The Academic Mentoring Program matches students with college-educated volunteers to strengthen the student's math, language arts, and social skills while preparing them for the college journey. Students meet with their “partners” at one of our academic mentoring sites throughout the school year to work on homework, literacy and numeric development and college prep. Students and Partners are committed to working together at one of our sites to reach the personal and professional goals of a college education. In addition to the one-to-one mentor relationship, College Bound offers a myriad of enrichment activities to supplement the students’ experience.
An opportunity for our rising seniors to spend a weekend gaining an in-depth over view of the college application and financial aid process from College Bound staff and guest speakers. Students leave the retreat with a completed college application portfolio, resume and a comprehensive list of colleges and universities to apply for admissions.
College Bound’s College Tours give students an actual taste of college. During the fall, students spend one day traveling to schools within the greater Washington/Baltimore/Richmond Metropolitan Areas. For our spring college tour, students spend their spring break with College Bound staff and volunteers on a 4 day tour to a myriad of types of schools schools throughout the United States. In the past, we have visited schools in New York, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
The Taste of College Night is our annual College Fair. In addition to providing on-site admissions, representatives from various colleges and universities provide information to students and their families about admission options, summer bridge programs and open houses. College Bound partners also represent their colleges and universities at the fair and speak with students about student life and their time at the school.
Career Night, which is co-sponsored by the University Club, is our annual career fair. Students meet with individuals from various career fields to engage in roundtable discussions about their career interests.
The culminating event of each year, the End of the Year Celebration is our graduation and recognition banquet. We award scholarships at this event for selected students and two additional honors to community individuals and agencies. In addition to recognizing our students, College Bound uses the End of the Year Celebration to celebrate community partners and individuals who have greatly impacted the mission of College Bound through our Community Leadership and Hall of Fame Awards. This past year’s recipients were Dr. Dorothy Height and Marjorie Arrington.
Our virtual mentoring program is an extension of the traditional College Bound mentoring. This program is virtual---meaning all contact will be done via computer. The goals of this program are simple: to help those students who have been admitted to and enrolled into college, stay in college; to help them navigate through the college experience; and to increase the college graduation rate of College Bound alumni.
The Academic Boot camp is a school specific intensive program which allows students to fully complete the college application process within the span of the program. Students will receive intense instruction on admissions essays, resume preparation, recommendation and application assistance. Students culminate their Boot Camp experience with a visit to an onsite admission fair. Fall dates are Nov 30-Dec. 7.
The SAT Prep Sessions are 8- to 9-week courses where students meet with trained SAT Prep Instructors to learn skills and strategies to help increase scores on the SAT. Prep course spaces are open to students not enrolled in college bound.
The Financial Literacy seminars provide College Bound students with basic financial and money management skills. Students learn about budgeting, credit cards, student loans and general money management. Students leave the program with a budget of their own expenses.
College Bound awards ten scholarships to selected students annually. These scholarships are typically for $6,000, though donors may specify larger amounts to be awarded. Students must be participants of the Academic Mentoring Program for at least one full year to apply for the scholarships.
Applications are open in January and close in March.