The 8th-Grade Advantage
The Overlooked Leadership Strategy Most High-Income Black Families Miss When Positioning Their Students for T20 Admissions Before High School
Thursday, November 20th at 7:00 PM EST
LIVE ONLINE TRAINING
You already know “starting early” matters…
But you’ve been taught the wrong definition of early. Early is not stacking more APs. Early is not choosing the best private high schools. Early is not paying for “prestigious” summer programs. And early is definitely not throwing your child into every club until their joy evaporates. That’s not strategy.
That’s panic dressed up as preparation.
And it’s the #1 reason high-income Black families — even the ones who’ve “done everything right” — end up with exhausted, anxious, high-achieving teens who still don’t stand out in T20 admissions.
You deserve better.
Your child deserves oxygen, not overload.
Let’s be honest for a moment.
You were told: “Just get the grades right, go to the “right” high schools, and everything else falls into place.”
But your child already has the grades.
You were told: “Do a few good extracurriculars.” But the deeper message was: Do more. Do everything. Don’t fall behind.
You’re watching your child enter an admissions landscape nothing like the one you faced — one that is more competitive, less forgiving, and far more demanding for Black students.
Why You Can’t Wait Until 10th or 11th Grade Anymore
Before the Supreme Court ended affirmative action, strong academics and a polished résumé could still slide through the door.
Today, the average share of black students at top colleges and universities has rapidly declined. This means that all students (especially those of African and African American descent) are being asked to show undeniable leadership, innovation, and impact—with less institutional support than ever.
By the time most families “get serious” in 10th or 11th grade, the foundation years are gone. 8th and 9th grade are where you either build a leadership arc… or spend junior year trying to fake one.
This webinar will show you how to use the 8th-grade year as leverage—so your child’s high school story reads like a cohesive, intentional journey, not a last-minute scramble.
You can feel the pressure rising.
You can feel the stakes shifting.
And you’re not imagining it — the rules really do change when your child looks like us.
THIS IS PERSONAL TO ME— MY ALMA MATER,
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, JUST SAW ITS LOWEST BLACK ATTENDANCE SINCE 1968.
Hi I’m Nicole Olaniyi— daughter of a Wall Street executive who became the first Black Board Member of Valley Bank and the product of a home where mediocre guidance was never an option. Alongside my husband Timothy, I help high-income Black executives and professionals turn the uncertainty of the 8th-to-9th-grade transition into a strategic roadmap for T20 admissions.
At 15, I personally founded my high school’s first African American Culture Club, mobilized over 100 students, led a district-wide curriculum reform effort, and earned the Princeton Prize in Race Relations— outcomes that helped me gain admission to five Top-20 universities, including Princeton.
Today, my husband and I partner with Black families who have “made it out” but refuse to let their children’s success come at the cost of their mental health. Through Black Founder’s Formula, we help students design purpose-driven projects that stand out in elite admissions—while building identity, confidence, and peace at home.
Here’s the part no one says out loud
Academics are expected. Straight A’s are the baseline in competitive schools. Extracurriculars? Every kid has a list.
If “doing more” worked, your child would already be ahead.
The truth is simple: T20 colleges aren’t rewarding high performance — they’re rewarding high identity.
Leadership rooted in purpose.
Projects rooted in culture.
Impact rooted in real problems, not résumé padding.
Your child doesn’t need more activities. They need a narrative — one that builds distinction without draining their soul.
If you’re a high-income Black parent, this is the wake-up call
“Starting early” is NOT about rigor — it’s about identity direction.
“Leadership” is NOT about titles — it’s about solving a problem that matters.
“Competitive” is NOT about being busy — it’s about being distinct.
And if you’re honest?
You’ve been relying on systems (schools, counselors, pre-college programs) that weren’t built with your child’s humanity or cultural context in mind.
You’re not wrong for following the rules.
You were just given the wrong rulebook.
In this webinar, we’re disrupting every myth you’ve been sold — lovingly, strategically, and unapologetically.
