Tag: Student Success Coordinator

How Early Should You Prepare for College?

...And What Does That Look Like?

TIA is a free charter school with 100% of the graduating seniors accepted to college. That is an amazing statistic and shows the level of commitment that TIA staff has for their students. They specifically create opportunities for students to grow in leadership, travel and have experiences that prepare them for college. But many people feel that college planning only begins in high school.

Prepare for College in Grade School and Middle School

At a young age, parents and teachers should start talking with children about what careers spark their interest. At TIA, preparing students with the college mindset starts in Kindergarten. When they are in middle school, students should visit occupations that interest them. Career fairs are another option like the one Tucson International Academy has every year. Even though the student may not choose a career path at this point, a general idea will help guide them towards the right college. Believe or not, students can start applying for scholarships in grade school as young as 5 years old. While you may not be able to use these scholarships right away, the money can be put in the bank to help pay for college later.

College Prep in High School

TIA offers many extras that help each student get accepted to college like assistance from a Student Success Coordinator (currently Mr. Basurto). The school also offers students opportunities to take trips to visit college campuses in person, as well a sponsored trips to foreign countries. TIA hosts high school events like Senior Day, FAFSA Night, Senior Interviews, Facing Dragons and the Career Fair, which are all geared towards helping their students go to college and be successful in life.

College Planning Freshman & Sophomore Year

All freshman and sophomore students start choosing high school courses based on college requirements. Colleges require the basic general courses such as two years each of Social Studies and Science, four years each of Mathematics and English Language Arts, and two years of Foreign Language. Certain colleges, however, may require more advanced classes such as Calculus, Chemistry, Physics, and others.

College Planning Junior Year

Junior students should be signed up and well prepared for college PSAT, SAT, & ACT entrance tests that are taken throughout the year. Free practice tests are available on various online websites. This is also when many high school students start researching scholarships, although some may have started in previous years.

College Planning Senior Year

The summer before a students senior year they should be applying for scholarships if they haven’t already started their search prior to that. By the beginning of their senior year, students should have narrowed down their college choices and applied to those colleges (if they haven’t they should do so now) and filled out their FAFSA information online. While some seniors wait until the spring of their senior year to apply for scholarships, it’s best to have started this process well before then. The earlier you start the process, the less overwhelming it can be and the more options you will have at receiving scholarship money.

TIA is a College Prep School - How They Help Their Students

TIA is very serious about their role as a college prep school. The position of Student Success Coordinator was created with basically one goal: to give individual attention to every TIA student on their way to college. That navigation starts as early as the student’s freshman year and follows through with help applying to colleges and for financial aid. The Student Success Coordinator gives one-on-one attention to each student. Being able to help them with their particular circumstances, abilities and interests are what makes the difference at TIA. Each student is given the assistance he or she needs to fill out applications, write the required essays, and explore the financial aid and scholarship options. That is why 100% of TIA's graduating students get accepted into college!  

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Cantering Off to Cornell!

Virginia Watahomigie, Student Success Coordinator at TIA, was keenly interested in the success of one particular student, her own daughter, Kynzie! Kynzie has been accepted to Cornell University, a prestigious Ivy League school located in Ithaca, New York.

Strong Animal Science Program

Kynzie Watahomigie didn’t apply to every Ivy League college. She wasn’t really interested in the prestige of the school as much as whether the university had a strong animal science program. She applied to Cornell simply because they have one of the top two animal science programs in the world. Because Ivy League schools do not inform their candidates of their admission until much later than most universities, Kynzie had already settled into the idea she would be attending the fine animal science program at the University of Arizona. But when she learned, at the end of April, that she had been accepted into Cornell, plans changed!

Passionate About Horses

To say Kynzie loves animals is an understatement. From a very early age she knew she wanted to be a veterinarian. She even dressed up as a vet one year for Halloween! She is especially passionate about horses. As far as she can recall, Kynzie thinks her fascination and passion for horses started when she saw the movie Spirit as a young girl. Her family could not and did not own horses; yet even without a horse, Kynzie checked out every book she could find at the library about horses and horse care. She even has a book called The Horseless Rider.

Overcoming Obstacles

Where there is passion, there is a drive to overcome obstacles. Although Kynzie could not own her own horse, she was able to attend summer horse camp for several weeks to learn how to ride and care for her beloved animals. Then when Kynzie turned 16, her parents learned they could lease a horse for her to participate in 4-H activities. She soon became not only active in 4-H, but also won awards and was eventually chosen to be president of the club. Obviously, for Kynzie to be accepted into Cornell she needed to exhibit more than just a love of horses. Kynzie is an incredible student, graduating with a 4.0 GPA. She also participated in basketball and is quite an artist. She had passion for all things equine, yet was just as enthused about, and excelled at, all things she undertook. She is the epitome of a well-rounded young lady. Kynzie is already attending Cornell this summer. She is taking a chemistry class and  participates in other recommended activities for incoming freshman. She says she has met people from all over the world and has loved making new friends. The chemistry class is very challenging and keeps her studying many hours of the day, however. She will get to come home for a couple of weeks in August before the fall semester begins.

What Is It You Love?

What is it that you love? Horses like Kynzie? Writing? Cars? Dance? Pursue your interests with passion and hard work. Don’t let obstacles be anything more than stepping stones to your future.

Let TIA be the school where your child’s dreams are forged and supported!

Enroll today!

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TIA Supports Student Success!

Tucson International Academy has teachers, administrators and office staff like every other school. But did you know that TIA created a unique position that most schools don’t have? Because staff at TIA takes their role as a college prep school very seriously, they created the position of Student Success Coordinator. The person in this position has basically one goal: to give individualized attention to each and every TIA student on the way to college. That navigation starts as early as the student's freshman year but culminates in the actual college and financial aid application process during the senior year.

Again 100% of the Senior Class have been Accepted to College!

With a record number of students in the graduating class this year, the importance of the Student Success Coordinator has truly been appreciated. Every one of the 26  seniors has received at least one, if not multiple, acceptance letters! This continues the rich tradition TIA has of 100% of its graduating seniors being accepted to college. That is an amazing statistic! Compare it to a study conducted by The Arizona Board of Regents a few years ago which  found that only 57% of Arizona high school graduates went on to college.

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty

What makes these numbers even more impressive is that most of the students are the first generation in their family to go to college. Financial challenges along with other barriers are being hit head on and TIA students are breaking family tradition in the best way possible! The impact on the families and the community in general is awe-inspiring. For many families, these college-bound students are taking the first steps out of a poverty cycle that has been in place for generations.

Student Success Coordinator

Virginia Watahomigie, TIA’s current Student Success Coordinator, believes that the individual attention given to each student and his or her particular circumstances, abilities and interests is what makes the difference. The key is to make certain each student is given the assistance needed to fill out applications, write the required essays, and explore the financial and scholarship options. The students are given class time to prepare, which not only allows for hands-on assistance from TIA staff, but is also vital, as many students do not have access to a computer or the internet at home.

College Campuses Field Trip

TIA students were also given the opportunity to travel all over Arizona to visit college campuses. They of course visited the University of Arizona right here in Tucson, but also visited Arizona State University and Grand Canyon College in Phoenix and Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. While in Flagstaff they even headed over for a side trip to the Grand Canyon!  This trip helped the students to visualize themselves on a college campus, making the whole dream that much more real.

Want your child attend a school where 100% of the graduates have been accepted to college? Enroll online now!

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