<p>I have a friend that has mentored a low-income little girl since she was 8 years old. She's now a rising senior and attends a very good northern VA public High School. My friend has small children of her own and hasn't yet been through the college admissions process, so she is asking me for advice. I have one child that's been through the process, so although I know some, I would like to gather advice from those that are wiser than I am. </p>
<p>Here's the situation, the girl is a B student (around a 3.4), in a challenging HS. She's taken one AP class and will be taking 3 AP her senior year. She hasn't yet taken the SAT's and that leads me into more important information. Her parents did not attend college and are low-income, latino. She will be taking the SAT, but not until fall, and the parents really don't know much about helping her. My mentor friend can only do so much and not come across as interfering. The girl really wants to go to college, but she will need guidance. Oh, and the High Schools are notorious for a lack of counselors actually doing counseling, so that's not an option. I am looking into a county program for low-income applicants to see if there's already a program in place that can help guide her through the process, and hopefully help her parents fill out the FAFSA.</p>
<p>I'm wondering if there are any programs similar to Questbridge, but more geared for the B student? Questbridge is for A students only and the school sponsors are all ivy and top tier. I will of course be digging up as much information as I can on all VA state schools, but am open to any and all suggestions. We really want to help her make her dream of going to college a reality! I'm helping her through the summer, by coming up with her list of schools, organization of her applications, and getting her activity resume done for teacher recs. If you read this btw. now and Sept., add more suggestions!</p>
<p>Although it may be too late, is there an Upward Bound program in the area? That program offers colege mentoring and focuses on helping first generation students. There are often enrichment classes at local colleges.</p>
<p>AVID is a good program for kids like you are talking about. It is a college prep program offered as an elecive class through the school. Maybe see if her school offers it and the teacher can help mentor her.</p>
<p>Could your friend get the student an SAT prep book if the student can’t afford one herself?
If she hasn’t already, the student should sign up for the SAT Question of the Day on the college board website. She should take some practice tests and go over them before the fall test date. Getting familiar with the test will help her do her best. Maybe your friend could help her with test prep–organizing a schedule, going over missed questions? Maybe she could help the student identify schools that would be budget friendly–including the local community college-- and show her how to look up the application info./requirements/deadlines, etc. on their websites.
The student should still talk to the high school counselors–at least they could give her an idea of the colleges that other students with her stats are applying to or have been admitted to in the past. The student may have classmates whose parents and older siblings have gone to college who may be able to help her through the process, too.</p>
<p>Please spend twenty five bucks on this kid. If the friend with small children can’t come up with it, pass the hat at your next book club/dog walkers/hot dog cook out and come up with $25 and use it to buy the young lady a SAT prep book at the local bookstore. Send it along with your best wishes for a successful career. She’ll be charmed (and nervous) that people she doesn’t know are rooting for her. </p>
<p>Have friend with kids offer to grade and coach young lady as she finishes each trial in the prep book (usually there are four to six prep exams in a book). </p>
<p>Tell her my family story. In our city there is a program for $600 that high school juniors can take to get prepped for the SAT – and that course typically increases scores by about 150 points. We couldn’t afford it. I bought each of our kids a prep book and they each worked through the prep tests. Both guys had super scores on the real SAT(They do have strong math talents). – but my point is that a student can get the info and practice without the pricey course the private school kids take. </p>
<p>And, for another $27 you or friend or book club could buy the young lady the Princeton Review’s How to pay for college without going broke which will help her and parents get ready for the FAFSA. </p>
<p>For just over $50 you could change a young person’s life for the better – forever.</p>
<p>Both of the above-mentioned books can often be found at public libraries, also at used bookstores.</p>
<p>She should consider taking the ACT as well (if she can get a fee waiver) - many students I know do much better on this test percentile-wise compared to the SAT.</p>
<p>Seems to me that this “very good northern VA public High School” isn’t so great if it doesn’t strongly encourage kids to take the SAT and/or ACT by spring of their junior year. What about the PSAT?</p>
<p>What schools are close by? Our experience with low income Latinas is that they often stay close to home when it comes to going to college–whether it is the family’s preference, their own preference or both.</p>
<p>Maybe encouraging the student to hop on CC and do a search of all things related to college admissions(for Latino students)…also, the Xiggi approach to studying for the SAT may be of help. If you pm me with your email address, I can send you Direct Hits so you can email it to her. Also, encourage her to pick up the BB. Has she considered the ACT? She may be able to get a higher score. </p>
<p>I posted this website in the past. I NEED A PENCIL dot com. It was censored, not sure why… this site is for SAT prep which was started by a Harvard student/grad… and its free!</p>
