College Knowledge

The College Portfolio and Tours program will be a two-week summer program designed to prepare high school upperclassmen for the college application process while also exposing them to campuses around the state of Washington.

The first week of the program will take place at ACE Headquarters and will feature workshops designed for participants to finish the week with college portfolios. These portfolios will feature personal statement essays, brag sheet/resumes, recommendation letters, transcripts, and more. Staff experienced in college readiness will help students compile the portfolio contents that will help ease the college application process.  Week one will also feature college admission presentations, how to compile a college list, determining college fit, financial aid, scholarships, and more.  Rising seniors will also complete at least one college application to a university visited during the second week.

Week two will find the program participants and staff on a weeklong college tour that will visit the campuses of Central Washington University, Washington State University, Gonzaga University, and Eastern Washington University.  These visits will feature tours, admissions presentations, student panels, meals on campus, dorm stays, and more.  An emphasis will also be placed on visiting multicultural offices and programs designed to support underrepresented BIPOC students.  Transportation will be provided by a contracted driver and rented 15 passenger van.

Campus Visits: Students will visit up to four universities outside of the Seattle area.  Often students apply to colleges that they have never seen or visited.  This will give the participants an opportunity to visit multiple campuses to help determine what they are looking for in a college education to help identify a college fit.

Program Outcomes

The young men who participate in this program will have the following outcomes:

• Campus Visits: Students will visit up to four universities outside of the Seattle area.  Often students apply to colleges that they have never seen or visited.  This will give the participants an opportunity to visit multiple campuses to help determine what they are looking for in a college education to help identify a college fit.

• Admissions Awareness: Students will learn about the admission process for each campus along with the average grade point average (GPA) of admitted students.  This will lead them to see where they fall on the probability of admission and in some cases inspire them to work to raise their GPAs during the upcoming school year.

• Schools of Interest: During the two-week program students will compile a college list of at least six schools that have the qualities they are looking for in a school based on what they have seen in their time with the program.

• Portfolio: Each participant will exit the program with a college portfolio designed to give them the tools they need to complete the college application process.  This includes a personal statement essay, brag sheet/resume, recommendation letter, transcript, and more.

• Mentoring: Students will be exposed to experienced ACE staff that is 100% BIPOC and ready to share their knowledge about college access in addition to sharing their stories about their educational journey.  Staff will also educate participants about ACE programming during the upcoming school year that can further assist them with the college process. 

• Complete College Application: During week 1, participating rising seniors will apply to at least one of the schools we plan to visit during the second week of programming.

• Financial Aid Awareness: Students will receive an overview of the financial aid process that also includes the FAFSA, programs and scholarships such as College Bound Scholarship, Washington State Opportunity Scholarship, and more that can help make college affordable, especially for students and families eligible for free/reduced lunch.