Bottom Line

Success Counselor Kira Terrill talking with a student at our Worcester Office

It’s hard for my First Year students to believe that the Fall 2012 semester is almost over! With that disbelief also comes the students’ awareness that their grades may not be as good as they were in high school. Many students really struggle with the transition from high school level to college level work.  Luckily, Bottom Line students have their counselors to really help guide them through the transition.  Bottom Line addresses this issue by providing summer programming and has developed specific tools to help our students find success during their critical first year.

Our summer transition program includes both group workshops and one-on-one meetings. One workshop on time management always seems to be especially eye-opening. After adding classes and study time to a weekly schedule, counselors bombarded students with different responsibilities and activities that also needed to be taken care of, on top of all of their studying and homework!  I can remember one student shouting “I don’t have time for all of this extra stuff!” Although a little early, it was an easy way for students to prepare for things they were about to face during their first (and every other) year of college. Some students immediately internalize the lesson and others need more reinforcing once they arrive on campus.

This fall, I’ve been working with many First Year students on improving their time management and study skills. I have 38 First Year students at four different colleges and have had 196 campus meetings and phone follow-ups this fall.  Additionally, I met with over 50% of my First Years who felt like they needed extra support for time management and test prep strategies meetings. Simply reading over notes doesn’t really cut it on college exams. My students and I have worked together to create study plans tailored to each of their exams, as well as their learning needs. With some students, I can simply suggest recopying and summarizing notes or making flashcards for vocabulary words. With other students, they may need to draw diagrams, attend tutoring and office hours, and form study groups. Helping students create these study plans and break down when things need to be done, makes the task of studying a little less daunting. Showing students how to put in a little extra effort and attack problems from different directions to make success possible shows the value of our meetings to my students and is why I love working for Bottom Line.

– Kira Terrill

Success Counselor

Since the start of the school year, our Success Counselors have traveled to 20 campuses across Massachusetts to meet one-on-one with all of our 1,300 students. Liz Hood, a second-year Success Counselor, reflects on a busy month of the school year…

In the month of September, I had ninety-one campus meetings and traveled a total of four hundred and thirty-two miles to visit students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Boston College and Wentworth Institute of Technology. Despite that seemingly never-ending stretch of I-90 between Worcester and the exit off to Amherst (I went to Smith College and the Pioneer Valley will always hold a place in my heart) one of the things that I enjoy the most about being a Bottom Line Success Counselor is the ability to support students on campus and in person. A standard meeting that takes place in September is the first year check in meeting. This forty-five minute meeting addresses issues related to academics, campus life, financial aid and anything else that may arise.

Last month, I met with all of my first year students on their own campuses.  By being on campus I am able to more effectively connect students to the resources that are available to them and encourage them to advocate for themselves. First year students are often times intimidated by the idea of asking for help. The other day I met with a student who had an unresolved issue with her bill and she did not know where to go or what to ask.  We discussed her bill issue and acted out the conversation in a quick role-play, and I walked over with her to the bursar’s office.  She was able to resolve the issue on the spot. Another student I met with was struggling in Chemistry class, but did not know where to go for extra help.  We went to the tutoring center together and he signed up to meet with a tutor once a week.

I really enjoy working with first year students; I get to watch as students see the world opening up to them.  There is so much optimism and excitement as they begin to figure out who they want to be and what they want to do. I strongly believe that campus visits play an integral role in strengthening counselor-student relationships and demonstrate to students that Bottom Line is really invested in their success and wants to see them excel.

Liz Hood

Bottom Line Success Counselor

On August 14 and 15, hundreds of students in Bottom Line’s Success Program celebrated the beginning of their college careers at Success Send-Off events in Worcester and Boston. On the 14th, 75 Worcester students gathered at Hanover Insurance’s national headquarters to get to know their new college classmates and participate in team-building exercises. On the 15th, over 200 Boston students converged on Hill Holiday’s high-rise offices for a night of celebration and reflection.

Two future Framinham State Alumnae

At the Boston Send-Off, Robert Lewis, Jr., Vice President for Program with The Boston Foundation, gave a rousing speech encouraging students to live up their potential and to work with their Success Counselors.

“Knowing that you have someone from Bottom Line here, knowing that you’re coming here with other great students that are your support network…the shot you have to succeed is great,” said Mr. Lewis.

At the Worcester Send-Off, Yuisa Peréz Chionchio, Advanced Placement Coordinator for Worcester Public Schools and member of Bottom Line Worcester’s Advisory Board, stressed how college can help students become America’s future leaders.

Students left the Send-Offs energized and hopeful. And, when they need support, as Mr. Lewis reminded students, “Bottom Line is only a phone call away.”

