BBYO, INC. OFFERS COLLEGE ADMISSIONS ASSISTANCE

Tours of campuses available to all Jewish teens; Special partnership with The Princeton Review provides BBYO members with 10% off test prep courses 

Washington, DC – BBYO, Inc., one of the world’s leading trans-denominational Jewish youth movements, is launching several initiatives to help Jewish teens navigate the college admissions process, including offering tours of campuses in select communities, access to online resources and a special partnership with The Princeton Review (TPR).  “BBYO’s core mission is to involve more Jewish teens in meaningful Jewish experiences,” said Matthew Grossman, BBYO’s executive director. “Helping teens with the college admissions process, a prime area of concern among teens today, is one of the innovative ways that BBYO is going to connect with thousands of teens by appealing to their core needs and interests.” BBYO’s campus tours are designed to provide Jewish teens an opportunity to visit colleges and universities with their peers. The initiative will pilot in the Washington, DC area, November 9-12, before being implemented in several cities across the U.S. in the coming months. The tours will introduce high school juniors and sophomores, to different types of colleges and universities – public and private, large and small. The DC Tour, which is open to any Jewish teen in any community, will have special departure points in the New York/New Jersey area and will include visits to the University of Maryland, American University and George Washington University, with optional visits to University of Virginia and Johns Hopkins University, among others. Giving teens a taste of different campuses will help them understand which type of campus suits them best, informing later college visits with parents. On all of the campus tours, teens will have opportunities to meet and talk with college students and utilize campus resources, including those provided through Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. A professional college counselor will serve as the program’s guide, offering valuable tips on such things as finding the right school and preparing competitive applications. The tours are just one program under a broader BBYO initiative to assist Jewish teens with the college admissions process. On October 2, BBYO launched b-accepted.org, a new college preparation website complete with a unique college search engine, application organizer and articles that offer advice about the things teens should know when applying to college. Key to the b-accepted website is a partnership that BBYO has recently established with education pioneer, The Princeton Review. BBYO’s collaboration with TPR, as well as with Hillel, will enable teens to conduct online searches of hundreds of colleges by both secular and Jewish criteria.   In addition, BBYO’s partnership with TPR will provide BBYO members with 10% off of TPR’s renowned SAT preparation courses. They will be able to use the b-accepted.org website to search for courses in their area and connect with Jewish teens who will be taking those courses. The b-accepted.org website will also provide an opportunity for Jewish teens to connect with Jewish students who are currently on specific campuses as well as other Jewish high schools seniors who will be joining them for their freshman year. This provides a unique opportunity for friendships between Jewish teens to be established before they even arrive on campus.   Those interested in registering for or learning more about the DC College Tour should visit www.b-accepted.org or contact Tali Golan at 202.857.6562 or tgolan@bbyo.org.  The tour is open to participants on a first-come, first-serve basis. The registration deadline is October 20. The Princeton Review (Nasdaq: REVU) is a pioneer in the world of education. Founded in 1981 and headquartered in New York City, The Princeton Review offers classroom and online test preparation, as well as private tutoring, to help students improve their scores on college and graduate school admissions tests. The company’s free website, www.PrincetonReview.com, helps over half of university-bound students research, apply to, prepare for, and learn how to pay for their higher education, and helps hundreds of colleges and universities streamline their admissions and recruiting activities. In addition, The Princeton Review works with school districts around the U.S. to measurably strengthen students’ academic skills by connecting ongoing assessment with professional development and instruction and by providing districts with college and career resources for both students and guidance counselors. The Princeton Review also authors more than 190 print and software titles on test preparation; college and graduate school selection and admissions; and related topics. For more information on BBYO, contact Abby Strunk at 202.857.6651 or astrunk@bbyo.org.