Updated October, 2009

An Open Letter

Thank you for your interest in OfficialCityPrep's Next Ivy League Tour, March 28-April 3, 2010!

OfficialCityPrep™ is a nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation started by Garen Wolff, a Detroit Country Day lifer, while a sophomore in high school. Our mission is to help middle school girls (and boys) negotiate the sometimes stressful social and academic situations which are a part of adolescence. We do this by exposing them to the A.M.E.S™ Curriculum (designed by the founder) and pairing them with high school girls and boys for academic and social mentoring.

Since our inception in 2001, (please visit our web site at: http://www.CityPrepOnline.com) we've observed that the most competitive high school students gained their edge in middle school. It is there that they honed their study skills, tried their hand at campus politics, competed in athletics, experimented with science, and refined their music, art, language and writing skills. Most importantly it’s there, that they start to dream about college. We feel that, if they’re exposed to different colleges in middle school they will be more focused in high school.

In high school students expand their knowledge of math, science, history, English, foreign languages, and the arts, but they also begin to prepare for the challenge of getting into the college of their choice. They find, that they must maintain a competitive grade point average while balancing honors, AP, and IB courses. Throughout their high school experience, they fill their transcripts with the clubs, community service activities and experiences that interest them and are also valued by their prospective institutions. Touring college campuses in high school, helps them to define their college choices, and provides them with an opportunity to see firsthand the college/universities they’ve only read about.

When Garen started the Ivy League tour she was a junior at Wellesley College. Today she is alumnae. She graduated in 2007 with a B.A. in Neuroscience. As you go through the web site you'll notice that Wellesley has featured her for the past three years in their college view book. Guess what they’ve highlighted? (www.wellesley.edu/admission/pdf/VB45-54.pdf). So, when she asked if CityPrep could visit the campus and use it as home base for a tour of select Ivy League colleges they said, “YES!!!!” Our 2006 Wellesley Sleepover and Ivy Tour were so successful that we decided to offer it again in 2007and open it to boys. The 2ndand 3rd Ivy League College Tour photos are online and shows the tours tremendous success and fun! The 2010 Tour has been designed to be bigger and better and scheduled for March 28-April 3, 2009!!!

When we passed this information on to Garen's alma mater, DCDS, they were thrilled and wanted it opened to their students. Now you have it; the history and momentum behind the tour. It was designed for girls in the CityPrepProgram and their high school mentors. We’ve opened it to students at DCDS, Cranbrook, Liggett, and select public, private, middle, and high schools.

We’re overwhelmed by the response to the tour! Parents like the idea that they’re included. This is an excellent time to bond with each other as girls/boys start to separate into adulthood and living away from home. The tour is priced to encourage moms/dads to participate. Plus, they’ll be helpful in processing the volume of information presented.

We'd also like you to get to know us as you seriously consider this tour, Listen to the attached PSA produced by the Hitachi Foundation, http://www.hitachifoundation.org/yoshiyama/psa%202004/wolff.html visit our website, but most importantly come out to an information meeting or schedule a presentation for your school. Information meeting are scheduled frequently, call Mrs. Wolff at (313) 874-5827 of jwolffexdir@CityPrepOnline.com for more information.