Navigating the college application process, especially as a first-generation student, can be difficult and overwhelming. Being the oldest in the family, I would need to learn from scratch.
Researching college advice was helpful, but I knew I needed walkthroughs to understand how to convey why I wanted to go to college in my application, activities list and essays. I needed a second pair of eyes and someone to help me identify effective and ineffective moves in applications. I found that participating in college preparatory programs like College and Career Bound Academy at the TGR Learning Lab helped me understand not only how to be a strong applicant but also to learn about myself. That gave me a starting point, which inspired me to continue attending workshops and utilizing more college preparatory programs that enhanced my strategy and motivation.
The mentorship and advice from the team led me to understand that I actually wanted to choose business as a major. It guided me to apply to about 11 colleges and receive acceptance into seven, including Chapman University, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Fullerton, UCI, UC Santa Cruz, UC Merced and UC Riverside. College and Career Bound Academy helped me identify my values in picking the best fit college for me, and I’ve chosen Chapman University, where I’ll be attending as a business administration in entrepreneurship major.
Best of all, I earned a full-ride scholarship support. From learning how to read my financial aid letters to the ability to negotiate, I found out I qualified for more scholarships that paid my tuition for all four years.
Students, even considering college should participate in College and Career Bound Academy, because the small cohorts give you a personalized experience, and the coordinators are attentive to what students’ needs and willing to answer questions. I also found that a lot of our classmates already had some background knowledge of the college research process, and we helped each other. The support doesn’t end in the summer, either. We had multiple sessions during the school year for CCBA students to get more guidance in the application and help us prepare for college life.
Since graduating soon in May, with all of the mentorship that I’ve received I feel relieved knowing that I have ideas of what I want to pursue, and I’m really excited to be able to head in that direction to explore new communities and develop my interests at Chapman.
