Counseling
College Board Opportunity Scholarships: Counselors in Action
While the launch of the College Board Opportunity Scholarships in October of 2018 was an exciting time for College Board, even more exciting is watching counselors embrace the program and helping students achieve their college and career goals.
While the launch of the College Board Opportunity Scholarships in October of 2018 was an exciting time for College Board, even more exciting is watching counselors embrace the program and helping students achieve their college and career goals.
School Counselor Janine Birchard, and Academic Coach Gessica Neilson of Flagstaff Arts & Leadership Academy in Flagstaff, AZ have taken information about the scholarships and put a plan in place for their students. “We are thrilled that our Junior Class is taking advantage of the College Board Opportunity Scholarships because they can be rewarded for completing tasks that will help them reach their postsecondary goals”, says Neilson about her experience. Both Ms. Birchard and Ms. Neilson have seen their efforts in promoting the program pay off. One of their students recently earned a the “Build Your College List” scholarship. “Getting a scholarship for exploring colleges; how can you not go for that opportunity!?”, Birchard shared.
Read on to learn more about their experience:
Q. When did you first hear about College Board Opportunity Scholarships?
A: From the very first email College Board sent out saying that the scholarship was launching.
Q: What was your initial thought about the program?
A: We were excited for the launch!
Q: What stood out to you about the program?
A: The College Board Opportunity Scholarships stand out because usually only seniors work on scholarships, but this provides juniors a way to start earning scholarships, while inspiring them to work toward their college goals. The opportunity scholarships are a quick, easy way for juniors to get rewarded for doing work that they should be doing anyway.
Q: What has the response from students/parents/school community been like?
A: Students have been very responsive to the Opportunity Scholarships. We have been reminding them to sign up and work toward the goals. The great thing is that they are working together as peers, and inspiring each other to sign up.
Q: Which of the available College Board Opportunity Scholarships resources has been most valuable to you as a counselor?
A. The website information.
The College Board Opportunity Scholarships are open to all class of 2020 students who attend high school in the United States, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories. Students in the class of 2021 will be eligible beginning in late 2019. Students can opt-in by visiting the scholarships homepage, and counselors can get a free resource kit to support students by taking the counselor pledge!