Center for Student Opportunity (CSO) and the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) have teamed up to mobilize a national network of professional college counselors to increase and improve college preparation and guidance for the traditionally underserved.

The new CSO/NACAC Counseling Outreach Initiative supports college counselors, enrollment professionals, and retirees alike to volunteer their time in partnership with community-based organizations and schools to serve students who most need assistance through the college process.

With a volunteer's commitment to the program, NACAC and CSO will:

• Research, identify, and place the volunteer with a community-based youth organization or under-resourced school in their area
  
• Supply the CSO/NACAC College Counseling Outreach Handbook—a volunteer curriculum, worksheets, and activities
  
• Provide additional resources and support, such as assistance in setting up college visits for students

Volunteers commit to a series of volunteer sessions guided by a curriculum with accompanying worksheets and activities included in the CSO/NACAC College Counseling Outreach Handbook provided to each volunteer partnership. Models are in development to serve elementary/middle school students, early high school, and late high school students.

We encourage high school college counselors, enrollment professionals, and retirees alike to volunteer.

View current and past Counseling Outreach partnerships.

View CSO/NACAC Counseling Outreach Advisory Board.

The CSO/NACAC Counseling Outreach Initiative is in development and is not soliciting volunteers at this time. For more information or to offer your volunteer services for future placement, contact info@csopportunity.org.

_____________________________________________________________________

College Counseling Outreach Handbook

Center for Student Opportunity has published a College Counseling Outreach Handbook to provide to participating counselors and partner schools and organzations to assist in college preparation and guidance work with first-generation and historically underserved students. [The Handbook is being revised in accordance with the new NACAC partnership to offer volunteer counselors a more structured volunteer curriculum to guide their outreach work.]

The Handbook offers worksheets, activities,                                               DOWNLOAD THE 
and other resources dealing with:                                                                HANDBOOK  HERE:         

• Elementary/Middle School Students: Promoting college awareness and motivation
  
  
• High School Students: The college search and application process
  
  
• Financial Aid: Navigating the maze and maximizing opportunities
  
  
• Parent/Family Involvement: Encouraging college access and retention
  
  
• College Success and Retention: Exposure to the college experience      _____________________________________________________________________

Getting on the College Track: Some Helpful Ideas for Understanding the College Process

Center for Student Opportunity’s PowerPoint Presentation entitled “Getting on the College Track” was created to outline how college can have a positive effect on the futures of first-generation, under-resourced youth. The presentation also introduces students to the resources CSO provides in disseminating information on and encouraging students to take advantage of various programs and opportunities that serve and support their college aspirations.

Beginning this summer, CSO is getting out in the field to offer this presentation to students through community organizations, educational outreach programs, and schools in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and mid-Atlantic region.

The presentation is also publicly accessible. Download “Getting on the College Track” here and share it with your student audiences. [Also available in Spanish]