barrier-breakers-college-edition https://www.smontgomeryconsulting.com/break-the-cycle https://www.smontgomeryconsulting.com/blog https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV0seRFpfJU6JKEQWagqOsg/featured?view_as=subscriber https://www.antiracisted.org/ How to Write a Financial Aid Appeal Letter “When someone does a favor for you, they actually like you more” White Privilege and Multicultural Counseling Competence: The Influence of Field of Study, Sex, and Racial/Ethnic Exposure Common App Activities List Play-by-play: [1:00] Who is Sydney Montgomery?  [3:00] Why does Sydney do this work?  [3:45] Tip #1: Own your academic journey [6:30] #2: Strive to reach higher than just the bare minimum graduation requirements.  [7:48] #3: Make sure that your college application list is tailored to your academic profile.  [10:15] #4: Make sure you and your counselor have a good fit relationship  [13:14] #5: Form allies outside of your counselor or teacher. [14:04] #6: Prepare a brag sheet for teachers’ letters of recommendation [15:40] #7: Parents should start to request information about FAFSA and financial aid in the 9th grade. [17:20] #8: Parents and students need to consider finances when building a college list [22:15] #9: Students should advocate for themselves in the early stages of the college application process [23:30] #10: Don’t overlook the importance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities [27:40] #11: Speak to students in the Black Student Union or other cultural affinity groups when on college visits. [28:50] #12: Look up a school’s profile on the Common Data Set [32:25] #13: Apply to scholarships offered by Black Sororities and Fraternities (the “Divine Nine”) [33:05] #14: Apply to scholarships with Black churches [33:30] #15: Don’t discount things like church activities and helping out at home or with younger siblings [35:20] #16: Actively pursue certain specialized programs like magnet programs. [36:15] #17: Parents can push school districts and boards of education to fund schools on an equitable basis to combat education disparities. [37:45] How counselors can more fully serve students of Color [43:30] First steps that counselors can take to become focused on racial equity and anti-racism