We provide honest, supportive and experienced perspective to each student's school search.

Spring 2024 SAT/ACT Prep Sessions

REGISTER HERE for SAT Prep!

We're planning an SAT Prep session for Sunday, April 7 2024 from noon to 3 PM at our Boise office at 5248 West Overland Road. Cost is $125 and full need-based scholarships are available- inquire when you register.  Our instructor is Andrew Wilburn; he'll be covering  SAT Tips and Tricks, as well as topics specific to the new Digital Adaptive SAT. This class is limited to 20 students.

Summer 2024 Essay Boot Camp Dates

REGISTER HERE for Summer Essay Camp!

Juniors!
College application season is right around the corner, and where to begin? Know you’ll be writing essays? Stuck for ways to tackle the dreaded Personal Statement? Searching for how to tell your story in a fresh, compelling way? Wondering if there is a magic formula so a college will say YES?
Join our Summer 2024 Essay Boot Camps to get a jump-start on your college application essays. We'll teach you some tools for success. We'll keep you engaged. You'll learn some things about yourself along the way. And, yes, there will be snacks.
Register for a workshop on a date that works for you. Grab your future by the horns and sign up now to write with us!

Essay Boot Camp: The Main Essay & How to Tackle It
In this workshop, we’ll look at the Common Application prompts and how to unpack them. You’ll learn effective brainstorm techniques, ways to draft stories of your experiences so they’re genuine and engaging, and look at sample essays that worked. We’ll also discuss the role of supplemental essays, how AI will inform the way colleges will consider your writing, and why it’s important to consider the holistic nature of your whole application.
Camps are held at our Boise (Our offices: 5248 West Overland Road, next door to Hillcrest Library.) Class size is limited to 20 students.

Cost of this camp is included if you're a package client of one of our advisors. If you need financial assistance to attend camp, please let us know when you register, and we'll contact you to discuss that option: we are committed to making these camps accessible to ALL students.
Essay Camp without additional editing sessions is $150
Class size will be capped at 20 students per session. Contact us at info@stepaheadidaho.org if you have questions.

Tuesday May 28 Noon to 3:30 PM in Boise (this date is full!)

Thursday May 30 Noon to 3:30 PM in Boise  (13 seats left)

Monday June 3  Noon to 3:30 PM in Boise  (10 seats left)

Wednesday June 5 Noon to 3:30 PM in Boise  (13 seats left)

Summer Essay Camp dates will be available in McCall and Ketchum as well; please fill out a registration form so that we can contact you to determine dates that will work for you.

August 2024 Common Application Camps 

REGISTER HERE for Common Application Camp

Bring your laptop to this FREE interactive workshop: you can start or continue working on you Common Application with support from our team of experienced college advisors. We'll spend the first half of the session walking through some of the sections that cause students the most confusion, and then work with you individually to answer specific question you might have. Class size is limited to 20.

Thursday August 1 Noon to 2 PM

Thursday August 22 6 PM to 8 PM

 

 

Free Virtual Zoom or In Person Meetings

Please limit yourself to one 1/2 hour Drop-in per week so that we can help as many families as possible!

Two locations:   Hillcrest Library Office at 5248 Overland Road in Boise                             Downtown Boise Y at 1050 West State in the basement

  • Sign up for Zoom  or in  person at Hillcrest with Sharon on Mondays from 3:00 to 6:00 CLICK HERE
  • Sign up for Zoom  or in  person at Hillcrest with Laura on Tuesdays from 3:00 to 5:30 CLICK HERE
  • Sign up for Zoom with Tamar on Wednesdays from 8:00 PM to 10:30 PM CLICK HERE
  • Sign up for Zoom with Sue on Thursday from 3:00-6:00 CLICK HERE
  • Sign up for Zoom with Lindsey on Thursdays from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM CLICK HERE
  • The Downtown Boise Y Drop-In Center will be OPEN for the the 2023-24 school year on Wednesdays from 3-5 PM

And here's how to connect if you can't come to a Zoom Drop-In, or want to schedule a meeting outside of the above sessions:

  • Send us an email at info@stepaheadidaho.org
  •  Include:
    •  Your full name, year in school, and where you attend
    • What you need help with: a specific question, essay help, Common App, understanding SAT/ACT scores, financial aid information, how our services work
    • Step Ahead Idaho is a non-profit 501(c)(3); as such, we provide free and sliding scale services to qualified students, and offer no cost access to our drop-in services to all students, regardless of ability to pay.

 

Welcome To Step Ahead Idaho

Our Mission

step ahead idaho further educationDetermining the next step after high school is one of the most important decisions a student will make. There is a wealth of opportunities available—college, university, community college, trade school—but navigating the maze of applications, testing, and financial aid can seem overwhelming to both students and parents.

At Step Ahead Idaho, we recognize that no two students are the same, and we provide tailored counseling to meet the needs of each individual client. We provide honest, supportive and experienced perspective to each student's school search.

Our mission is to help each student:

  • discover his or her own interests and strengths to find the "best fit" schools.
  • sort through and organize each step of the planning and application process in a timely manner.
  • put his or her "best foot forward" to maximize acceptance to the school of choice.

Gifts

We gratefully acknowledge generous grants from:

  • The Mitchell Foundation
  •  Idaho Women's Charitable Foundation
  • The Robert Waller Foundation
  • Bev and George Harad
  • The Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation
  • US Bank Foundation  
  • The Perkins Foundation