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Beginning of Year FAQs
Jessica Solomon avatar
Written by Jessica Solomon
Updated over a week ago

What does Cialfo do?

Cialfo supports high school students and their counselors throughout the early career exploration and college search and selection process. The platform offers tools and resources to assist students in exploring potential career paths, understanding their strengths and interests, and identifying suitable college options that align with their academic and career goals.

1. For High School Counselors:

  1. College Application Management: Cialfo offers tools for counselors to efficiently manage the college application process for their students. This includes tracking application deadlines, monitoring application progress, and ensuring they submit all required documents.

  2. College Search and Discovery: The platform assists counselors in helping students explore and discover suitable colleges and universities based on their academic achievements, interests, preferences and career aspirations.

  3. Event Management: Cialfo allows counselors to schedule and organize college visits, information sessions, and other events to facilitate student engagement with universities.

  4. Analytics and Reporting: Cialfo provides counselors with analytics and reporting tools to track students' application progress, identify areas for improvement, and assess outcomes.

2. For Students:

  1. Assisting with university search and exploration by offering data on universities, majors, and scholarships.

  2. Facilitating the discovery of courses and majors that best match each student's preferences and strengths.

  3. Offering support through Student Education Advisors (SEAs).

  4. Providing direct apply feature to streamlines the application process for international students

  5. Providing students with faster access to trustworthy and objective information.

  6. The primary goal is to help students get admitted to universities that align with their preferences and provide them with scholarships and necessary support.

3. For Universities:

  1. Offering reporting and insights on High School information to support data-driven decision-making.

  2. Enabling universities to swiftly adapt and respond to emerging trends through efficient processes.

  3. Establishing seamless collaboration between High Schools and Universities.

  4. Strengthening relationships with High School networks on Cialfo, providing engagement support and enhanced user experience.

  5. The primary goal is to serve as an international undergraduate student recruitment platform.


Who are our Users?

1. High School Counselors

Counselors' roles vary based on the high school's curriculum and organizational structure. The academic year typically runs from August to April/May, but some schools follow a different calendar from January to December with breaks in between. Throughout three major seasons, counselors perform different tasks, which are addressed in the tables below concerning Cialfo features. There are three types of school counselors: Career Counselor, Social Emotional Counselor, and Comprehensive Counselor (combining Career and Socio-emotional support).

Their main objective is to prioritize their students' welfare and success, particularly in the college application process, ensuring they secure admission to the most suitable university after high school graduation.

  1. Career/University Counselors primarily assist students in defining their career objectives and devising the most effective path to achieve them, including identifying universities that align with the student's aspirations, preferences, and financial considerations.

  2. Social Emotional Counselors concentrate on providing support for students' social and emotional needs, which involves fostering self-awareness and enhancing interpersonal skills.

  3. Comprehensive Counselors offer comprehensive support by addressing both students' career/university-related needs and their social and emotional well-being.

2. High School Teachers

High School Teachers, also known as subject teachers (e.g., English, Math, etc.), are responsible for teaching specific subjects to students. In smaller high schools, some teachers may also take on the role of counselors in addition to their teaching duties.

3. High School Students

The students on Cialfo typically range from Grade 8 until Grade 12 (freshmen till senior year).

4. High School Guardians/Parents

These are the guardians and parents of students registered on Cialfo platform.

5. University/College Representatives

These are people who are typically from the university or college’s Recruitment Office. They work with prospective high schools and students throughout the application process. They are the ones who represent their college when doing college visits to different high schools


What do our users use Cialfo for?

1. High School Counselors

High School counselors utilize Cialfo to comprehensively manage the counseling process for their students. Primarily, they leverage the platform for college application management, including working closely with their students, coordinating college visits, and handling various counseling-related tasks.

2. High School Teachers

High School teachers utilize Cialfo to facilitate the process of providing Letters of Recommendation (LoRs) for their students' college applications. In addition to providing Letters of Recommendation (LoRs), High School teachers who are granted access can also create various other documents on Cialfo, including School Reports, Mid Year Reports, Final Year Reports, and optional report forms as needed for the college application process.

3. High School Students

High School students utilize Cialfo for a range of activities, including:

  1. Working with their counselors to receive guidance and support throughout the college application process.

  2. Conducting college School Search to explore and discover potential universities and colleges.

  3. Managing their longlist, shortlist, and applications/applying list of colleges they are interested in.

  4. Building and maintaining their resumes, showcasing their achievements and extracurricular activities.

  5. Attending online events, such as college fairs or webinars, to gather more information about colleges and universities.

  6. Requesting Letters of Recommendation (LoRs) from their teachers or counselors as required for their college applications.

4. High School Guardians/Parents

Correct, Guardians or Parents using Cialfo have access to a limited account. Their account allows them to:

  1. View the information of their child through the Student Dashboard and Profile, providing insights into their academic and application progress.

  2. Conduct School Search to explore colleges and universities suitable for their child's academic and career aspirations.

  3. Participate in surveys sent by Counselors through Cialfo, which helps counselors gather essential information and preferences related to college planning for their child.

5. University/College Representatives

University Representatives utilize Cialfo for multiple purposes, including:

  1. Fulfilling their recruiting agenda by connecting with potential applicants and obtaining more leads for their universities.

  2. Gathering detailed information about applicants, including their academic achievements, interests, and preferences.

  3. Using Cialfo to gain valuable insights on higher education trends and preferences from schools and students within Cialfo's high school network. This data aids in understanding the needs and preferences of prospective students, which can inform recruitment strategies and improve their outreach efforts.

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