<p>Also, khan academy is also great and has a section for SAT prep as well.</p>
<p>I mentored several students who graduated this year. All really poor, all minority, etc.</p>
<p>Most not great students, though one was.</p>
<p>If the child gets free and/or reduced lunch at school, the counselors should be able to get her both SAT and ACT fee waivers as well as application fee waivers. Application fee waivers are not as straight forward to use as the standardized test fee waivers are. So, you or your friend may have to make phone calls etc to colleges of choice to get instructions on how to use them.</p>
<p>I used this fee waiver with several of the guys.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>In the beginning, have a conversation with the student about money. Poor kids don’t have it easy, even with the PELL and you need to stress that money matters. It is very important that this student not fall in love with any one school. One of the students we were helping was being “helped” by two other families in the neighborhood. They helped him by repeatedly taking him to their alma mater which was an out of state public. He loved it (of course, it was the only school he really visited) and applied and was accepted. Of course, he couldn’t afford it. Fortunately, I forced him to apply to several state schools (he was eligible for HOPE) and he is attending one. But he is so disappointed.</p></li>
<li><p>Have a conversation about distance. As someone else posted, she may not really want to go far from home and the logistics of going far away may not work either. (which leads to…</p></li>
<li><p>How poor is poor? Another of my guys is going to a small college about 6 hours away on a football scholarship. The family has no car and no money. We paid for gas for a friend of his to drive him to orientation and we paid the housing deposit. Fortunately, there were no other upfront fees, but that isn’t always the norm. Another student started school this summer and his mother has been surprised by all the fees. </p></li>
<li><p>FAFSA is pretty straight forward for people who have little income. The student, with help from an adult, can probably fill it out herself.</p></li>
<li><p>Is she here legally? Are her parents? If not, you need to research what Virginia’s rules are on citizenship and in state tuition. In GA, she would be considered an out of state student and not even eligible to attend several of the higher ranked institutions. I am unclear how FAFSA works for the children who are citizens because they were born here but for parents who aren’t. (Won’t be relevant if all citizens of course)</p></li>
<li><p>Study for the SAT/ACT. Our public library actually has books that can be checked out and others have given you free online resources. I signed the kids up, because the fee waiver makes it a little complicated, but I wouldn’t help them unless they studied.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Check out Let’s Get Ready, a non-profit based in NYC that provides low income students with SAT prep and college application advising. Their coaches are current college students. They do not have programs in N Virginia, but they have some wonderful resources on their website: [Let’s</a> Get Ready | Resources / Resources](<a href=“http://www.letsgetready.org/Resources/Resources]Let’s”>http://www.letsgetready.org/Resources/Resources). Definitely pursue the waivers for test fees, and also, if you are eligible for College Board waivers you are generally eligible for a certain number of application waivers. The HS guidance department should have the waiver information. </p>
<p>I have worked with several local students who seem similar to this student and my best advice is to apply broadly and make contact at each school with the Diversity or Minority Students office. For instance, if I remember correctly, Franklin & Marshall in Pa. has a program that students are nominated for by their guidance department.</p>
<p>I helped a local boy in a similar circumstance two years ago. He had a 3.2 average and 1770/2400 on his SATs at a Catholic high school (which he attended on scholarship). If I remember correctly, his only AP class was AP Spanish. He ended up focusing on Catholic colleges. His parents had some strong opinions about where they wanted him to go. Initially, they insisted that he would have to live at home, but over the course of the year in which he was applying, they agreed to let him live on campus if it was affordable. He did not look at any colleges more than 1 hour from home. The parents rejected Catholic University because they didn’t want him to be in the city, but that might be an option for your student. The boy ended up at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He was given sufficient scholarship money that his parents could afford it. (As a side note, his Mom refused to allow him to have a summer job in the summer before college because she was afraid that he would like earning money and decide not to attend college!) I have kept in touch with him through his freshman year (which just ended) and he is very happy at Mount St. Mary’s. He wants to be a doctor and he got an internship in his field this summer. His Mom is incredibly proud of him.
Loyola of Maryland is another Catholic college in Maryland. I don’t really know if there are similar colleges in Virginia.
This boy also applied to and was accepted at UMBC, but that was in-state for him. Even though UMCB has some great programs for kids interested in science, his parents had a strong preference for a Catholic school and that wish prevailed. At the urging of a coach at school, he also applied to George Washington, where he was rejected.
Other than helping him evaluate the colleges, I also read all of his essays. I struggled with how much help to give him because I didn’t want his “voice” to be lost. In the end, I corrected his spelling and grammar, but left the word choice and tone to him. For some questions, he wrote two essays and I helped him choose which one to use.
