Prep for Prep's Undergraduate Affairs Team Sets Students Up for College Success

Undergraduate Affairs kicked off the summer with their annual College Transition Retreat. This year’s event was held virtually the first week in June. Students participated in a set of workshops and sessions centered around college preparedness, with specific focuses on consent and healthy relationships, personal finance, and mental health awareness. Incoming freshmen also had the opportunity to participate in a talkback session with current undergraduates to pick their brains about the college experience.

Incoming freshmen also participated in the Summer Series, a collection of workshops designed to expand retreat subjects such as finance, creating a personal budget, the study abroad process and how to pick a major. Students were provided with checklists and questions related to mental health, financial aid, classes and books, meal plans, and insurance to consider before starting college.

For peer-to-peer support, male-identifying Prep students attended the Young Men’s Group which ran on a weekly basis this summer. The group is facilitated by two male-identifying adults, an Undergraduate Affairs officer, and a clinical counselor. Participants speak freely about the common challenges and concerns that face young men of color.

Students had a chance to connect before classes began at three region-specific mixers hosted by the Undergraduate Affairs team at the Harlem Tavern. One mixer was for students attending college in New York or California, another was for students attending college in Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., or Missouri, and a third was for students attending schools in all other regions.

Although the summer is coming to an end, undergraduate students still have a chance to form connections by applying to the Near Peer Mentor Program. The program was launched in the 2021-2022 academic year at Amherst, Cornell, and Yale. In the future, Prep hopes to expand the program to more college campuses with a high enrollment of Prep students. The program matches juniors and seniors (mentors) with freshmen and sophomores (mentees) for bi-weekly one-on-one meetings where mentees can share their questions and concerns with their mentors. In addition, Prep hosts events each semester to bring mentors and mentees together on their respective campuses.

 

We are grateful to Day One and Jed Foundation for their support of this summer’s Undergraduate Affairs programming.