Beyond Talent serves non-traditional high school graduates by offering three innovative programs:

• Next Steps College and Career Counseling
• Peer Mentoring
• College Compass

Beyond Talent's program participants are GED graduates who are referred by our community partners that provide GED preparation and other educational services.

Next Steps College and Career Counseling

Beyond Talent provides college and career counseling, along with other valuable services, at Living Wages in DC's Anacostia neighborhood.

Peer Mentoring Program

Community- and faith-based partner organizations recommend their program participants who have earned GEDs or EDPs for the Beyond Talent program. Beyond Talent recruits these graduates to volunteer at least five hours per week as mentors to individuals pursuing their GEDs. In return, Beyond Talent empowers these mentors to overcome financial, practical, intellectual, and emotional barriers to higher education.

For example, Beyond Talent mentors transition to college with guidance from Beyond Talent volunteers. Beyond Talent equips them for success and consistently supports them until they have completed at least one semester of college, instilling in our mentors that they are deserving of their success by dispelling the myth that non-traditional graduates are “not college material.

College Compass

College Compass is a college access and success program for non-traditional students ages 18 to 25 in the District area. It offers students math, writing and study skills courses, as well as tutoring and student advising to aid with the application and financial aid processes.

Beyond Talent’s curriculum prepares students for the math and writing sections of the Accuplacer examination, a national placement examination that assesses a student’s readiness for college level work. High scores in the math and writing sections of the exam eliminate the need for developmental courses. Developmental courses (also known as remedial courses) cost the same as other college level courses, but do not count towards graduation. Many non-traditional students, spending the first year to two years in these courses, become frustrated with their slow progress or run out of money before they have the opportunity to gain skills that will translate to the workforce. Preparing for the Accuplacer examination puts Beyond Talent students in a better position to place into credit-bearing courses. Offering College Compass on a college campus provides an opportunity for students to be fully engaged in a college environment. College Compass also includes a study skills course, "Strategies for College Success," provided through a collaboration with Walter E. Dennis Learning Center of Ohio State University . The Catholic University of America has agreed to host the classes on their Washington, DC, campus.

Beyond Talent plans to expose its students to pertinent resources such as the library, tutorial services, as well as social resources that include campus clubs and sport activities. The program is aiming to create a college experience that students can succeed. Once students complete the 11-week program, their involvement with Beyond Talent does not end. Counselors work with students to find appropriate college programs, research scholarships, and provide ongoing advice pertaining to college navigation.

Download an application and apply now!  Email it ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or fax it (202-986-2088)! Feel free to call if you have any questions! 202- 265-1717