Creatively College Bound is a program designed by Urban Word NYC that is geared towards high school juniors and seniors who want their creative critical voice to soar over the tedium of the college application process. Poetry, spoken word, and hip-hop are used as inspirations and the creative foundation for the college admissions and college preparatory process.

The Creatively College Bound Reader is the text, created by Erica Miriam Fabri, used to lead the program's writing workshop. It is a step -by-step guide to writing creative and powerful essays that put both the "Brains" and the "Poetry" into the voice of the college applicant. Hip-Hop lyrics, powerful poems and visual arts are used as starting points for writing exercises that will be reworked into essays that meet and surpass the expectations of the admissions essay-prompts. The reader also contains calendars to manage admission and scholarship deadlines, advice on the interview process, guides for writing resumes and CV's, finished samples and instructions for financial aid procedures. The Reader is a thorough outline of the ways students can use Hip-Hop, poetry and art to inspire the contents of their college portfolio and to make themselves a more outstanding candidate for admission.

Wordshops:

1. Creatively College Bound: The signature writing / college prep workshop covers every step of the college admission process. The focus is on writing four powerful and creative essays that can serve as personal statements, admission essays and answers to prompts for scholarships and application. The course also includes a vigorous scholarship search and various other components of the process such as obtaining fees waivers, collecting letters of recommendation, creating CV’s and more.
2. Next Level Lit: In this seminar, students examine the works of poets who's words are beyond the boundaries of the typical high school textbook and discuss the lives of writers who have used their craft to make inspirational movements and changes in society. Next Level Lit is the follow-up course for Creatively College Bound and open to all teens ages 13-19.
3. Poetic / Hip-Hop History: This course examines historical events through the stories told in poems and contemporary rap lyrics. For each social, political and historical event studied, a work of poetry or sampling of hip-hop lyrics that deal with the issue are examined. Students and mentors interact in open discussions of how artists and writers are inspired by the current and past events of our world.

The “Reason I Write” Scholarship Contest: Participants who qualify as high school seniors are eligible to apply for the "Reason I Write" Essay Competition. Two winners will receive a full scholarship to either the University of Wisconsin’s First Wave Program or Mercy College, courtesy of the schools.

1. University of Wisconsin / First Wave: The First Wave Spoken Word and Urban Arts Learning Community is a cutting-edge multicultural artistic program for incoming students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Bringing together young artists and leaders from across the U.S., the First Wave offers students the opportunity to live, study, and create together in a close-knit, dynamic campus community. Administered by the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI), the First Wave Learning Community is the first university program in the country centered on spoken word and hip-hop culture.
2. Mercy College: Mercy College is a New York metropolitan area college of over 9,000 students from all walks of life studying at 5 campuses and a robust online campus. The main campus is in Dobbs Ferry, and branch campuses are in the Bronx, Manhattan, White Plains and Yorktown. In addition, Mercy operates access centers in several neighborhoods in Westchester County and New York City. The mission - to make available the transformational power of a postsecondary education to people who would not otherwise have the opportunity -- has remained strong through all the growth and change.

The Urban Word NYC / New York Knicks College Fair: Each year Urban Word NYC and the New York Knicks partner to organize a The OPEN AUDITION and COLLEGE EXPO. The expo will present over 50 colleges, universities and community organizations, ranging from CUNY and SUNY schools to historically black colleges. Join Urban Word NYC and the NY Knicks for a day of FREE college recourses, live entertainment and a chance to win over $100,000 in scholarship money. Come to watch, or come to spit– the open audition is the first step in the Knicks Poetry Slam series that offers scholarships, workshops, prizes and performance opportunities. All teen poets, emcees, singers and spoken word artists are encouraged to come perform a one-minute poem/rap/song for a chance to compete in the slam!

For more information, and to arrange a Creatively College Bound program at your school or site contact: Erica@urbanwordnyc.org