Ignite Education

FAQ

You’ve got questions.
We have answers.

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How are you different than what my university offers?

We will always encourage you to take advantage of your college’s resources. Feeling connected to your campus community is a strong indicator of academic success.

 

So, let’s break down how we are different than free/included services at your university: 

We develop the whole person.

Together we work on academic, career, and life skills. Because we work so closely with our students, we are able to clearly understand their goals and help them create a personalized plan. Unlike your academic advisor, who you maybe see once a semester/year, we meet multiple times throughout the semester. 

Regular check-ins hold you accountable, and when things don’t go according to plan, we’re here to help.

This is the biggest perk. Employees at universities change frequently. Here’s a real life example:

 

Sarah was an academic advisor for 10 years. During that time she hired and trained 9 advisors for 3 positions, worked with 7 different school directors, was supervised by 8 different college deans, and served under 4 university presidents. The only consistency was the level of attention to detail and care she gave her students.

 

We get it. Change happens. And each time someone new steps in, you need to reset that relationship and explain your unique situation. And if you or the university didn’t keep detailed notes, the transition is rocky at best.  

 

We’re in it for the long haul. And just in case someone wins the lottery and walks away, we keep meticulous notes. 🙂 We’re here for you.

The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) recommends a 1 advisor to 300 student caseload. In practice many college academic advisors have much larger caseloads with some overseeing 600 – 800 students! 

Ignite Education keeps mentoring caseloads tiny: 1 mentor to no more than 30 students. Sessions are 1 to 1, so you never have to fight to have your voice heard in a group advising session

There’s no large lecture hall here. Our class sizes stay at or below a 1 faculty member to 20 student ratio. We care about our students and get to know every single one.

No. We do not advise students on choosing a college or on their college application. We always recommend starting with your high school counselor.

No. We don’t do that either. We believe strongly in checking with your college and university to see what tutoring services they offer.

We’re so glad you asked. Here at Ignite Education we specialize in you. We work with you to develop a personalized college success roadmap allowing you to thrive in college and beyond. Colleges often silo their services. You may have an academic advisor, career counselor, faculty mentor, a resident assistant, a peer mentor, and dean of students. We bring all of those resources under one roof.

It’s a college plan that goes beyond academics. For example: 

 

  • If you want to study abroad, we find a program that fits your needs.

  • If you are looking for a mentor on campus who will champion your success, we help you find the right person. Keep in mind, we will always champion your success, but it’s important to have a network of champions. 🙂

  • Experiencing conflict with a roommate or can’t understand a faculty member? We help you navigate those difficult conversations. 

  • Love albino squirrels, but don’t know another student who does? We work with you to navigate campus resources to find an organization or start one that fits your particular interest.

Do you see where we’re going here? We help students plan and troubleshoot their entire college experience. With decades of experience working as faculty, academic advisors, student affairs professionals, and international program directors, we understand universities.

 

Our super power has always been identifying and removing barriers to student success. Ignite Education was founded to make college planning more intentional, with a focus on holistic development.

The personalized success roadmap helps you plan and identify issues early on. We’re here to help you problem solve when things get hard. We do this by drawing on our higher education expertise and network of current university professionals to help you stay on track.

We offer a range of services. Let’s break them down.

1:1 Mentoring:

1:1 Mentoring: Our mentoring is 50% set curriculum and 50% flexibility when it comes to managing students’ short and long-term goals.

 

Each meeting has a similar flow: update, new information, troubleshooting issues, and next steps. Students and mentors meet at least 14 times throughout the school year. Each session lasts up to 45 minutes. 

Mentoring is helpful for students who had a strong support system in high school. 

If your family was heavily involved in your high school experience, you worked with tutors, coaches, or a college admissions counselor, or you’re simply nervous about the college transition, this program is a great fit. 

Students who were well supported in high school are often shocked by the lack of hands-on support in college.

Investment: This is our premier service. ($$$)

 

This service is for students who like DIYing their experience but need an outline and instructions to follow. This course is that outline. 

Here we focus on topics ranging from study skills to university resources and major/career exploration. In class we come together to answer questions, provide insider knowledge, and give support.This course does not give you college credit, but the skills you learn here will help you throughout college and beyond. Investment: ($$)

The webinars cover a variety of topics. Anyone interested in that topic or struggling in that area should attend.

Investment: ($)

 
Take our quick quiz to see what service is best for you.

Sometimes.

We value building relationships with our students. The problems we work through usually take more than 1 meeting. It takes time to understand the scope of the problem and find the right solution. We’re always happy to see if we can help.

If you’re interested in meeting, fill out this interest form.

Group of diverse students laughing and holding books in a library environment.