The BranchOut! Blog

On November 16th, 2023, Columbia University was gracious enough to bring their Essay Writing Workshop to BranchOut! friends and families. One of the Assistant Directors of Undergraduate Admissions at Columbia University, Mr. Benny Rivera, led this workshop and Q&A session. Attended by high school seniors fine-tuning their essays and high school juniors just beginning to brainstorm essay topics, the event was marked by key insights to the purpose of the college essay. Flyer fr

After a summer filled with new developments, lifelong connections, and hundreds of service hours logged, the BranchOut! Student Leadership team worked tirelessly to plan one last event: our 8th anniversary celebration and program wrap-up. On October 7th, 2023, BranchOut! mentors (and some potential new ones) gathered via zoom for an evening of performances, speeches, and reflections. If you were unable to attend this event live, keep reading on to get a taste of the growth an

Join us this November for a not-to-be-missed opportunity to prepare for your current or future college applications! Columbia University is gracious enough to host an essay writing workshop for BranchOut! students and friends. They will share insights on the purpose of college essays from an admissions perspective, dissect Common App and Columbia supplemental prompts, and lead interactive activities to help attendees develop essay topics. Who is this for? 12th graders polishi

This year, BranchOut! was honored to host admissions officers from 14 different colleges and universities for two informative College Admissions Webinars. Most recently, admissions officers from Stanford, MIT, Rice, Penn, Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins, and Dartmouth joined us on September 26th, 2023. A testament to the wealth of knowledge each of these admissions officers possesses, they were able to answer over 50 audience questions! These questions included topics ranging

Calling all BranchOut! members: past and present! You and your families are invited to celebrate BranchOut!'s 8th Anniversary on Saturday, October 7th at 7pm - 9pm ET. Join us as we celebrate all the new growth and success you have helped BranchOut! achieved over the past year. Join us as we celebrate you! This virtual event will function as both a Celebration for current BranchOut! mentors and an Open House for those interested in joining next summer. This event features...