The Brazilian College Counseling Association (BRACCA) aims to establish common ethical standards, strengthen professional development and improve engagement between Brazilian schools and overseas universities.
BRACCA was officially launched on July 13 during a hybrid ceremony hosted in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with the event streamed globally on YouTube.
It strives to be counsellor-led, describing itself as Brazil’s first professional association dedicated specifically to supporting, training and connecting college counsellors, high school guidance professionals and international admissions officers.
“BRACCA was born from the counselors themselves – the professionals who guide Brazilian students through life-changing decisions every day, often without the training, community, or recognition the role deserves,” said founding president Reggie Aguiar.
It aims to develop a more structured ecosystem for outbound student mobility, working with counsellors across private, public, national, international and bilingual schools.
According to BRACCA, the launch comes as Brazilian student mobility to overseas universities continues to grow, increasing demand for professional guidance and clearer standards around international admissions.
The association has identified four areas as central to its work: professional training, ethical practice, institutional collaboration, and data and research.
Its planned professional development program will include workshops, certification pathways and mentorship for both new and experienced counsellors. BRACCA also intends to establish standards of practice tailored to Brazil’s education system, with a focus on integrity and equity in international admissions.
The association also aims to become a central point of contact for international higher education institutions seeking to build relationships with Brazilian schools, while generating research and data on outbound student mobility and wider higher education trends in the country.
The launch event brought together around 80 counsellors, school leaders and higher education representatives in Pittsburgh, while more than 100 people participated through the global livestream, according to BRACCA.
The organisation has now opened membership applications to counsellors, educational institutions and university partners internationally.
“By uniting us all under one association with shared ethical standards, we are building a trusted bridge between Brazil’s extraordinary students and higher education institutions around the world,” said Aguiar.
By uniting us all under one association with shared ethical standards, we are building a trusted bridge between Brazil’s extraordinary students and higher education institutions around the world
Reggie Aguiar, BRACCA
The launch adds a new professional body to Brazil’s international education landscape at a time when institutions globally are looking to deepen their engagement with the country as a source of international students.
For BRACCA, the focus will be on giving counsellors a stronger professional network and clearer framework for navigating an increasingly complex international admissions environment, while creating more structured links between Brazilian schools and universities overseas.
