Frequently Asked Questions
Why not give full scholarships? Wouldn’t that be more beneficial?
Partial scholarships require a student to cobble together multiple sources of college funding (financial aid grants, scholarships, etc.), reinforcing the idea that nothing is just handed to you. It ensures “skin in the game” or personal investment from the student and the student’s family. We think this is important.
All Reach Fellows who receive a scholarship are also required to work each summer at least “part-time”, to help fund a portion of their college expenses.
Why not fund the highest GPAs in the high school who are low-income students?
Low income first gen students of color above a 3.9 GPA are often recruited by universities who offer hefty scholarship packages.
Students with a 3.0-3.7 GPA typically don’t receive scholarships leaving them with few funding options. We seek to bridge this funding gap for academically capable 3.0-3.7 hard working students.
How do students find out about the Reach scholarship?
Currently our scholarship is only offered to seniors who are currently enrolled at one of the 11 high schools at East Side Union High School District in East San Jose.
East San Jose is one of the largest underserved school districts in the bay area with 98% of students living below $29k in household income.
How does a scholarship recipient renew their scholarship each year?
Each semester, Reach Fellows submit their transcripts. This process allows them to draw a portion of their scholarship funding.
Each summer, Reach Fellows meet with the foundation to discuss the previous year and renew their scholarship.
Does the Reach Foundation Support a student in community college?
Yes. The main goal of the Reach Foundation Scholarship is to enable a student to graduate from a 4-year university. Whether they begin that journey at a community college or begin it at a 4-year college, we want to support them.
In reality, 99% of our mentored seniors are accepted at multiple 4 year universities. The main reason students choose community college initially is a lack of funding.
Reach Scholars that complete the first two years at a community college (CC) still receive a personal mentor and scholarship dollars. Once they transfer to a 4 year, their funding is re-assessed.
In the state of CA all high school students going to CC receive 100% of tuition and books (for 2 years) paid for by a promise Grant from CA, regardless of need.
Why is mentoring a student in college so important if your students are so hard working?
According to Forbes magazine, 75% of students who drop out are first gen students. These students lack a parent with college experience, a considerable barrier to graduating from college.
A student may find that their housing isn’t ready or they had their classes dropped. Many times when calling home to a parent, the stress of resolving these dilemmas is so overwhelming that the parent says, “Just come home.”
Having a mentor provides a safety net for navigating challenges at college. Mentors teach mentees how to problem solve and are an experienced sounding board.
Studies have shown that without a mentor, low-income first generation students have about a 40% graduation rate from college compared to an 85% graduation rate with a mentor.
I want to mentor a high school student, but I’m worried that I might miss or need to be out of town occasionally. How does that work?
There will be last minute meetings for work or emergencies. No worries. We have a backup substitute mentor who works with your student.
In addition, you are able to meet with your student virtually outside of the class period at an alternative time, if needed.
It has been a long time since I was in college and I’m worried I will remember the college application process. How thorough is the training?
Each week we split your hour mentoring session into two segments.
The first 20 minutes we spend training both the student and the mentor on the day’s deliverable.
The remaining 40 minutes is spent one-on-one with your mentee.