In this 75-minute session,You’ll discover:
🔥 Why 8th grade is the most underutilized, high-leverage year for building a T20-ready leadership arc — and why most Black families start too late.
🔥 Why grades, APs, and overcrowded résumés BACKFIRE in a post–affirmative action landscape.
🔥 The Entrepreneurial Leadership Roadmap your child needs to build measurable, culturally grounded impact — without burnout (the same framework I used to turn my own high school leadership into five T20 acceptances).
🔥 The Passion to Leadership Blueprint: How to turn your child’s genuine curiosities—STEM, social justice, arts, sports, culture—into measurable, community-facing initatives that colleges recognize as real leadership.
🔥 How to protect your child’s joy, confidence, and mental health while still aiming for elite outcomes.
🔥 How to replace chaos with clarity, and overachievement with identity. Because your child’s peace is your greatest inheritance. And strategy means nothing if your child is silently drowning in the process.
-
✅ You refuse to let your child become the “high-achieving Black kid who quietly falls apart.”
If you’re done confusing performance with wellness, you’re in the right room.✅ You know your child is gifted — but you also know gift alone no longer gets Black students into T20 schools.
If you want strategy, not superstition, this is for you.✅ You’re not here to play the admissions game — you’re here to master it without losing your child in the process.
If you want power with peace, pull up a chair.✅ You’re ready to unlearn the myths that worked for you but won’t work for them.
Today’s landscape is different, harsher, and less forgiving — and you want to lead with clarity, not nostalgia.✅ You’re willing to prioritize identity BEFORE achievement.
If you understand that wholeness is the new wealth — welcome home.✅ You want your child’s leadership to be earned, not engineered.
If you’re done with performative “busy kid” résumés and want impact that actually means something, you’re aligned.✅ You’re raising a child with big gifts, big sensitivity, big potential — and you want mentorship that honors all three.
If you want strategy that protects their soul, not just their GPA, this is your space.✅ You understand that prestige isn’t protection.
If you’re finally ready for what actually creates access — identity, purpose, and measurable impact — you’re in the right place.✅ You want a roadmap that respects your values, your culture, your faith, and your child’s humanity.
If emotional safety and academic excellence must coexist, this is your room.✅ You want to raise a leader who won’t have to heal from how they were raised.
If legacy, peace, and belonging matter to you — not just the acceptance letter — then yes… this training is yours. -
❌ You think “starting early” means stacking more APs, more tutors, more programs, more pressure.
If your version of preparation is simply accelerating your child into burnout, this space isn’t for you.❌ You still believe elite schools + perfect grades = automatic admissions.
If you think the old rules still apply — especially after affirmative action — you’re not ready for this conversation.❌ You want a plug-and-play résumé, not a purpose-driven leader.
If you’re looking for someone to pad your child’s activities list so it looks impressive, you won’t like our approach.❌ You’re committed to doing “what everyone else is doing.”
If the goal is to keep up with the arms race, not transcend it, this training will feel too disruptive.❌ You’re uncomfortable naming the truth: the rules change when your child looks like ours.
If you want race-neutral advice for a race-specific problem, this isn’t the room.❌ You think peace, identity, and emotional safety are “nice to have,” not strategy.
If you don’t believe wholeness is a competitive edge, you’re not our people.❌ You want shortcuts, prestige signaling, and cookie-cutter “leadership.”
If the goal is to buy your way into distinction instead of building it authentically, this will not resonate.❌ You’re not willing to unlearn the myths that worked for you but no longer work for your child.
If you’re attached to the narrative you grew up with — grades, grind, gold stars — this webinar will challenge you more than you want.
Let’s redefine “starting early.”
Starting early is not about acceleration.
It’s about alignment.
Not about more.
About meaning.
Not about perfection.
About presence.
Your child does not need to be busier.
They need to be seen.
They need to be guided.
They need to be strategically developed, not academically squeezed.
And you — with your leadership, your legacy, your lens — deserve support that honors your values, culture, and standards.
Most families wait too long.
The ones who win start here.
Because your child’s leadership story starts long before the college essay —
and the 8th-grade window is the most powerful leverage point of all.