STEP Application

Welcome to the STEP College-Prep Program application portal!

Student Qualifications – you must meet all qualifications to apply

·         Sophomore in High School
·         Un-weighted GPA of 3.6 or higher
·         Currently taking multiple Honors classes and on track to take AP/IB next year
·         Low income household (qualify or close to qualifying for free/reduced lunch)
·         First generation to college -Neither parent has a 4-year degree (Bachelor’s or higher)

A Complete Application includes:

Part ONE: Student portion - Student submits through this application portal

· Application and essay responses
· Recommender names and emails (we require TWO recommendations, from teachers in core subjects) Students input teacher names and emails into the application and STEP will send teachers an online form to complete.

Part TWO: Supporting documents – STEP will reach out to high school counselors to college these documents on all applicants.

·         Transcript
·         Current progress report
·         Final semester grades for sophomore fall semester

Application tips

·         We strongly recommend you use a computer (not a phone or tablet) to complete this application
·         Use the ‘next’ and ‘previous’ buttons to move through this application
·         SAVE your progress and return later, don’t try and do it in one sitting
·         Answer all questions
·         SPEND TIME and write quality essay responses, they are a majority of your application
·         Craft and edit your essays outside this application then paste in final versions
·         ~~Proofred~~, ~~Proofreeed~~, PROOFREAD your essays!

APPLICATION DUE DATE: November 14, 2023 (by 11:59pm)

Email us at step@stepexpedition.org if you have questions about this application

Page 2

Applicant (Student) Information

First Name

Middle Name

Last Name

Preferred name (optional)

Date of Birth

Please enter date in MM/DD/YYYY format

Gender

How do you identify?

T-Shirt Size

Current Street Address

Current City

Current State

Current Zip Code

Which city are you applying to?

Phoenix includes all locations near or in the larger Phoenix metropolitan area - includes Tolleson, Chandler, Glendale etc. Tuscon includes all locations near or in the larger Tucson metropolitan area - includes Rio Rico, Marana, Vail etc.

We need ways to contact you directly! Please enter your student cell phone number (if you have one) and your personal email.

Do you have a personal (student) cell phone?

Student Cell Number

Next Best Phone

Type of Phone (next best)

Email Address

STEP will primarily use email to correspond with students. Provide us with a PERSONAL email that is checked REGULARLY.

Do you have reliable internet access at home?

How often do you check your email?

On what devices do you check your email?

We will be emailing our final decision on your application by the end of January or first week of February. We may also be contacting you via email for an interview. Please check your email regularly during this time including your spam and promotions folders.

Page 3

Family Information

Have any family members participated in STEP previously?

YesNo

Family Members

Please enter family members who have participated in STEP and their relationship to you.

Name

Relationship to you

Other Relationship

Parent Information

We need to collect info on both biological parents – please fill this out as completely as you can.

Student primarily resides with

Who do you reside with?

Mother Information

Please mark which option applies

I have access to informationDeceasedI do not have access to any information

Mother Name

Highest Level of Education

Best Phone

Cell Phone?

Second Best Phone

Cell Phone?

Email

Employer

Please give name of company or, if applicable, record unemployed, self-employed, stay-at-home mom, etc.

Occupation

Please give job title or short description of type of work.

Primary Language

English Speaking Ability

Father Information

Please mark which option applies

I have access to informationDeceasedI do not have access to this information

Father Name

Highest Level of Education

Best Phone

Cell Phone?

Second Phone

Cell Phone?

Email

Employer

Please give name of company or, if applicable, record unemployed, self-employed, stay-at-home mom, etc.

Occupation

Please give job title or short description of type of work.

Primary Language

English Speaking Ability

Guardian Information

Guardian Name

Relationship to You

Highest Level of Education

Best Phone

Cell Phone?

Second Phone

Cell Phone?

Email

Employer

Please give name of company or, if applicable, record unemployed, self-employed, stay-at-home mom, etc.

Occupation

Please give job title or short description of type of work.

Primary Language

English Speaking Ability

Parent/Guardian Education

Has either parent graduated from 4-year college/university?

Who has graduated from a 4-year college/university?

Please list all degrees obtained

Bachelors, Masters, PhD, MD, JD, etc.

University/college(s) where degree(s) obtained:

Additional English Speaking Adult Contact

Name

Relationship to Student

Best Phone

Email

Who is the best adult to contact?

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Income and Ethnicity Information

Combined yearly income of your biological mom and dad

If both parents work, please add both incomes together to come up with the total, even if your parents are separated.

Total number of people supported by this income (include yourself)

Are you currently on free or reduced lunch?

Citizenship

Country of Origin

Do you have DACA?

