Pennsylvania College Advising Corps
The College Advising Corps is an evidence-based, data-driven, high-impact program that seeks to bring talented, enthusiastic advisers to every community that wants them and to every student who needs them.
The College Advising Corps aims to increase the number of low-income, first-generation college, and underrepresented students who enter and complete higher education.
The College Advising Corps in Pennsylvania (PCAC) places well-trained, recent college graduates in high schools across Pennsylvania to serve as full-time College Advisers. PCAC is a division of the national College Advising Corps and is a partnership between Franklin & Marshall College, Gettysburg College, and Millersville University.
During the 2022 - 2023 school year, twenty-eight PCAC Advisers are serving twenty-nine high schools in Adams, Blair, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Clearfield, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Franklin, Huntingdon, Lancaster, Luzerne, Philadelphia, and York counties in Pennsylvania.
PCAC College Advisers engage high school students and their families throughout the career exploration and postsecondary planning processes. Advisers provide broad information about opportunities after high school, and assist students in figuring out college match and fit, revising essays, submitting financial aid applications, finding scholarships, and preparing for the transition to college.
Why We Need College Advisers
The U.S. Department of Education found that 90% of today's fastest-growing jobs require some form of postsecondary education. For this reason, PCAC believes it is invaluable to expose high school students to the wealth of available postsecondary options.
The National Center for Educational Studies (NCES) identified that the ratio of students to school counselors in the U.S. is 488:1. Because of this staggering ratio, school counselors are often unable to spend the necessary time that first-generation college students require; PCAC Advisers support the work of school counselors by providing that time and attention.
The NCES found that the average student spends only 20 minutes per year talking with his or her school counselor. PCAC Advisers are able to provide more time for conversations with students about post-secondary plans, meeting with students both individually and in groups. In addition, advisers plan and execute school events--college representative visits, career and college field trips, career and college fairs, college application days, financial aid nights, and senior decision day celebrations.
Contact Us
Amanda Loh
Program Director
aloh@fandm.edu
(717) 358-4458
Anabel Menifee
Associate Director
amenifee@fandm.edu
(717) 358-5812
Heather Pearson
Assistant Director
hpearso1@fandm.edu
(717) 358-4409