See video of Robert Lewis’ speech>>

See video of Yuisa Perez Chionchio’s speech>>

For Class of 2012 high school seniors, the past month has been full of college decisions. After months of hard work and waiting, students finally get to survey their options and choose a college that suits them. At Bottom Line, we spend a lot of time talking about “finding a fit” – meaning a college that meets a student’s academic, financial, career, and personal needs. Affordability is an integral part of this discussion. By enrolling in a college that meets their financial needs, a student can complete a degree without accumulating an excessive amount of debt. In many cases, Bottom Line advises students to enroll in full-need schools, such as College of the Holy Cross and Tufts University, or state schools, such as UMass Boston and Worcester State University, which have a low cost of attendance.

Ariana Campos of University Park Campus School in Worcester (below) is just one student who, we are proud to say, has found her fit! After getting accepted to all 9 of the schools she applied to, and after looking over her award letters with Bottom Line, she was glad to find out that she can graduate debt-free from Harvard University. We are excited to help all 785 seniors from Massachusetts and New York choose a school in the coming weeks.

Earlier this month, students, staff, volunteers, supporters, and corporate and community leaders gathered at The Westin Copley Place Hotel in Boston to celebrate 15 years of helping students get into college, graduate from college, and go far in life. College students Yaritza Peña, Melissa Peña, Julie Rorie, and Joe Rowell spoke of the challenges that they have overcome to succeed in college and their experiences growing up in Boston and participating in Bottom Line. Bentley University President Gloria Larson reminded us of the need for a college-educated workforce and the benefits of providing services to students on campus. The event also honored USA Funds CEO Carl Dalstrom for his ongoing commitment to low-income and first-generation students; Senior Vice President of Access and Outreach Bob Ballard accepted an award on Dalstrom’s behalf. Because of the generous support from the attendees and sponsors, $550,000+ was raised to help low-income and first-generation students complete a college degree. Thank you to everyone who continues to provide students from our community with the guidance they need to reach their full potential.

As part of the event’s programming, we presented this video, which shares some students’ thoughts and experiences about college and Bottom Line.

College application submission season is a very exciting time!  For the past several weeks, I have been proofreading  college applications at Bottom Line to make sure that they are ready to be sent. I’d like to share with you some of the mistakes I have caught, so you can avoid them too.

1. There are a few places on the Common App where the applicant has to type in an answer rather than select one in a menu. It is very easy to make mistakes in these places.  Look out for spelling and capitalization errors in sections such as your Parent’s Position/Title and Name of Employer as well as your Current Year Courses.
2. The Activities section is required, whether or not you plan to attach a resume.  It is intended to highlight the activities that are most important to you, including the year, season, duration, and position in which you participated.  Read each of your answers carefully to make sure that they accurately reflect your involvement. Then, craft a resume-like description of the activity.  Again, be sure to proofread your response before hitting submit!
3. I could write an entire blog about the college essay, but one widespread mistake to avoid is using the word like where such as or for example is grammatically correct. (e.g. I enjoy playing sports, such as basketball.)
4. Finally, after you ask two teachers to write recommendations for you, be sure to go into the School Forms section and invite them to your list of Recommenders.

Good luck!
Katrina

DaVante Bonneau was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. He graduated from the Bronx School for Law, Government, and Justice in 2011. He lives with his mom and younger sister, who are both very supportive of his goal to gain a higher education. DaVante is currently in his first year at CUNY’s New York City College of Technology (a.k.a. City Tech), which is located in Downtown Brooklyn near Bottom Line’s office. DaVante is interested in many fields, but is considering majoring in Anthropology.

DaVante has always been excited about going to college, so he was thrilled to be offered admission to City Tech. He says that it’s very motivating to be going through this experience with his friends from high school, who go to college throughout New York City and the state. His friends talk about how no one wants to be the one who doesn’t graduate on time, so DaVante makes sure to stay on top of his classes and reading assignments (something different from high school!). With that in mind, he is grateful for the support he’s gotten from Bottom Line’s New York staff so far. He says, “I would be more nervous and wouldn’t really have anyone to help me through questions I have.” DaVante especially appreciates the advice he received about how to save money by renting, as opposed to buying, textbooks for his classes.

During breaks, DaVante and his friends often come to Bottom Line’s office to study, work on projects, or just hang out and eat lunch. After only a few months, DaVante already considers Bottom Line’s New York office his “second home.”

Hola,

As many of you know, I am a Bottom Line student. This means that I come from a low income household, I am the first in my family or from the first generation of my family to attend college, and I earned at least a 2.5 GPA in high school. Like the majority of Bottom Line students, I am considered a minority* student. Why am I mentioning this? Because many minority students tend to hold back from the study abroad experience. There is plenty of research proving this to be true. Trust me: if studying abroad is really what you want to do, then you can make it happen regardless of the obstacles that we face as minority students!

