Hampton Roads Educational Consulting, LLC

School-Based College Planning Programs

Dr. Fithian believes that all students should receive comprehensive college planning and financial aid information through their schools, so she is particularly interested in working with individual high schools and school districts to provide this service.

The New Horizons Governor's School for Science and Technology (GSST)

For the past three years, Dr. Fithian has administered a Comprehensive College Planning Program for the GSST, a rigorous magnet high school drawing high-achieving students from 21 different Hampton Roads high schools. 

The program consists of three components:

Student Component:

• A comprehensive, in-school curriculum that informs students what competitive colleges are looking for, how to find a college that's affordable and a good match, how to prepare a resume and essay that highlight individual strengths, and how to navigate the financial aid and scholarship processes.

Parent Component:

• Evening and Saturday seminars inform parents of current and prospective GSST students about the competitive college admissions and financial aid processes and how they can assist their children.

• A special GSST edition of College Planning Minutes, Dr. Fithian's monthly informational newsletter, keeps parents informed about timely topics and important dates.

• College Day 2010 brought representatives from 16 top colleges to the school to participate in a panel discussion and small breakout sessions with parents and students.

 Faculty Component:

• Staff development sessions keep faculty updated on current trends in competitive college admissions and financial aid availability and help teachers create a student-centered climate that supports students in all their college preparatory activities, from academics to extracurriculars, letters of recommendation, and standardized test preparation

 Evaluations: 

• Anonymous ratings of the college planning seminars by students, faculty, and parents have been uniformly positive.

  News:

• Dr. Fithian and Ms. Wismer, the GSST Director, recently presented information about the College Planning Program at the National Association for Gifted Children and the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Science, Mathematics, and Technology.

  For More Information About GSST:

To learn more about the GSST or its College Planning Program, visit:   http://www.nhgs.tec.va.us/governorsschool

Dr. Fithian's staff development workshops were outstanding. Her lively, engaging teaching style and extensive knowledge of college admissions made the sessions enjoyable as well as highly informative."

Vikki Wismer, Director of the Governor's School for Science and Technology, Hampton, VA.

College Planning At Your School

Don't your students and parents deserve the information to make the most of their educational and financial aid opportunities?

Dr. Fithian would be happy to work with you to design a program that meets the needs of your student population.

Call her at (757) 868-6034