_____________________________________________________________________________________ APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
Thank you for your interest in applying to the Exploring College Program! This packet contains all the necessary forms for application.
Program Information
Exploring College is a four-year enrichment program, generously funded by the Dyson Foundation. Its aims are to better prepare Poughkeepsie High School students with combined high academic achievement and low-income backgrounds for admission and success in college. The program is designed to 1) improve college-readiness and foster collegiate aspirations in students from under-represented backgrounds, 2) to increase the number of these students who attend college, and to 3) expand the collaboration between Vassar College and the Poughkeepsie City School District.
Each Poughkeepsie High School (PHS) student selected for the program will be matched with a Vassar student-mentor, who will meet with them individually and once a month for group activities that are designed to provide enrichment and motivation. These mentorships will create connections and continuity over the course of the program as well as guidance for the students and their families at critical points in the college preparation process. The other central feature of Exploring College will be a two-week residential experience at Vassar scheduled the summer between the students’ sophomore and junior years. This summer intensive will be an important point in helping to prepare students and their parents for college, and will be modeled after Vassar’s award-winning Exploring Transfer program—which for 25 years has served a similar role for community college students. Exploring College students will enroll in two courses, team-taught by Vassar/PHS faculty. Students will live in residence halls with counselors who will assist with course work, writing, and other academic and social issues.
Eligibility
The program will give preference to students with high academic achievement who come from low-income backgrounds, but will also consider other indicators of diversity. This is why our application includes questions about parental education, ethnicity, and immigration history.
Application Instructions
The Exploring College Application process is intended to help you prepare for the college application process. Students should complete the application independently, with the exception of the family information section. Please prepare the forms in their entirety using black ink, carefully following the instructions in each section. Ensure that your application is complete and that you have met all the necessary application requirements. A complete application packet must contain all of the following:
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1
STUDENT INFORMATION
Legal Name:________________________________________________________________________
Last First M.I.
Prefer to be called:_______________________________________ Birth Date:___________________ Month/Day/Year
Home Address:_______________________________________________________________________
Street Apt #
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City State Zip Code
Telephone: __________________ Cell: ___________________ Email: ___________________________ Ethnic Background: Please identify your racial or ethnic status. If applicable, check more than one: Asian-American Chinese Japanese Korean Pacific Islander Filipino Other Asian: _______________ Please Specify Hispanic or Latino Central or South American Mexican or Chicano Puerto Rican Other Latino: ____________________ Please Specify Black African African-American West Indian Other Black: _________________ Please Specify Native American Caucasian/White Other: _______________ Please Specify
Gender: Male Female
What is your primary language? _________________ Language spoken at home?______________ Place of birth: _______________________________________________________________________
City State Country
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FAMILY INFORMATION
Parent 1:
Full name: _______________________________________________Gender: _______ Living: _______ Home address:________________________________________________________________________ Telephone: __________________ Cell: ___________________ Email: ___________________________ Occupation: __________________________________________________________________________
Position Name of business or organization
Name of college (if any): __________________________________Degree and year: _______________
Parent 2:
Full name: _______________________________________________Gender: _______ Living: _______ Home address:________________________________________________________________________ Telephone: __________________ Cell: ___________________ Email: ___________________________ Occupation: __________________________________________________________________________
Position Name of business or organization
Name of college (if any): __________________________________Degree and year: _______________ If you have any siblings, please list their names and ages. Please include the names of colleges each has attended (if any), degrees earned, dates of enrollment, and/or their occupations:
My signature below indicates that all information contained in my application is complete, factually correct, and honestly prepared.
________________________________________________________________________ _____________
3
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WRITING SAMPLE
PERSONAL ESSAY
Name: ________________________________________________________________ Grade: ________ Last First M.I.
The reasoning and writing skills demanded by a personal essay are critical to thriving in an academic environment. At Exploring College we are interested in knowing more about you as an individual. The questions below provide you with an opportunity to tell us about yourself through your writing. It also allows you to demonstrate your ability to organize your thoughts and express yourself in an essay similar to the one you will write for the college admissions process.
