The Broward Advisors for Continuing Education (BRACE) team is starting a new program to assist incoming seniors with the college application process. Students and parents from all over Broward County have access to monthly webinars held through Zoom. These meetings will be from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and will consist of interactive activities and presentations in order for students to gain insight on letters of recommendation, SAT/ACT, FAFSA, scholarships, college tours, essays, majors/minors and credits.

With the majority of students not being in physical school this year, it can be difficult to understand the college application process and what it entails. These webinars will give rising seniors a head start on their college journey. 

“Everyone knows how hectic it can get during the first semester of senior year, so by encouraging [rising seniors] to start over the summer, it’ll be less stressful for them because they’ll be ahead on college [applications] and applying for FAFSA,” co-founder Sarah Kathuria said.

The webinars will generally begin with an agenda or introduction. They will then continue onto discussing two college-related topics. After that, there will be an interactive activity and some time for any questions to be answered. 

Since students usually relate to their peers, these Zoom meetings will be mostly student-led. Each topic will be explained by an expert and a BRACE cadet. Trained BRACE cadets are students who went through training to teach their peers about college and career readiness. 

In order for students and parents to stay updated on these webinars, they can join the Remind group by texting “@sybrace” to the number 81010. Along with that, they will also be posting updated announcements on their Instagram account @sybrace. 

“The BRACE Canvas course for our school will also be posting updates on it soon,” Kathuria said.

For those who cannot make it to the webinars, there will be recordings of each meeting so students can watch the videos after they happen. The BRACE team highly recommends that all incoming seniors attend as many meetings as they can.

It can be more beneficial to watch the webinars live, rather than through recorded videos, because students and parents are able to ask questions. After each topic is discussed, they can address any concerns and receive a live response from knowledgeable adults and speakers. The team also plans to establish a Q&A activity. 

“We will place groups of students and parents with a BRACE cadet into breakout rooms so they can get more personalized answers,” Kathuria said. 

Because the beginning of one’s senior year can be difficult to adjust to, the team hopes to help rising seniors develop a deeper understanding of college and career readiness. They want to make it known to more parents and students that they are not alone during this process and that there are many helpful opportunities available to them.