A year ago, my Bottom Line counselor told me that her brother did some research on minority college students going abroad. The research showed that not many of us actually went through with it. As soon as the meeting with my counselor was over, I quickly headed back to my dorm room and started researching. The research I found showed that only a limited number of African-American and Hispanic/Latino students actually studied in a foreign country (here’s results from one study). I was very skeptical of the research that had been compiled throughout the years; when I was applying to study abroad, many other Holy Cross minority students were applying to the program too. A couple of months later, almost all of my fellow classmates were accepted into the various programs. However, as I sit here in my house in Spain, the majority of the minority Holy Cross students who dreamed of going abroad are still at home.

You may wonder, “Well, maybe they just couldn’t afford to go abroad.” Then how was I able to come abroad even though I come from a low-income family? You may then think, “Maybe their major did not allow them.” I am a double major and completing a concentration and I did it! Yes, some majors or tracks make it much more difficult to go abroad (i.e. Premed, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Political Science), but 3 premed students, 2 chemistry majors, 1 political science major, and 1 economics major are currently studying in Spain with me. Do you see what I mean? Studying abroad is very possible! Of course, difficult family or financial circumstances may arise last minute that can hinder our chances of going abroad. However, although us minority students face our own unique set of challenges, I am living proof that studying abroad is possible.

College of the Holy Cross students currently studying in Spain.

If YOU are interested in going abroad and have no serious reasons not to then YOU totally should! Seek out information and resources at your college’s Study Abroad Office or ALANA Cultural Center. Talk to your academic advisor about how you can meet your major requirements while studying abroad. Look for funding that can help you pay for the study abroad experience (the Gilman Scholarship Program is a popular one). Find someone who can help you pick a suitable program and navigate the study abroad process. We all need to come together and start changing the statistics, one minority student at a time. 🙂

Hasta luego,

Kristie

*By “minority” I mean African-American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Middle Eastern, Pacific Islander, etc.

The sunshine is out and homework is nowhere in sight. Yes, as a college student, it’s tempting to spend the entire summer on vacation. After all the work you’ve done during the school year, you deserve a break. But the summer is also a good time to get a job that can offer you a number of benefits, including:

Huy (Suffolk University, 2012) at Sun Life Financial.

Money – Beyond being satisfying, getting a regular paycheck means you can save money to pay for tuition and books. While your life may be monopolized by classes and homework during the busy semester, summer break leaves plenty of time to earn some cash. Whether you take the part-time mail room job you work at school to full-time for the summer or find a seasonal job waiting tables, saving money is a smart idea.

Experience – Summer break also allows you to pursue internships and professional development opportunities in fields that interest you. Particularly if you know what job you want to pursue after college, finding an internship can allow you to test drive a particular job or develop skills that will increase your qualifications for your intended career path. For example, if you are interested in marketing, perhaps you will apply to be a Social Media Intern at a local museum. If you are interested in becoming a veterinarian, you could apply to be an assistant at a local animal hospital.

Responsibility – In addition to gaining some work experience, a summer job can give you a taste of real-world responsibility. Learning about the expectations of employers and the consequences of decisions and performance at a job is an important lesson to learn before graduating from college and one that you won’t learn in the classroom.

Freedom – On the flip-side of responsibility is independence. While you explore the expectations of the working world, you can also experience the freedom that comes with having your own money and managing your own schedule. Having decision-making power with your own time and finances is liberating and exciting, and will help you prepare for becoming a fully self-sufficient adult.

Connections – The saying is true: it’s all in who you know. If a manager comes to appreciate you as a hard worker and dependable employee, chances are that he/she will feel comfortable serving as a reference for you in the future. Networking is a key component to landing great jobs, but connecting with co-workers and managers also has a more immediate payoff: you can learn a lot from smart and supportive colleagues. While your professors at school teach you a lot through theory, formulas, and research, co-workers can teach you about on-the-job skills such as time management, professional demeanor, and negotiating work-life balance. Learning about these things early on will make you a more desirable job candidate.

Last week, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced the recipients of mini grants distributed through the Cure Lounge Settlement Supporting African-American Students Seeking Higher Education. At the Freedom House in Dorchester, AG Coakley was accompanied by Boston City Councilwoman Ayanna Pressley, Chairman of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination Julian Tynes, members of the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Division, and representatives of the recipient organizations, including Bottom Line’s Executive Director Greg Johnson and Director of Development Mike Wasserman (above). See more photos of this event>>>

$28,500 in total was awarded to Bottom Line, the Freedom House, Cambridge College, and the United Negro College Fund. These grants will support the organizations’ efforts to serve college-bound students in Boston and Worcester, specifically the provision of direct scholarships, college counseling services, assistance with college applications and financial aid, and college preparatory classes.

The grants are part of a settlement that the MA Attorney General’s Civil Rights Division reached with Paige Hospitality, Inc. after an incident that occurred at the Cure Lounge in Boston last fall.

Read more about this settlement>>>
Read more about this grant initiative>>>