CTK College Guidance & Support Continues Despite Building Closure

As announced earlier in the year, the Class of 2020 is the 9^th consecutive year of 100% of college acceptance. Our 79 seniors have been accepted to over 137 colleges in 31 different states, including 7 Jesuit schools and 16 historically Black Colleges and Universities. Importantly, they have received $8,530,872 so far in outside scholarships and grants. To see a listing of the colleges our seniors were accepted to, Click HERE.

Spring is a critical college decision time for seniors in high school.  An added degree of difficulty has emerged this year with our students being at home and disconnected from CTK’s college support team. Our families have been among the hardest hit by the medical and financial impact of the pandemic, but have maintained their dreams of a college education for their children. 

In a typical year, each senior would sit down with CTK’s College Counselor, Mr. Daniel Zundel or Alumni Counselor, Ms. Myisha McGee to determine their best college options based on their aid packages from accepted to colleges . Together they calculate the funding gap, and ultimately the schools that they can afford to attend.  As Mr. Zundel noted, “Oftentimes, students have their heart set on a specific school, but can they afford it?  We work through that with them and their parents to see if a good match is available, or alternatives need to be pursued.  We don’t want them to be in a situation in August where they can’t afford to enroll in their selected school.“

The majority of CTK’s seniors will be first-generation college students and count on the knowledge and experience of CTK’s staff. Mr. Zundel and team have adjusted to the current situation by doing weekly outreach to provide tips and guidance to both students and their parents. Virtual meetings have conducted with each senior. He noted that some colleges have changed their policies to reflect the adverse impact of the coronavirus, including waiving or reducing deposit amounts, freezing tuition, and pushing back college choice decision deadlines.

An event the CTK community looks forward to each year is the College Signing Day ceremony.  On that day, each senior announces his or her college choice. This year’s Signing Day event has been moved to Wednesday, May 27^th and due to the building closure will be CTK’s first virtual College Signing Day.  Congrats to the Class of 2020 for persevering through an unexpected end to their senior year!