2025-26 Student-Selected Advisor Initial Training by cscp

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Initial Training and erence Note 1 Information

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Handouts

Class of 2026 Student-Selected Advisor Training and CN1

Information Presentation available on Advising Calendar.

Snapshot Advising Calendar

Senior Roadmap

Conference Note 1 Meeting Outline

Check your Email

Information concerning Conference Notes, future trainings, valuable resources

Class of 2026 and Smart Money Moves Newsletters beginning in summer

Crosby's Beginnings

Bing Crosby's golf tournament in 1937 is the longest running charity golf tournament in America

Kathryn, his wife, moved tournament to NC 1986

The Crosby National Celebrity Golf Tournament held at Bermuda Run with $2 million donations to charity, golf's richest charity event

Crosby Scholars Community Partnership established in 1992 and celebrating 32nd anniversary 2012 became an affiliate with Goodwill Industries of Northwest NC

Crosby's Beginnings

Served over 36,500 scholars

Awarded $10 million in Last Dollar Grants and scholarships Offer 35 Crosby Scholar Scholarships Third Year of Advisors for 11th graders in every public high school Senior and junior classes close to 1,000 scholars each

Program Information

HISTORY

Crosby Scholars started in the 1992-93 school year at Carver and Glenn high schools to provide funds to students who pledged to remain drug-free. It is now a comprehensive college access program at 20 high schools and 23 middle schools!

THE PROGRAM

Crosby Scholars is free and available to all 6th10th grade students who attend public school in Forsyth County (the exception being HBI program participants). The college access program includes students of all academic ability.

Students must join and complete all program requirements no later than their sophomore year in high school to be eligible for junior and senior year membership.

The 2025-26 application will open in July, and typically closes in early October.

AFFILIATES

Goodwill of Northwest North Carolina

Crosby Scholars in Iredell + Rowan

PARTNERS

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools

The Winston-Salem Foundation

LEADERSHIP

Mona W. Lovett - President and CEO

Barb Masi - Director of Advising and Strategic Integration

Natalie Jensen-Noll - Chairman Board of Directors

Our Mission and Our Vision

Our Mission

We will assist public middle and high school students in Forsyth County in preparing themselves for successful college enrollment.

Our Vision

To ensure that every public school student in Forsyth County has the opportunity to attend college.

Advising Program Prepares for Senior Year / So Why

Begin in Junior Year?

Class of 2026 are the third Class to receive advisors during their junior year!

Allowing more conversations with trained advisors and direct access for answers to scholar's questions by hosting one-on-one meetings months earlier

Greater understanding of and engagement with program services

Increasing time to navigate admission process = better decision making

Understanding full value of meeting with Crosby Advisor and identifying ways advisor can meet a scholar's individual needs

Advising Program Prepares for Senior Year / So Why Begin in Junior Year?

Understanding how to best utilize the summer to prepare for the college admission process

Emphasis on achieving highest grades in junior year

Organization and Time Management skills for reducing stress in fall of senior year

Increasing knowledge of standardized testing

Relationship building

In-depth researching of Target List of Colleges

Scheduling more college tours/visits

Roles & Responsibilities

Role: As a Crosby Scholars Advisor, you are the lead member of a team helping your Scholar to navigate the college admission and financial aid processes.

Major Responsibilities

Stay informed of Crosby Scholars programs, deadlines, and requirements so you ca keep your Scholar informed.

Monthly Newsletters: Class of 2026 and Smart Money Moves

Email: seniorprogram@crosbyscholars.org

Read your email and check Crosby's Team Calendar frequently for important deadli and resources

Help scholar engage with and realize full benefits of being a Crosby Scholar

Submit Conference Notes by the published deadlines

Use the topics and goals displayed on conference notes outline to guide your conversation and access the resources linked to the outline

Roles & Responsibilities

Participate in monthly Student-Selected Advisor Trainings to stay upto-date on college admission trends, financial aid tips and other topics.

