This school year, Jan Spivak, the new CAP advisor, introduced a college admissions system, SCOIR, to students and faculty. Now, Spivak has found herself with a new goal apart from getting to know the community: familiarizing the students with the new site.

SCOIR (pronounced “score”) is a college platform that allows students to research colleges and request the transcripts and forms needed for their college applications, like recommendation letters and counselor reports. It was introduced by the College Assistance Program of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. 

In its “Return SMART Reopen SAFE” plan, the county laid out the reasons for the addition of SCOIR. 

“This tool is accessible to all high school students and their parents. SCOIR allows students to complete college searches, take virtual college tours, participate in career planning surveys and receive important communication from their counselor and college advisor,” the plan read. 

Still, since school is now mixed between in-person and online students, it is difficult for information on this new college platform to reach all students. Spivak has been working hard to get the word out.  

Nevertheless, there is a long way to go. As of Jan. 7, 118 out of 552 seniors have applied to colleges using the SCOIR platform to support their admissions applications. Of those students, 43 have been accepted to college. 

“I am communicating, but it is important that everyone knows what I am doing. In my school website you will find all the resources needed, such as for scholarships, college applications and career information,” Spivak said. “I have a Teams with all the seniors also, and I am typically meeting a different student every hour.”

Robert Roddy, the previous CAP advisor, visited classes and gave college presentations to students in his tenure as a college counselor. When asked whether she would also do this, Spivak said that she has created an easier and more efficient solution. 

“Because of COVID, I can’t have all the students in front of me to lecture. This is why, on my website, you will find a 30-minute video where I go through the whole process: applying, SCOIR, scholarships and more,“ Spivak said. 

SCOIR serves to help make the process easier for both the students and the faculty since they have all the information in one place instead of in different application platforms like Common Application and Coalition Application. Spivak has been working to encourage the students to sign up. 

“Krop will use the SCOIR platform to send official high school documents, including student transcripts, to all colleges that students apply to, Spivak said. “Therefore, all 9-12th-grade students are required to activate their SCOIR accounts.”

Below is all the information you need.

Ms. Spivak’s website:

https://kropseniorhigh.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1289860&type=u

Ms. Spivak college presentation:

https://kropseniorhigh.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1289860&type=u&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=video

SCOIR website:

https://www.scoir.com/