On separate sheets of paper, please compose an essay of approximately 250-500 words (2-3 pages), and be sure to label it with your name. Your essay must be typed (Times New Roman 12pt and double spaced), well organized and should be engaging to your readers.
As with college admissions applications, you are asked to respond to ONE question listed below. These questions are actual college application essay questions from top universities and colleges. Please give yourself sufficient time to construct your response. Include this cover sheet with your application.
1. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
2. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence. 3. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to
you.
4. Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, musical artist or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.
5. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity of our program, or an encounter that demonstrates the importance of diversity to you.
YOUR SPACE (Optional)
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Please continue on reverse 1
RECOMMENDATION I
TO THE STUDENT:
Please fill out this portion of the form, and give it to an instructor who knows your academic and personal capabilities. This can be a ninth grade teacher, and 8th grade teacher, or an instructor
from another activity that you participate in. Please also give them the enclosed addressed envelope, so that they can mail it to us directly. Be sure to do this as soon as possible in order to give your instructors sufficient time to complete and mail the recommendation by December 1st.
Student Name : _______________________________________________________________________ (Please print) Signature: __________________________________________________ Date: _________________
TO THE INSTRUCTOR:
Dear Colleague:
Instructor recommendations are a critical component of the student’s application for Vassar’s Exploring College Program because they allow the admissions committee to learn about the student’s distinct personality and learning style. A central feature of Exploring College is a two-week residential experience at Vassar scheduled the summer between the students’ sophomore and junior years. This summer intensive will be an important point in helping to prepare students and their parents for college. It is modeled after Vassar’s award-winning Exploring Transfer program, which for 25 years has served a similar role for community college students. Please complete the brief questionnaire below, and then provide additional written comments or information you think might be helpful to us. Please return this to Vassar College in the enclosed envelope no later than December 1st. Please feel free to type your responses on a separate sheet if
you prefer.
1. What three words best describe the applicant?
2. I recommend this student to the Vassar Exploring College Program:
a. For academic qualities: ❒ enthusiastically ❒ very strongly ❒ strongly ❒ fairly strongly
(top few) (top 10%)
b. For personal qualities: ❒ enthusiastically ❒ very strongly ❒ strongly ❒ fairly strongly
4) How well does the student write?
5) What would you consider the student’s greatest strengths and weaknesses?
6) In what areas does the student need the most improvement?
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Please continue on reverse 1
RECOMMENDATION II
TO THE STUDENT:
Please fill out this portion of the form, and give it to an instructor who knows your academic and personal capabilities. This can be a ninth grade teacher, and 8th grade teacher, or an instructor
from another activity that you participate in. Please also give them the enclosed addressed envelope, so that they can mail it to us directly. Be sure to do this as soon as possible in order to give your instructors sufficient time to complete and mail the recommendation by December 1st.
Student Name : _______________________________________________________________________ (Please print) Signature: __________________________________________________ Date: _________________
TO THE INSTRUCTOR:
Dear Colleague:
Instructor recommendations are a critical component of the student’s application for Vassar’s Exploring College Program because they allow the admissions committee to learn about the student’s distinct personality and learning style. A central feature of Exploring College is a two-week residential experience at Vassar scheduled the summer between the students’ sophomore and junior years. This summer intensive will be an important point in helping to prepare students and their parents for college. It is modeled after Vassar’s award-winning Exploring Transfer program, which for 25 years has served a similar role for community college students. Please complete the brief questionnaire below, and then provide additional written comments or information you think might be helpful to us. Please return this to Vassar College in the enclosed envelope no later than December 1st. Please feel free to type your responses on a separate sheet if
you prefer.
1. What three words best describe the applicant?
2. I recommend this student to the Vassar Exploring College Program:
a. For academic qualities: ❒ enthusiastically ❒ very strongly ❒ strongly ❒ fairly strongly
(top few) (top 10%)
b. For personal qualities: ❒ enthusiastically ❒ very strongly ❒ strongly ❒ fairly strongly
4) How well does the student write?
5) What would you consider the student’s greatest strengths and weaknesses?
6) In what areas does the student need the most improvement?
