In an effort to help students get into competitive public and
private colleges, many parents are turning to organizations that
specialize in helping students achieve an edge.
Linda Christas College Fund is a national, non-profit
organization that seeks to fulfill that need. The school’s mission
statement is
”
to offer families with dedicated students an opportunity to
provide them with the ‘best’ college or university education
available, rather than having them ‘settle’ for less because of
economic considerations.
”
In an effort to help students get into competitive public and private colleges, many parents are turning to organizations that specialize in helping students achieve an edge.
Linda Christas College Fund is a national, non-profit organization that seeks to fulfill that need. The school’s mission statement is “to offer families with dedicated students an opportunity to provide them with the ‘best’ college or university education available, rather than having them ‘settle’ for less because of economic considerations.”
Counselors around the nation have special contacts and relationships that give students an advantage when applying to colleges. Hollister resident Marian Knutson, academic advisor with Linda Christas, is in charge of enrolling local students into the program.
“They know all the right people to help students get into a school they want. The whole process of applying to college is overwhelming and mind boggling,” Knutson said. “If parents are going to spend $30,000 on an education, you want them to go to a school that will help them reach their goals.”
When a student shows interest in participating in one of the college’s programs, Knutson interviews them to make sure they’re serious about their academics and going to college.
“We get (the students) to focus on what they want to be when they grow up and help them get there,” Knutson said.
Students can enroll as early as seventh grade and as late as 12th for a one-time fee for the college preparation program. Once enrolled, students spend time and communicate with counselors via the Internet, getting help on college applications, critiquing of essays, setting up tours of campuses and putting together financial aid packages, Knutson said.
Counselors are credentialed and are former deans or professors, so they “know where the student is coming from and are people who’ve put their focus on students succeeding,” Knutson said.
Counselors from Linda Christas College Fund stay with students through their first year of college.
This kind of program allows parents and students flexibility and the ability to be in their own home with privacy.
Also, schools in this area tend to be big, with high student-to-counselor ratios, Knutson said.
“I thought it was a service people here would be interested in because of the large schools and ratios,” she said. “Schools give you general guidance, but they don’t have the time to sit down, one-on-one with every student. This is more personable – they take you on and care for you as a person.”
In addition to the college help, Linda Christas offers a homework tutoring program for seventh and eighth graders and a program for seventh through 12th graders that allows parents to homeschool their children. Also, there is an English mentoring program for students who are not fluent in English. The programs use the state’s content standards and curriculum students experience in class.
It can be “like having a teacher at home,” Knutson said, since the programs are offered over the Internet.
Knutson is working out of her home and is available evenings and weekends, she said.
To find out more information about Linda Christas College Fund or other programs, call Knutson at 1-866-637-1014 or 637-4843 or e-mail her at [email protected]. To find out more, people can also visit www.lindachristas.org or www.lindas.com.
