College Access
100% College Acceptance
Program Overview
At Equipo Academy, we have one unifying goal – to empower students to and through the college of their dreams.
Equipo Academy is a college prep public school in East Las Vegas that serves 800+ students in grades 6-12. Our school opened in 2015 and graduated its founding senior class in the spring of 2018 with a 100 percent acceptance rate to four-year colleges. Every member of the founding senior class was a first-generation college student and the majority of students enrolled were the very first in their family to attend college. The classes of 2019 through 2023 also graduated with a 100 percent acceptance rate to four-year colleges, with the majority of students also identifying as first-generation college students.
The mission of Equipo Academy is to empower all students to meet high expectations, excel to and through college, and become transformational leaders within their community. To achieve these goals, Equipo Academy has built a team of loving families, inspirational educators, and hard-working students who share a deep commitment to the Equipo mission.
Our college access program focuses on empowering students to find their best fit college or university after high school. Exploration and self-discovery of passions, interests and strengths begins in middle school, and amplifies in 9th grade in the high school.
Students are chosen by lottery to attend Equipo Academy with no prerequisites for past grades, behavior, or attendance. We ask our students to go above and beyond expectations of most high school students. All high school students complete Advanced Placement coursework as part of their core course sequence. College access work is required in all grades which can include anything from crafting a resume to building a portfolio of exemplar work to applying to scholarships. In senior year, all students take a dedicated class to focus on the college application process.
We encourage families to contact us with any questions and we look forward to working with all of our students and families.
College Access by Grade
Ninth grade is a focused year centered on adjusting to rigorous course expectations while discovering personal interests and passions. 9th-grade students can expect to take at least 4 Pre-AP classes, and will work to build a portfolio of their best work at the end of the year.
We also help students to identify and apply to rigorous scholarships and summer programs. Three students from the Class of 2023 were selected as Caddie Academy finalists, qualifying them to earn the Evans Scholarship.
As 10th grade students further discover their passions and plans for after high school in their courses, we concentrate on preparing students for college through rigorous coursework and a focus on applying to scholarships. As sophomores, students should also continue to explore extracurricular activities both at Equipo and outside of school. We also help students to apply for and participate in summer programs to further their college applications.
In 11th grade, students will dive deeper into advanced and AP coursework in preparation for college academics. Students will spend significant time researching and applying for pre-college summer programs to help them prepare for college and further engage in their passions. Students will also begin the college application process in 11th grade, by crafting their personal statement, creating their college application accounts and securing letters of recommendation.
Equipo hosts a wide variety of college admissions counselors from colleges and universities across the country, and juniors should take advantage of attending these presentations to learn more about what types of colleges and universities they are interested in.
Juniors also need to be focused and prepared to take college entrance exams in the spring of their 11th-grade year.
Students should enter their senior year with the majority of their planning and preparation for college applications completed. All seniors will be enrolled in a Senior Seminar course which will help them complete their college applications, and financial aid requirements. We will also help students tackle some of the intangible topics related to college, like how to tackle the unique challenges faced as a first-generation college student.
Seniors should continue to focus on rigorous academic coursework, and achieving leadership level positions in their extracurricular activities.
