College Bound

College Bound at YWLA exists to help every student determine their strengths, goals and aspirations through a college going culture. We serve all student in grades 6-12 and strive to eliminate barriers and create opportunities . Middle school students are introduced to study skills, career interest and receive college prep instruction quarterly during Advisory.  When students enter ninth grade they begin deeper college and career exploration, the important factors affecting college admission and develop connections. They will create a College Board account and take their first AP exam. In their Sophomore year students, students receive enhanced preparation for SAT and ACT, begin to develop future goals, and begin researching colleges. As a Junior, students will learn the college admission process through onsite campus rep visits, build a college list, and begin the application process. Seniors have full service college advising to assist with every aspect of college admission including college list focus, application assistance, essay review, fee waivers as needed and scholarship tutorials. Parents and students are required to meet with the College Advisor at the onset of the application process to determine the best college matches for the student. 

Every year, students in every grade level visit a college, going farther away each year. By the time they are sophomores they begin overnight visits with multiple colleges. This experiential learning allows students to determine what type of college they may be interested in. what size fits them best and different resources that may be available.

Students begin taking the PSAT in 6th grade as a college preparation component, All high school students at YWLA take Pre-AP and AP courses, University of Texas OnRamps courses. They can also choose courses endorsements in Engineering, Biomedical Science and Fine Arts courses.

Character and leadership crosses all academic instruction. At YWLA, every student is required to complete volunteer service hours every year and must have 65 before they graduate, although most students have around 100 hours.

There are currently 31 AP Scholars who have earned at least a 3 on 3 or more AP exams, 3 Scholars with Honor who have scored an average of 3.5 on four or more exams and 14 Scholars with Distinction who have an average of 3.5 on five or more exams.

The Class of 2025 received $5,039,568 in scholarships for the thirty graduates. Our scholars received the prestigious Terry Foundation Scholarships, Texas Leadership Scholarship, Lopez Endowed Scholarship as well as college specific Trustee and Presidential Merit Awards. Students have been accepted into many prestigious universities like John Hopkins, University of Texas, Georgetown University, TCU, Rice and Embry Riddle University. Students have matriculated to Stanford University, the University of Miami, Baylor, Texas A&M University, College Station, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Alabama, Oklahoma State, Austin College, Texas Tech, UTSA and more. Many students are enjoying Honors College benefits at their chosen university. The class of 2025 scored a 3 or higher on 186 AP exams equating to 720 college hours based on a score of a 3 from a Texas public college. Several students are graduating college core complete.

YWLA_School_Profile_Document_9.pdf

YWLA_Graduation_Regalia_Cord_Criteria_25-26.pdf

College_Bound_Newsletter_1.pdf