Group Presentations
- Presentations to students may feature testimonials from individuals explaining the advantages of a college education. Community leaders, media personalities, and professional athletes can command the attention of both students and the press. Do not forget to include local college graduates whose backgrounds parallel those of the students and whose accomplishments may appear more realistic to achieve. Current undergraduates, particularly those from the community, can discuss college life, how they prepared academically, and how they are paying for college. Another approach is to provide workshops with local college alumni speaking to students about their educational experiences.
- Seek out locations and times that make attendance convenient. The locations of these presentations do not have to be limited to schools. Libraries, youth centers, places of worship, community organizations, work settings, and sports settings are examples of alternative sites.
- Presentations to parents may involve high school guidance counselors, college admissions counselors, or college financial aid staff who can provide insight on how parents can support their child's educational aspirations.
- Present a program that will grab the attention and hold the interest of the audience. Vary the speakers, avoid lengthy speeches, take advantage of audio-visual equipment, and give the students a chance to ask questions.
- Have students visit a local college or university for a campus tour. This could include visiting a class in session; meeting with students, faculty, admissions staff, and/or financial aid staff; observing or participating in activities that catch their interest (i.e., chemistry experiments, computer lab, the campus radio station, or the student newspaper); and having lunch in the cafeteria.
- Have students "shadow" undergraduates for a day. The experience may include going to classes, sharing meals, attending club meetings or athletic events, or observing student work environments.
- Offer exercises before and after the campus visit to prepare students for the experience and determine what they learned from it. Consider having students complete a mock college application, write an admissions or scholarship essay, and sit in a practice interview session.
- Have students research and prepare reports on individual colleges and have a "College Fair" at which students present information that they learned about the colleges they researched.
- Use college students trained in tutoring/mentoring to provide support, advice, and encouragement to middle and high school students. The tutors/mentors should make a commitment to stay in touch by phone or e-mail, to lend assistance when needed, and provide a positive role model. You might also recruit college faculty and administrators as mentors.
- Offer younger students Saturday and/or summer programs that provide academic and cultural enrichment on college campuses.
- Partner with local businesses that may provide funding for program activities and work opportunities for younger students.
- Create an in-school early awareness committee that includes administrators, guidance personnel, teachers, parents, and local college partners. Use this committee to plan program structure, goals and activities.
- Work hand-in-hand with teachers and staff to incorporate the goals of the program into the school's curriculum by creating a variety of preparatory and follow-up exercises for the grade level you choose to target.
- Determine the time of year when presentations can be held most effectively. Ideally this is a time when current college students will be available to meet with your students.
- If your school is located near several colleges, have smaller groups of students visit different ones so they can discuss and compare the variety of institutions and programs.
- Include a parent workshop that emphasizes financial planning, strategies to pay for a higher education, and the availability of financial aid.
- Program participants should include a good balance of gender and ethnicity, and represent a variety of social and economic backgrounds.
- While early awareness programs are a good way to increase the visibility of an institution, these programs should not be conducted as student recruitment opportunities. Rather, they are intended to expose younger students to college life in general and the opportunities that higher education can offer.
- Involve college students who graduated from the school system you are targeting or who come from similar backgrounds.
- Invest time in training college students so they understand the goals and methods of the program. Clarify the importance of their role and what is expected of them.
- For campus tours, optimize the experience by taking into consideration the size of the tour group and the duration of the tour.
(Note: Most tips under the previous section "College or University Programs" also apply to community-based organizations.)
- Develop programs that reach a wide audience of parents and students, involving representatives of different types of educational institutions and backgrounds.
- Hold workshops for parents in locations that will encourage the greatest participation (e.g., schools, churches, community centers and major employers).
- Create a database of early awareness programs in your community so that all targeted schools can be identified and served.
