Your best resources for helping homeless students get into college?

October 9, 2018 9:00 AM

I volunteer with an organization that tutors homeless kids. My kids are finishing high school and want to go to college. I need your best resources for everything from managing deadlines/admissions requirements, to finding/applying for scholarships and aid.

I recently began volunteering with an organization here in Los Angeles that matches homeless students with tutors. I am currently working with kids staying at an emergency shelter for kids who are runaways or fleeing abusive home situations. While the group at the shelter changes from week to week, I have two students who will be there for a while, both of whom are seniors with aspirations of going to college next year. I only see them for an hour a week so I want to be super-efficient in how we use our time and introduce them to as many resources as I possibly can. Also, because they don't have internet at the shelter, I want to help them by doing as much of the internet research or investigation as I can for them on my own time, so that the time we do have in-person can be spent on actually working on application essays or SATs rather than trying to figure out registration deadlines etc.

However, I'm personally a little overwhelmed by the scope of the task - it's been many years since I was applying to colleges, and even so, I doubt I would have gotten through the process without the gentle and persistent nagging of involved family members and attentive school guidance counselors. It's safe to say that these kids have neither. I have asked the organization I tutor with for suggestions but the majority of the students they serve are younger grades and are mostly being tutored with regard to specific academic subjects - there's not a lot out there as far as general next steps for older kids. I am hoping that the wisdom of the hive mind can help me figure out/point me to, resources regarding the following:

* Deadlines/to-do lists for completing applications and academic requirements.
* Anything and everything concerning financial aid and scholarships.
* Anything that might help get these particular kids get admitted. They have GPAs around the 3.4 mark which is, given their circumstances, very impressive (I think); will an admissions committee see it the same way? These are great, bright kids who have big dreams and I want to do anything I can to help them achieve them.

Both of the girls are on non-traditional academic plans and will graduate sometime this year depending on when they finish their last remaining credits (one of them has skipped a full grade; she will be done with high school in December). I realize it might be late in this year to get a full application together for Fall 2019, but I am hoping that we can at least get some of the hurdles out of the way. One of the girls wants to attend one of the schools in the University of California system (UC Irvine). The other one is thinking of doing two years at a community college and transferring to her preferred institution (Cal Poly Pomona).

Any and all suggestions, resources, and tips welcome, especially those that can be done remotely via internet/phone. I work full-time and also go to school full-time (evening law school) but I have a stable living situation, access to the internet, can print things, have a middle-class phone voice etc., and I would like to bring all these privileges to bear on these students' behalf. As you can see from this question, I don't even know what I don't know - so anything I should consider or be aware of, please let me know.

posted by Aubergine to Education (7 answers total)

I can at least tell you one thing: you need to understand the admissions requirements for the UC system and help the one student figure out how she ticks the boxes. My understanding (as someone not from California who went to a UC) is that academically able kids in California are often coached to be sure to tick those boxes, but if her education has been interrupted repeatedly, it's easy to imagine something got missed.
posted by hoyland at 9:14 AM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer:

* Anything and everything concerning financial aid and scholarships.

Assuming that their parents aren't in the picture and supportive, they're going to need to establish that they're independent for purposes of financial aid. This tip sheet looks like it could have some useful information. That organization seems to have a lot of other helpful information, including this financial aid tip-sheet and this document on helping homeless students make the transition to college.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 10:45 AM on October 9, 2018

Best answer: UCI's Center for Education Partnerships will have info for any students looking at higher ed (not just UC). If the students you're working with don't end up being ready to enroll as frosh, there are great opportunities to go the community college to UC (or CSU) route. Info for UCI and CPP.
posted by annaramma at 10:48 AM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I’m not American, but if they were applying to my college, I’d call the actual school. If you can talk to someone in admissions/ the registrar’s office, they may be able to help you with red tape. For what it’s worth, we do that with non-traditional students all the time.
posted by Valancy Rachel at 11:54 AM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I don't know if this is helpful at all, but I was a homeless teen who wanted to go to college. If if would be helpful I'd be happy to share my experience, just drop me a memail.
posted by windykites at 3:03 PM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I don't think it's too late in the year for these students to apply for Fall 2019 at this point, though the student interested in UC Irvine probably needs to do get some things done in the next couple of months. Here's a page of deadlines and a link with information for people helping students apply to UC colleges. This downloadable "quick start guide" might be a pretty good place to start since internet access is an issue.

The student who is interested in a community college for next year has quite a bit more time. It looks like they should apply directly to the community college they are interested in, though there is a centralized portal here.
posted by mjcon at 3:41 PM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: LA Public Library has classes on how prepare for the SAT, the college application process, and applying for financial aid.

This page includes links to homeless/foster youth resources in the area, and has a link on how to file the FAFSA if you are homeless.

I'd encourage them to think about private schools as well as public. USC, for example, has the Trojan Guardian Scholars program for current and former foster youth.
posted by mogget at 5:49 PM on October 9, 2018 [1 favorite]