Exploring College Program Boosts College Aspirations and Success

Navigating the college application process can be an arduous task for any high school senior, but that challenge can be even greater for students who are the first in their families that aspire to go to college. That’s why Vassar offers a college access program to help Poughkeepsie High School students, specifically juniors and seniors, unlock some of the keys to navigating this process—and to succeed—when they get to a college campus through a program called Exploring College.

Exploring College, part of the Office of Community-Engaged Learning, is an enrichment program designed to support and prepare high school students for college admission and life after high school.

Throughout the school year, Vassar students, serving as mentors, and administrators in the Office of Community Engaged Learning (OCEL), run workshops for about 40 students on topics such as essay writing, crafting their college essay, college and navigating the financial aid process. And for 10 days during the summer, more than a dozen high school students come to Vassar to sample two-day college-level courses, learn more about applying for college, and spend a night experiencing dorm living. They also engage in team-building activities that included a raft building and other undertakings during their 10 days on campus.

OCEL Director Elizabeth Cannon said the program has had success in the past in helping Exploring College graduates enroll in the colleges of their choice—or even to decide whether they should perhaps delay that decision for a year or two. “Part of the goals of the program are to expand opportunities for students who may face systemic barriers to college entry. It’s all about healing and supporting these students in navigating their time in high school with college in mind,” Cannon said. “This year’s program was a powerful week of building with our OCEL and VEC staff and with the students and each other. We try to give them a good sense of knowing what resources are available to them, what a residential college experience would be like.”

Three rising high school seniors who attended this year’s program on campus said their experience had been productive. “This experience helped me learn more about myself and enhanced my love of studying psychology,” said Noah Hampton. “And it helped me to grow up a little, to start taking responsibility for my future.”

Ilyssa Waite said she relished the chance to enroll in Exploring College. “I learned about it from friends of mine, and I wanted to learn more about what college is all about, especially what is expected of you academically,” Waite said. “Taking classes here this summer enabled us to express ourselves; the experience emphasized for me the importance of good grades.”

Christopher Webb, who enrolled in the Exploring College program for the second consecutive summer, said it had provided him with new insights into what college would be like. “The classes we took were more dialogue-based than the ones we take in high school,” Webb said. “If that’s what the classes at Vassar are like, then the College is definitely on my radar. And the weekend has just been really fun, too.” He said a visit to the Loeb Art Museum, for example, was something he enjoyed, though it was outside of his usual areas of interest.

Professor of Education Kimberly Williams Brown, who taught a two-day course titled “Addressing Social Problems,” said she tried to help the students, most of whom were students of color, engage in subjects that are often difficult to talk about using a text by law scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw. Williams Brown said many of the students related to Crenshaw’s work and volunteered some personal experiences that highlighted their familiarity with social problems, even if they lacked the academic language to make sense of it. “I really wanted them to be anchored with some of the tools that would make dialogue, rather than debate on difficult topics meaningful to them,” she said. “Discussions are often a mixed bag that don’t lead to understanding. Dialogue is a process of deep listening that might cause you to reflect critically on your position and possibly change your mind.”

Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences Payton Small said he used the course to introduce the students to his area of expertise; social psychology. “When I was in high school, I didn’t know what social psychology was, so I started the class by asking if any of them had heard of it. We then spent the rest of the time connecting social psychological concepts to our own lived experiences,” Small said. “ My goal was to help put language to experiences students are already familiar with, such as the pressures of social media or group dynamics at school or home. It’s less about telling them something new and more about helping them step back and see these patterns in a new light.” Outside the classroom, Small said he made time to connect with the students informally. “I enjoyed getting to know the students on a personal level — sharing meals, exchanging stories, and talking about how we each navigate the social world in our own ways.”

Exploring College Program Coordinator Anabel Varghese ’24 said she had seen many of the students in the program gain self-confidence while navigating the college admission process. “Over time, I have seen many of these students build new relationships as they engaged in conversations about their futures,” Varghese said. “We help them map out plans for their own futures instead of laying out a specific plan for them, and many students who were reluctant to engage with us at first became much more open and shared their stories with us this summer.”

Varghese said the program not only benefits the students but also the College. “Vassar is part of this community, so it’s appropriate that we share our assets with members of the community to uplift the students who live here,” she said.