Joyce Ivy Foundation Hosts Ninth Annual College Admissions Symposium, Announces New Location

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, February 20, 2020 — The Joyce Ivy Foundation will hold the ninth annual Joyce Ivy College Admissions Symposium (JCAS) on May 15-16 in Detroit, Michigan. Participation will be free of charge for school counselors, community-based organization leaders, and female high school students and their families due to the support of the Joyce Ivy Foundation and its donors. Advance registration is required.

The two-day program will feature interactive college admissions and financial aid workshops designed for education professionals, students, and families. Sessions on Friday, May 15 will be offered for high school counselors and community-based organization leaders to learn about highly selective admissions, need-based financial aid, and to share best practices in a collaborative setting. Sessions on Saturday, May 16, are designed to help talented female high school students and their families learn more about admission to highly selective colleges and the process of applying for financial aid.

“2020 is an especially exciting year, as it marks our ninth JCAS and 15th anniversary of the Joyce Ivy Foundation,” said Allison Jegla, Joyce Ivy Vice President for Program Development and 2020 JCAS Director. “As we plan for this year’s Symposium, we aim to honor our guiding goals while bringing a fresh and innovative spin to JCAS 2020. We hope that the result will be a set of events that appeals to those who have been with us for most of the past decade, as well as participants who are less familiar with the Joyce Ivy Foundation or the topics of highly selective admissions and financial aid.”

Symposium workshops will be led by admissions and financial aid officers from a sampling of the country’s most selective colleges and universities, including Amherst, Princeton, the University of Chicago, Wellesley, and Yale.

For the first time, both days of programming will be held in Detroit, at Wayne County Community College District’s Downtown Campus. “We hope that moving JCAS to Detroit this year will allow us to reach a wider audience than ever before,” remarked Jegla. “We are incredibly grateful for the support of WCCCD in providing an event space that is so centrally located and will reduce logistical barriers for many of our participants.”

As a high school sophomore new to the world of college admissions, the insight given to me at JCAS provided the confidence I needed to face the journey head on,” said Eva McCord, JCAS participant and 2019 Joyce Ivy Summer Scholar. “JCAS was where I was first introduced to the idea of ‘fit,’ and JCAS helped me to realize that my happiness at a school was just as important as a fancy name or daunting admission rate. And now, as I approach my final summer before I start my college applications, I am constantly reminded of how JCAS emphasized the importance of finding not only what college is best for me, but what community I am most excited to be a part of and where my contributions will be valued most.”​

Counselors and community-based organization leaders interested in attending JCAS on Friday, May 15, and female high school students interested in attending the program on Saturday, May 16, may register on the Joyce Ivy Foundation website at https://www.joyceivyfoundation.org/spring-college-admissions-symposium.html. Capacity is limited, and early registration is encouraged.