Topics Include:

Monthly admission and financial aid timelines

Certificate program, one-year program, two-year degree, or four-year degree options

Assisting your Scholar with confirming a balanced target list of colleges

Review Early Action/Early Decision/Regular Decision/Rolling decision plans

Discuss standardized test prep and review test scores to determine additional testing needs

Helping your Scholar maintain a calendar to track important dates and set a college admission and scholarship timeline

Offering advice to help your Scholar make a decision about where to attend college based on fit and affordability

Roles & Responsibilities

Guide your Senior to complete Program requirements and graduate from high school.

This may include assisting your Scholar with identifying a community service opportunity – The Crosby Scholars website has a page to help students identify cs opportunities. Help your scholar submit college fair/college visit and community service forms during your meeting.

Complete Conference Notes

Bi-Monthly Zoom meetings will guide you through each Conference Note so you fully understand the goals of discussing each topic

Approximately 6 Conference Note forms are submitted online. There are deadlines; however, self-pacing is encouraged.

Questions and outlines that prompt discussion about the college admission and financial aid processes, and program requirements:

Junior Year and Senior Year: first semester notes focus on college selection and deadlines, criteria for admissions, essays/personal statements, letters of recommendation, extra-curricular activities, and Crosby requirements.

Senior Year: second semester notes focus on financial aid, scholarships, making final enrollment decision, and graduation

*Conference Notes have strict deadlines! If an Advisor misses 2 consecutive deadlines, he/she will become inactive and the Scholar will be reassigned to meet with a new advisor.

Senior Program Requirements

Attend 1 TLS - Think Like A Senior session.

This is a Junior Program requirement and dismissal point.

Complete the college fair/visits requirement. Scholars must attend one college fair or visit four college campuses either inperson or virtually. This requirement may be fulfilled beginning in grade 10.

Complete 2 hours of community service each year . ** The online form is due by April 1, 2025. Instructions on submitting the form are on the Crosby Scholars website.

Fulfill terms of the Partnership Agreement. A copy of the partnership agreement is posted in the student portal. Scholars are expected to adhere to the terms of the partnership agreement. Out-of-schools suspensions are checked quarterly.

Scholars must complete the starred requirements to graduate high school as a Crosby Scholar.

Attend 1 Crosby Senior Academy by December 1. The academy schedule will be released this spring.

Agree to random drug screening through the It’s My Call/It’s Our Call Program. Scholars selected for drug screening are expected to participate.

Attend Crosby Advisor meetings to complete conference notes. Seniors and advisors schedule the meetings together.

Maintain enrollment in and graduate from a Forsyth County public school.

Program requirements are displayed on the back cover of the Senior Roadmap.

Senior Program Expectations

Discuss having an initial meeting with the Student-Selected Advisor during month of February to open up communication that provides the scholar with the opportunity to begin their target list of colleges, selecting an essay prompt, considerations for SAT/ACT, and other admission requirements.

Submit Target List of Colleges

Submit at least 1 College Application

Complete the Residency Determination Service (RDS).

Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Submit a Last Dollar Grant (LDG) Application or at least 1 scholarship application.

If a scholar's post-secondary pathway is not applying to a 2- or 4-year school, the Advising Team will guide the Advisor in providing alternative ways to fulfill these expectations.

Complete the program with a 2.0 cumulative weighted grade point average to be eligible to apply for a Last Dollar Grant.

Senior Academies

Senior Academy: Choose Your Topic Test Prep

ACT Score Interpretation

Preparing for the ACT: Math and Science

Preparing for the ACT: Reading and Writing

SAT Prep: Math

SAT Prep: Critical Reading and Writing

SAT Subject Test Webinar

Financial Aid

Completing the FAFSA

Scholarships: Seeking Additional Funding for Your Education FAFSA Lab Scholarship Lab

Writing Applications

Essay Writing 101 Essay Writing 201 Essay Review Service

Career Development

Take the ASVAB (with Crosby Scholars or at school)

Financial Basics for High School and Beyond

Engaging Your Future

Adulting 101

College Admissions

Residency Determination Service Completion Lab

Creating Your College List

Common Application 101

Making the Most Out of Your Campus Visits

“Crosby on Campus” student panels

Program Services

Crosby Board: A bulletin board located in or by each school's Student Services office (except UNCSA) to display Program announcements and flyers.

Class of 2026: Monthly newsletter posted on the team calendar & emailed to parents + advisors.

