A Comprehensive Approach – A Generation of Leaders

The Talent Search

In a typical year, over 3,500 students of color with strong academic ability (nominated by over 500 New York City public elementary and junior high schools) participate in the Talent Search.  The selection process results in the admission of approximately 150 fifth-graders into Prep for Prep (day school placement) and 60 seventh-graders into PREP 9 (boarding school placement).

Detailed information about the Talent Search

Preparatory Component

A rigorous 14-month course of study spans two intensive 7-week summer sessions as well as after-school Wednesday and all-day Saturday classes during the intervening school year.  Typically, 75% of admitted students complete the Preparatory Component.  All students who successfully do so are placed in independent schools.

Forty day schools and ten boarding schools reserve places for qualified applicants.  Approximately $20 million in scholarships is committed annually to our students by these schools. 

Counseling

The academic and personal progress of each student in grades 7-12 is monitored through monthly meetings with Prep counselors, young people of color who are graduates of selective colleges.  Individual counseling is supplemented by a range of activities, including outdoor recreation and excursions to cultural and sports events.  These activities ease the social transition to independent school and foster a sense of community among all Prep students.

Leadership Development Opportunities

Leadership Development Opportunities are intended to broaden high school students’ aspirations, increase their sense of life’s possibilities, and build a stronger sense of self.  The Summer Jobs Bank introduces students to the business, professional, and non-profit worlds.  The Leadership Development Summer Institute, the Local Government Summer Internships Project, and Students Advocating for Young Children enhance students’ interest in public affairs.  The Brownstone (our newspaper), Student Admissions Committee, and Summer Advisory System enable older students to give back to the program and assist their younger peers.  Aspects of Leadership, a series of 11 curriculum modules offered as three- and four-day retreats, asks students to consider the challenges, rewards, and responsibilities of ethical leadership in a complex, diverse society premised on democratic values. 

College Guidance assists high school juniors and seniors throughout the entire college application and financial aid process.  40% of Prep’s college graduates have earned their degrees from Ivy League universities, and 84% have graduated from colleges characterized as “most selective” by US News & World Report.  Working with undergraduates and college graduates to maximize career opportunities, Prep’s Professional Advancement initiatives include the Career Paths Plus! undergraduate internship project; Professional Skills Workshops; the Prep for Prep/Goldman Sachs Foundation Institute for Entrepreneurship; the Career Seminar Series; and individual career counseling.

Undergraduate Affairs monitors the social and academic progress of Prep’s 628 current college students.  Undergraduate Affairs Officers travel to colleges as far north as Maine, as far south as Tennessee, and as far west as Ohio.  Prep for Prep salutes its 1056 college graduates as of September 2003.