Good luck to you and your friend in helping this young woman.</p>
<p>kudos to you both in trying to help this kid. See attached link below that has some great info. I urge this kiddo to get some standardized testings at the first get-go in September. At this point, numbers are important to build a list unless kid is looking at SAT optional schools.</p>
<p>The Gates scholarship only requires a 3.3 unweighted GPA and covers all unmet need to any college of the students choice. The application is available online August 1st.</p>
<p>How poor is poor is, which someone else raised, is critical. Low income in Fairfax county or Metropolitan NY may mean a kid still does not qualify for much aid. IMHO, it stinks (and I dont have a dog in this fight, other than seeing some of my Ds friends struggle). The same standard of living in the midwest will get a kid aid, in NY, no. Our members of congress do a terrible job of getting aid cola adjusted. In the meantime, I think kids have to look to state schools.</p>
<p>I really want to help this girl and I had a feeling there would be others on here that have already gone through this. I’m meeting with her on Weds. morning and am gathering all the books today (BB and others) and putting a binder together for her with all the state schools I think will fall within her range. I agree with what some others have already mentioned, it seems her parents would like her to stay close to home (although I have a couple privates on the list too that are known for good scholarships). I am hoping she is bringing her PSAT scores with her to get a better idea of where she may score on the SAT (not sure whether yet whether to focus on prepping for ACT instead). I will definitely be looking into the fee waivers for the tests. I do just want to say, since someone brought it up, that this really is a top High School in VA, but it’s also 1800 students and has an IB program. This is more of a case of her not being a priority --she’s falling through the cracks in a sea of high achievers :(. It is standard to take the SAT’s in the spring of junior year here, it’s just that no one really enouraged her to do so and her parents just don’t get it (how could they?). I am going to take all this great advice and figure out how to get her prepped before fall. I still need to confirm that she is actually registered to take the SAT, but that’s what my friend has told me (too late in my opinion too, but this isn’t really within our control). Also, great point that FAFSA is pretty straight forward. True! I’m going to basically just fill this binder with step by step details on what to get done and when and thought of including a section with all the FAFSA information and there is a community scholarship foundation that I would love to have her apply for as well, so will include all deadlines and websites for her. Thanks everyone for all the great links and thoughts! I needapencil, the minority students office idea, the hispanic students link, Gates link, Xiggi’s method (great one). I do plan to help her edit essays, but as Mother of Pearl said, I don’t want her voice lost either, so won’t go overboard. She has a wonderful story to tell all on her own and it’s going to be better coming from her alone (and Mother of Pearl, THANKS for all your insight and story). Here’s the list of schools suggestions I think are within target or reach. I think the “safety” would probably be Northern VA Community College Pathways program–guarantees admission into George Mason after two years. Also, here are the books I have so far. Any other’s to add?</p>
<p>VA state:
U. of Mary Washington
VA Commonwealth U.
George Mason
Christopher Newport
Old Dominion
Radford
Longwood</p>
<p>Privates:</p>
<ol>
<li>Shenandoah U</li>
<li>Lynchburg</li>
<li>Randoph-Macon</li>
<li>Goucher</li>
<li>Guilford (may be too far)</li>
</ol>
<p>Books:</p>
<ol>
<li>College board blue book</li>
<li>Best 373 Colleges</li>
<li>Colleges that Change Lives</li>
<li>Best Colleges for B Students</li>
<li>On Writing the College Application Essay by Harry Bauld</li>
</ol>
<p>At our high school, you get the fee waiver from the Guidance Counselor. If you are on reduced lunch, you qualify.</p>
<p>She really needs to get her GC on the same page. The GC will have to write any recommendations/fill out Secondary School Reports, etc. for applications. She could very well have fallen through the cracks, but once the GC sees she is motivated and organized about what schools she is applying to, GC may make her his or her project.</p>
<p>You might want to check out what would be required for each application. You don’t have to burden her with these yet. SAT 2s? Recommendations? Lots of essays? This will give you some thought about the timeline.</p>
<p>If her GPA is above a 3.3 and she has a story to tell, I recommend looking at the Gates scholarship. It is a lot of work but it comes out soon, so she can start before school starts.</p>
<p>Ellemenope: Thanks for saying this. You are right. I tend to be one of those people that jump in and just do it if I feel like someone else won’t. I have to remember that she has a guidance counselor. Ok, I am going to tell her that she has to meet with her counselor, but that I will also be here to help. My S1 counselor at another area HS, was one of 7 counselors with a senior class of 453 students! The counselor did an excellent job with the recs and meeting all the deadlines for school reports/transcripts, they just didn’t do any college guidance…luckily I’ve had CC for 3 years :). </p>
<p>I’m printing off all kinds of things on the state schools today for the binder (avg. accepted SAT scores, and due dates for all apps., whether school accepts common app., etc.). I will give her an excel sheet my son used to keep track of transcripts, due dates, etc., and a less intimidating version of his activity resume (he’s going to UVa and I don’t want to worry her), a login # page to keep track of passwords to common app. and college board scores, and colleges to check status (for easy reference), and then folders for each college she will be applying. </p>
<p>Anything else that helped your kids with organization of apps.? This is also a great question for my rising junior daughter!</p>