Projects, presentations, and consulting services

Mission and Overview
Maximum Access: A Guide to College Admission Counseling
Project partners
Rochester City School District
CTY Johns Hopkins
Princeton Review, Delhi, India
Christian Unified Schools of San Diego
Yeshiva University High School for Boys
Rudolf Steiner School
School Choice International

Some of our talks and workshops

Contact us

Mission and Overview

OFC is a high-quality vendor of professional development and training, consulting services, presentations, workshops, and seminars. Options for College gets the best practices in transitioning and applying to college into the hands of those that need them, helping to provide maximum access to the world of postsecondary education.

Options for College has trained approximately 200 counselors all over the world. We have been asked to take over high school counseling offices and revamp urban districts’ community practice. We have been asked to take over high school counseling offices and revamp urban districts’ community practice. We are professionals at creating meaningful language for the hopes and aspirations of students, schools, and organizations. Our mission-specific programs have a positive lasting impact on students' access and approach to postsecondary education and the world.

Maximum Access: A Guide to College Admission Counseling

In 2010, Options for College published Maximum Access: A Guide to College Admissions Counseling. This manual lays out the three areas of emphasis when considering counseling practices in a school or district: organization, outreach, and application. The publication is used by urban districts to reconsider and focus practices in a world of education and admissions with anxious parents, confused students, and ever-moving targets. This publication serves as the foundation for training and professional development services that Options for College provides.

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Project Partners past and present

From 2007-2011, Options for College has trained over 200 counselors in the United States and abroad, and performed dozens of talks and workshops. Below are some of the highlights:

Partners

Rochester City School District College Access Partnership, Simply Student Aid

Options for College, in partnership with Simply Student Aid, created the College Access Partnership, a project that worked with school counselors in the city of Rochester to create a Rochester-specific community of practice that addressed the needs of students in New York's third largest city. Options for College created an on-site training project to support the development of best practices on site at the 20+ high schools in Rochester and through the web. Simply Student Aid complemented this effort through on-site trainings and workshops regarding financial aid literacy in the community of Rochester.

Center for Talented Youth (CTY), Family Academic Program, Johns Hopkins University

Via CTY's CTY OnLine, Options for College delivers a semester-long program for talented high school sophomores and juniors called CTY College Prep, taking students through the three phases of the college admissions process: collection, selection, and application. The programs were delivered in real-time via web technology -- students' ratings for the program are consistently high; 5.0 out of 5.0 for instructor knowledge and 4.8 out of 5.0 for overall quality of the program.

Princeton Review, Delhi, India

The Princeton Review/Manya Group of Delhi, India made it its mission to define itself by the quality of the college and graduate school placement and admissions advice it provided in northwest India. In order to fulfill this mission, TPR India contracted Options for College to train its 90-person staff in two areas: a) how to provide its more than 1000 clients with advice on selecting US universities, and; b) how to work with student applications in order to improve the success rate of its students. Options for College provided more than 50 hours of in-person training seminars along with support materials including exemplary student work and organizational resources. TPR India and Options for College continued their relationship into 2008. TPR India is quoted on the testimonials page.

Christian Unified Schools of San Diego

Options for College provided remote training to the resident college guidance staff at Christian High School in El Cajon. Training included focused looks at the organization, outreach, and counseling roles of the resident guidance staff. OFC provided three day-long training sessions, shaped the college guidance schedule and procedures, and contributed to creating school reports and guidance materials to serve the entire district.

The Yeshiva University High School for Boys

As the YUHSB college guidance office transitioned in terms of staff and organization, Options for College was brought in to define goals for the college guidance office's priorities, practices, and work with students. OFC conducted weekly meetings with the staff at YUHSB, held small group meetings with the students and gave monthly school-wide presentations on the college admissions process. OFC also developed the student resource book that is now distributed to each college-bound senior.

The Rudolf Steiner School

When the Rudolf Steiner School faced a difficult mid-year vacancy in its college guidance office, it called OFC in to provide weekly, on-site services so that its seniors received the college advice they deserved. OFC helped students with everything from applications to college selection to planning visits. Working both on-site and via e-mail, OFC made sure that students applied on time and as effectively as possible, to the right match of schools.

School Choice International

OFC worked with SCI to bring OFC students from as far away as England and Hong Kong to visit and learn about American universities first hand. OFC seminars not only helped students make sense of the differences and similarities among the schools they had just visited, but also gave them solid first steps towards making applications to the schools that they felt were the best matches. Working both on-site and via e-mail, OFC made sure that students from abroad applied on time, and as effectively as possible.

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Some of our talks and workshops

Irvington, NY Public Library: I won't join any club that will have me: a look at the college admissions process
Yale Club of NYC: College admissions and testing
Merrill Lynch Parent Network: Where should I apply, and how: a look at the college admissions process
NYU Family Life Center: Get Ready for the College Search: The Next Steps in the College Admissions Process
Young Presidents Organization: Finding the Right Fit: Choosing the College That Suits You Best

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Contact us

Please call Options for College at 646-378-7863 to discuss what your organization might need in terms of trainings, seminars, presentations, and materials. You can also e-mail us at info@optionsforcollege.com with a detailed description.