Current AIM parents and students had a chance to hear what school after AIM Academy is really like from college students themselves during AIM's Alumni College Panel on January 6th.

The six AIM alum panelists included college freshmen, sophomores and AIM's first college graduate. The young adults represented urban schools like Temple University, Philadelphia University and New York City's Pratt Institute as well as small liberal arts colleges like Elizabethtown College and Guilford College. Despite their varied academic interests, each of the panelists credited AIM with providing them the confidence and support needed to succeed in college and they all agreed that keeping a detailed planner or calendar was key to staying organized.

"I learned to be an advocate for myself," said Maria Santangelo, a sophomore at Philadelphia University, of her high school experience at AIM. Santangelo, who is enrolled in a 5-year degree program to receive her undergraduate degree in psychology and a master's degree in occupational therapy, credited the dual enrollment course she took at Cabrini College and her honors English class which was structured to be partially online like many of today's college courses with helping her know what to expect in the college setting.

Jon Fuiman, a member of AIM's first senior class and one of the first participants in the dual-enrollment program required for AIM seniors, echoed Santangelo explaining because of his dual-enrollment experience at Cabrini he was already familiar with the process of seeking accommodations once he got to Elizabethtown College.

"Providing AIM students the opportunity to experience college course work and a college environment first-hand with AIM teachers on hand to provide support is one of the best ways we've found to truly prepare them for school after AIM," said College and Career Counselor Mike Dunn.

Next year's dual-enrollment opportunities for AIM seniors will expand with select opportunities for students focused on the media and dramatic arts to study at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and students devoted to entrepreneurship to take classes at Drexel University's Close School of Entrepreneurship, the country's first degree-granting school of its kind.

The current college acceptance list for AIM's 15-member Class of 2017 is already 34 schools long and includes institutions such as Fairfield University, University of South Carolina, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Baylor University.