Hi, Juniors,

I hope you're all having a good Friday the 13th!

I don't think I ever officially explained this BUT during the first two Flex Seminars on seminar day, you will be working with Academic Approach in order to prepare for the SAT in April 2020.

The school pays A LOT of money to provide these resources and this opportunity for you because we want you to do well and be prepared.

We also believe in you.

No joke, college is expensive. The average costs of attending a public university in-state is ~$10,000 per year, public university out-of-state is ~$23,000 per year, and a private university is ~$37,000 per year. Colleges might offer scholarships and money but usually to students with higher GPA's and SAT's. Michigan State University (public university out-of-state), for example, gives $5,000 to kids with a 3.1 GPA and 1030 SAT....but gives $10,000 to kids with a 3.7 GPA and 1200 SAT....but gives $15,000 to kids with a 4.0 GPA and 1260 SAT. Lake Forest College (private), for example, gives $23,000 to kids with a 3.0 GPA and 1040 SAT....but gives $28,000 to kids with a 3.75 GPA and 1330 SAT. We at Brooks believe in you. We believe in your ability to succeed at high levels. We believe in your ability to bring about the change that's very much needed in our communities. We believe that the change starts with you because each and every one of you is exceptionally talented and smart.

I see kids like Josue Guzman be a leader on the soccer field yesterday against Kenwood Academy.

I see kids like Skylah Saffold constantly representing Brooks and the student voice at PSAC meetings or on the volleyball court.

I see kids like Kayla Aguilar take charge of getting the word out about the Junior t-shirt vote (google classroom code: hamm6f0).

We know you are all absolutely amazing so we want the rest of Chicago and the world to know what we know and to see what we see. We also want colleges to know that. So, we have about 8 months to prepare for the SAT and get grades up!

Alex Kmicikewycz