We keep all information you provide us regarding your citizenship confidential. We use information collected regarding citizenship for the sole purpose of being able to answer your questions, advise you on college ooptions, and help you and your parents through the financial aid process. We do not share this information with any third party.

Ethnicity

Hold the control key to select multiple ethnicities.

Other Ethnicity

Please tell us your specific ethnic group (e.g. Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, etc.)

Education and Academic Information (Student)

Name of High School

Other High School

Grade Level

This will flag you as not eligible if you enter grade 9 or 11.

Did you attend an outreach presentation?

How did you hear about STEP?

School Counselor First Name

School Counselor Last Name

School Counselor Email

School Counselor Phone

Do you grant permission to your high school counselor to share your grades & transcript?

This is required in order to apply to STEP

IMPORTANT

Granting access to your grades is required in order to apply to STEP. If permission is not granted, then your application will be incomplete and your application will not be considered for the STEP program.

Please mark the level of courses that you are CURRENTLY taking (select all that apply)

Hold the control key to select multiple entires.

Please mark the level of courses that you are planning to take JUNIOR year (select all that apply)

Hold the control key to select multiple entiries.

Do you plan to go directly to a 4-year college/university after high school?

If no, please explain what you plan to do after high school.

Are you considering enlisting in the military right after high school?

My ultimate goal is to graduate from:

We REQUIRE TWO recommendations. These should be from two of your high school teachers in CORE SUBJECTS (English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Foreign Language).

You can identify up to 2 additional recommenders, but this is not required.

Recommender 1

What core subject does this recommender teach?

Recommender 1 First Name

Recommender 1 Last Name

Recommender 1 Email

Recommender 2

What core subject does this recommender teach?

Recommender 2 First Name

Recommender 2 Last Name

Recommender 2 Email

Do you want to add additional recommendations?

Two recommendations are required. Any additional recommendations are optional

Additional Recommendations

Recommender First Name

Recommender Last Name

Recommender Email

Recommender Type

We highly recommend that you STOP and SAVE before continuing with the application.

Click "Save my progress and resume later" below. This will take you to a screen where you'll need to enter your e-mail address and a password for this application and then click on "SAVE". (Please record your password in a safe place so you can retrieve it if you forget.) From there you can continue filling out the application or log out and return later.

Remember to save frequently as you continue working on your application. Click on "Save my progress and resume later" below.

Page 5

Essay Questions

Your responses to these questions are the core of your application. Please provide a well thought out and well developed response to each question.

Please double check your answers for grammar and spelling.

We suggest that you construct your essays in a word processing program (Microsoft Word/Google Drive etc.) and cut and paste them into the available spaces below.

Why are you interested in STEP’s College-Prep Program? What do you hope to gain by participating in STEP?

What are your personal strengths? What are your personal challenges?

Describe an event or experience in your life that has caused you to think in new ways. How were you impacted by this event or experience?

Describe a person who has had a positive impact on your life and explain how.

What career or careers are you interested in at this time and why?

Our program introduces students to top colleges around the country that will provide full scholarships to cover the cost of college. Does the idea of attending a top college outside of Arizona excite you? Please explain why or why not.

Please tell us any additional information you would like us to know.

Extracurricular Activities and Family Responsibilities

Below please provide-

• Your extracurricular activities and the average number of hours per week you spend on each activity. Please include ALL activities that take up your time outside of class, including sibling/family care-giving, translation for family members, work, clubs, sports, band, choir, volunteering. Provide any details needed for clarity.

• All leadership positions you've held in the last two years (both in school and outside of school). Give time frame for each (e.g. half of my freshman year).

I am involved in at least one activity outside of class.

YesNo

Activities

Activity Name

Hours per Week

Please provide a short description of the activity.

Start Date

Enter month/day/year or month/year

End Date

If this activity is ongoing please enter 'ongoing', otherwise enter the month/day/year or month/year.

Held Leadership Position?

YesNo

Leadership Title

Details - if this is an activity that you are passionate about or extremely involved in, please provide additional details

Please explain what you do in your time outside of class.

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I hereby certify that all of the information provided in this application is true.

NOTE: Both a student and parent (legal guardian) electronic (typed) signature are required below

Signature of Applicant

Date

Signature of Parent/Legal Guardian

Date

In order to submit your application, complete these FOUR steps:

Hit the Review button below
Review the entire next page
If you need to edit, click Make a Correction at the bottom of the page.
Once no other edits are needed, then click Confirm at the bottom.

Your application will not be submitted unless you hit CONFIRM on the next page.
You will receive an email if you have successfully submitted your application. If you DO NOT recieve that email, your application has not been successfully submitted.