The Western New York Chapter of the AMEDF welcomes you.

Please look at the list of workshops and programs available to help you and your student better prepare for the college challenge,   Along with these workshops, our trained advisors are conveniently located throughout Western New York in order to best service you.  Please see a list of their names at the bottom of this page.  Feel free to contact our chapter by email or phone with any questions or comments you may have.  We look forward to making your transition to college as smooth as possible. 

  Workshops

Getting Started:  Families begin their college planning journey with the “Basics of College Planning” workshop, a two-session program for parents of high school students that provides a comprehensive overview of how to better prepare for college.  This introductory component of the AMEDF Scholars Methodology provides a detailed overview of the particulars of preparing for college success and highlights major pitfalls to avoid that could greatly increase the odds of college failure.  Topics covered in this component include college admissions, admissions tests (PSAT, SAT, ACT and others); career profiling, college majors; need and non-need based aid including grants, scholarships and self-help; tax benefits for higher education, unique college financing programs from federal and state sources; year-by-year planning steps and other important topics.  The second component of this workshop is a one-on-one counseling session to determine aid eligibility and assessment of the student’s college readiness.  For upcoming dates of the “Basics of College Planning” workshop, click here…

Additional Workshops:  Next up in the AMEDF Scholars Methodology are a series of workshops on the specifics of career selection, college choices, college aid and college financial planning taught by seasoned instructors and professional advisers.  In select chapter areas, additional workshops are fully subsidized and free of charge to the public.  For upcomingworkshop dates, please click here…

   Scholars Methodology™

AMEDF SCHOLARS METHODOLOGY:  Everything You Need to Better Prepare for College

College attrition in the US has reached alarming levels with more than 80% of 9th graders failing to achieve college graduation in a reasonable timeframe.  Even less are actually employed in their field of study, with more than one in four recent college graduates working in jobs that do not even require a college degree!

The good news is there are actions you can take while your student is still in high school to dramatically improve the odds of achieving college success.  The American Education Foundation has incorporated this into the “AMEDF Scholars Methodology,” a comprehensive program that provides everything needed to help families better prepare for college.

The AMEDF Scholars methodology incorporates multiple formats including workshops, self-study, internet-based research, and one-on-one counseling to accommodate a wide range of learning style preferences.  The methodology aims to improve college readiness through a focus on academic preparation, career preparation, and financial preparation.  Families learn how to identify colleges that are uniquely suited to the student’s academic, career, and the family's financial profile to maximize probability of college success.

All components of the AMEDF Scholars Methodology are subsidized from 70% to 100% based on a participant’s income, and provide affordable alternatives to commercial services.  Families seeking resources to better prepare for college can enroll in any or all of the methodology components suitable for their needs. 

Families interested in enrolling in the components of the AMEDF Scholars Methodology should complete an enrollment request (click here).  Once your request is received, you will be notified of upcoming program components as well as how to access and download various resource and refewrence guides used in the Scholars Methodology.

The components of the Scholars Methodology include:

Getting Started

Additional Workshops

One-on-One Counseling

Financial Preparation

Self-Study Curriculum

Enrollment Request Form

  Individual Counseling and Help for the Recently Unemployed

Special subsidies for counseling sessions are now available in WNY!

The American Education Foundation has obtained special funding for additional one-on-one college counseling sessions in WNY.  This special funding is in response to the current economic crisis that has made paying college costs much harder for many families, especially for households affected by job loss.  This program is available only to families in the Western NY chapter area.

Families with high school students can reserve up to 5 hours of private counseling sessions under this special subsidy and requests will be granted on a reservation basis.  Preference will be granted to families with current high school juniors, seniors and college students who have participated in one or more AMEDF programs.  Requests for subsidized counseling will be granted until all of the funding is exhausted.  Subsidies for counseling sessions are available at 70%, 85%, and 100% levels based on family income and employment status.  Workshops are 100% subsidized and free to the public. 

Funding is also being made available for a new workshop entitled, "College Costs and the Dislocated Worker" to help unemployed and under-employed parents utilize new aid provisions for college. This session is free to the public, but seating is limited.  In addition to the currently scheduled session, future sessions may be offered based on need.  Check for program dates in the WNY Workshop Dates section of this page.

More information about both of these programs.