The College Leaps app simplifies the tedious college application process

Nashville, Tennessee (WTVF) — Two teachers at Metro Nashville College Access have created an interactive college application process called “College Leaps” to help high school students understand the application process and not miss their deadlines. I created a roadmap app.

The idea came to two teachers working at McGavock High School in Nashville.

“We had a class planned,” explained Angie Allen, senior director of the Martha O’Brien Center High School and Post-Middle School. “We said, ‘We already have the steps in our heads, we already have them in our classes, we put them in our classes, so what if we do it? Always I am using a mobile phone.”

For over a decade, the two have focused solely on preparing for college.

“We are actively helping in schools to prepare students for post-secondary success,” said McGavock High School Superintendent Laura Vignon. “[But] No single place explains exactly what it is or how to do it. You have to visit at least 26 different websites and have all the books you need to find. ”

Allen and Vignon said that even students whose parents are college graduates do not perceive the process.

“If you don’t have a parent who knows, honestly, even if you have a parent who knows, things change. It’s very digital, and a lot of it happens online. Basically is to give students the opportunity to go somewhere, tell them what to do and what to do next, rather than listening in the hallway or hearing from the teacher, ”explained Vignon.

Claire Kopsky

The app isn’t meant to replace college counselors, but it does help educate students about the application process and send reminders to keep students on track.

“School counselors have had this job for a long time, but their job has changed a lot,” Allen said. “There are a lot of other things to focus on. But on a national average, she has 360 students to one counselor.”

The College Leaps founder says some apps are dedicated to helping high school students understand college application terminology.

“You can teach them the process of understanding vocabulary events. If you meet with a counselor, the counselor is like, ‘By this date, you have to do the FAFSA. They’re like, ‘What’s the FAFSA?'” Allen said. “Yeah, you know, just part of that education and the language of college and what it looks like.”

Claire Kopsky

This app hosts content for all high school students.

“You start using it as a freshman, and by year four, things change a lot,” Vignon explains of the ever-changing world of applications. “So that’s what we’re always doing, and we’re actively updating the app whenever we get new information.”

Keeping information up-to-date is the specialty of our founders, who have been helping students navigate the process for over a decade.

“College Leaps provides answers to many of the questions they would ask counselors,” Allen said. “It’s not that they don’t have to talk to anyone. But if they know what to ask, at least provide like a good framework for everything they need to ask.” ”

For more information about the app and links to downloads, visit the app’s website.

Claire Kopsky