Smart Money Moves: Scholarship & financial aid newsletter posted on the website & emailed

Scholarship + College Application Support: Assisting seniors in identifying & submitting college admission and/or scholarship applications.

Monthly Timeline for Success: Linked to monthly newsletter

Essay Readers: Volunteers read & critique admission and/or scholarship essays.

Mock Interviews: Volunteers conduct mock admission and/or scholarship interviews.

Senior Program Roadmap: Our vision for the Senior Year journey & the ways in which Crosby Scholars will support the scholars.

Financial Aid Counseling: Assistance with completing & submitting forms, award interpretation & comparison, navigating verification process, smart loan borrowing

Senior Honors Celebration: A celebration in late-April which recognizes each Scholar individually.

CrosbyConnect portal

To mirror college databases, Crosby Scholars created a custom softwarecalled CrosbyConnect.

Access from the blue icon on the Crosby Scholars homepage or at portal.crosbyscholars.org.

Scholars, Parents, and Advisors can view a Scholar’s Portal if they are linked.

Scholars can update their own contact information, register to attend Academies, read the monthly newsletter and timeline, apply for scholarships, and check their status on meeting Crosby Scholars Program requirements.

Scholars should log in to check their CrosbyConnect weekly.

Find the dark blue icon to access CrosbyConnect!

The Advisor Portal

After this training we will activate Advisor Portals - Students will be linked to their Advisor in the Portal.

Advisors must first submit an advisor application to create an advisor portal. Crosby Scholars staff will activate your portal.

Advisors can view and edit the information in his/her Scholar’s Portal.

On the Welcome page of CrosbyConnect, there is a link for the student portal and one for the advisor portal.

Advisors will complete Conference Notes in their advisor portal under Meeting Notes for their assigned students.

Advisors who have already established a Parent Portal can use the same email address and password to access the Advisor Portal. Please Note: Conference Notes can be accessed through the Advisor Portal, but not the Parent Portal. If using same email address, the advisor login will include “+advisor”

Example: czimmerman@crosbyscholars.org (parent) czimmerman+advisor@crosbyscholars.org (advisor)

Find the dark blue icon to access CrosbyConnect!

The Advisor Portal

The Crosby Scholars Student Portal

Getting Started With Conference Notes

Purpose of Conference Notes

Timing of Meetings with Scholar

Entering Conference Notes in your

Advisor Portal: Meeting Notes Enter Meeting Notes Conference Notes 1 meeting outline

CN Evaluation and Review

Conference Note 1

Advising Calendar: an interactive tool to help engage advisors and scholars - review it during advisor meetings

Senior Roadmap: our vision for the flow of Senior Year and the ways in which the Crosby Scholars Program will support you.

Conference Note 1 Outline: review the topics and goals, utilize the resources linked to the outline

Conference Note 1: complete and submit during the advisor meeting via CrosbyConnect

Due by February 28, 2025

Student Portal

Parent 1 email address is used for communication

Confirm high school enrollment, grade, and graduation date Report any edits to advising@crosbyscholars.org

Advisor's name displays after advisor portal is activated

Senior Course Selections

Are classes as challenging or more rigorous than previous years?

Is scholar enrolled in the most challenging courses, in which they can succeed? Are graduation requirements being met?

Contact school counselor for changes or questions

Senior year courses display on transcripts viewed by college admission officers

Communication Methods

Campus Visits

Spring of Junior year is great time to visit as well as summer months

Scholars may visit campuses with the Crosby Scholars Program -- details listed in CrosbyConnect

Schedule a visit, register for a spring (or fall)

Open House event Virtual tours online + virtual college fairs College fair in October - more information forthcoming 4 college visits are required or attend one college fair

Are SAT and ACT Scores Important?

YES! Certain colleges/universities, scholarship programs, and honors college programs may consider test scores as a part of their decision making criteria for admission.

IF the school is test optional, test scores are not a factor in the college admission process. However, there are exceptions to this policy, and students should be familiar with each college’s requirements:

Discuss Test Optional and test flexible options

Check college website for requirement and average scores for acceptance

Use any scores you have to customize test prep at ACT.org or Collegeboard.org or Khan Academy®

ACT on March 26 -- all juniors in NC take this standardized test

Determine timeline for future ACT and/or SAT tests