College-planning workshops
College-planning workshops for employees’ families.
Each month, Office Hours hosts two live workshops for enrolled families on rotating college-admissions and financial-aid topics. They give parents and students a shared starting point before one-to-one work, and they are included in the employer-sponsored benefit.
What the workshops cover
Subjects rotate between college admissions and paying for college. Examples of the kinds of topics covered:
- Building a college-planning timeline, grade by grade
- How to approach standardized testing
- Understanding financial aid and the FAFSA
- What colleges look for in an application essay
- Comparing college costs and aid offers
- Planning activities and summers with purpose
Topics are illustrative and change from month to month.
Who they are for
Parents who want to understand the college process before their student is in the middle of it, and students who are starting to plan. Families with a younger student can come early; families in application season get a timely refresher.
How families take part
Enrolled families are told about upcoming live workshops and how to join. Alongside the live sessions, the family’s Office Hours account includes a library of on-demand workshops that can be watched at any time.
Parents can suggest topics for future sessions. Questions that are specific to one student are better answered one-to-one, through a request to an Office Hours counselor.
How workshops fit with one-to-one support
Workshops explain the general landscape. When a family is ready to work on their own student’s college list, essays, or timeline, they continue with college admissions support from an Office Hours counselor, within any allowance their employer’s plan funds.
Common questions
Who can attend?
Parents and students in enrolled families. Workshops are aimed at families with students in middle and high school.
Do families pay to attend?
No. Both monthly workshops are included in the employer-sponsored benefit and do not draw on a family's one-to-one allowance.
How do families hear about upcoming workshops?
Office Hours shares upcoming topics and how to join with enrolled families. Enrolled families can also watch the on-demand workshops in their account at any time.
Can parents choose topics?
Parents can suggest subjects they want covered, and those suggestions help shape future sessions.
What does the employer see?
Aggregate views of the on-demand workshop library. Live sessions run outside the platform and are not included in employer reports, and reports do not name the families who took part.
Include college-planning workshops in your benefits.
Tell us about your workforce and the support you want to include. We'll come back with program options and pricing.