For those of you reading this in the U.S., this might not seem too abnormal, but consider for a moment how overwhelming this process might be had you never even heard of the SAT until Monday. These kids have a big hill to climb if they hope to get into a top US school and also get financial aid – and university is not an option for them if admission doesn’t include full financial aid. This thought seems pretty daunting given our surroundings – an empty kindergarten classroom in Kibera – but these students are game for the challenge. They got themselves to where they are today: all at top Kenyan boarding schools despite pretty enormous challenges, qualified for the CoKF scholarship, and are clearly determined. How many people do you know would show up at 8am on the first day of their school break for a two week university application workshop?
We began the first day with introductions, and we learned that all 20 of the students in the room have big dreams (CoKF sponsors 34 students, but due to differing school holiday schedules not everyone is home on break). We had read most of their profiles before the workshop, so we knew their backgrounds: most of these students have lost at least one parent, have a number of siblings, and come from families that struggle to regularly put food on the table.
The students in the room ranged from high school freshmen to juniors, and the first question we asked them was about their post-high school aspirations. The answers were impressive: law, medicine, engineering, architecture, electrical engineering, aeronautical engineering, aviation, surgery ….
They all named Nairobi University as a potential school, but also dreamed of Harvard, MIT, Georgia Tech, and a number of other US universities. Big Dreams.
The goal of Week One was to cover the SAT. Week Two will be about the broader application process, essay writing, teacher recommendations, etc. In Kenya, University application is solely based on the scores from a three-week long final high school exam process, so this broader application process is very different and quite daunting when you don’t have access to a college counselor, or even regular internet access.
Week One Schedule
Monday: SAT Introduction, SAT Part 1 - Critical Reading Lesson
Tuesday: SAT Part 2 - Writing Lesson
Wednesday: SAT Part 3 - Math Lesson
Thursday: SAT Practice Test!
Friday: Review practice test, Additional writing practice
To their credit, the students all came in Thursday morning ready for the 3.5 hour practice test without a word of complaint (remember – this is their vacation). The scores came back showing that they have a of work to do, but considering the fact that they only learned about the SAT on Monday, and most have several years to study and prepare, it’s a good start. They all went home with a stack of index cards and a list of 500 words with definitions to write out and study. Flashcards here we come …
Carrie & Pete
i love the photo am a friend of pete atkin.one heart.
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