This college access page is designed to help KFF faculty, teaching assistants, and mentors support high school seniors who are first-generation college-bound and from low-income families (FGLI). Because the college application process depends so much on the student’s level of preparedness, the mentor’s capacity to help, and the particular circumstances of the state they live in, mentors should use this guide as a beginning point, not as a comprehensive college access manual. 

Getting Organized

Some of your students will enter your programs (the summer before senior year of high school) without any preparation for college. You may both panic when you see how much there is to do, but it will be OK! While it’s better to start the process junior year, many KFF students complete successful college applications starting in August or September before their senior year, and yours can too. 

One great way you can help your student is by helping them get organized. Help them develop a system for tracking their progress and keeping up with deadlines. The two of you can start by checking out the CollegeBoard’s timeline for senior year.   

Key Dates:
  1. Major scholarships have very early deadlines like Posse (early September), Gates (mid September), QuestBridge (late September), Jack Kent Cooke (mid November).
  2. SAT tests are offered once a month and registration opens one month prior. Registration does fill up, so plan early if your student still needs to take (or retake) their test.
  3. FAFSA opens October 1 and closes June 30, but the earlier students apply the more money they may be able to get. Students need their parents’ tax records from last year to file, so they may want to start collecting that information now (IRS Form 1040).
  4. Early Decision/Early Action deadlines are typically November 1 or November 15.
  5. Regular Decision applications for most colleges are typically due January 1.

Questions to answer:

  1. What are the deadlines for local state and city colleges?
  2. Are there local programs and scholarships that have early deadlines?
  3. Should you apply early decision, early action, or regular decision?

Choosing Colleges

There are dozens of factors to consider when choosing colleges, and it can make students feel overwhelmed. As a mentor you can help your student develop a preliminary list by searching the CollegeBoard website.

Here are some factors students may want to keep in mind:

  1. Location:  Your student may have very good financial reasons for living at home or staying within state. In Columbia’s Freedom & Citizenship program, 75% of students stay in-state for college. You should familiarize yourself with the benefits of your own state’s public universities, financial aid awards, and scholarships.
    • For example, in New York, students can get the New York TAP award for up to $5,665 per year (in addition to the Federal Pell Grant and in-state tuition). 
  2. Financial aid: Some colleges will “meet full need” while others expect students to take out some loans. You and your student can look at the government’s College Scorecard to see how much the average low-income family pays per year including books, housing, and tuition.
  3. Admissions: Your student’s list should include some colleges that are “reaches” (where the academic criteria for admission is slightly above their own); some colleges that are “targets,” (where they’re in a good position to be accepted, though nothing is guaranteed); and some “safety” schools (where they have good reason to believe they’ll get accepted). You can help your student come up with a first draft, but they should definitely consult with a professional counselor to finalize the list.
    • If a school’s admissions criteria seems just out of reach for your student, they may still get accepted from an Equal Opportunity Program (if the school has one), so double check before you rule out a school. 
  4. Student Support: Everyone — but especially an FGLI student — needs support at college, so finding a school with a high graduation rate, low student-to-faculty ratio, and plenty of offices and resources for advising and counseling will set your student up for success.
  5. Campus, Academics, Culture: Some people choose colleges based on the food in the dining hall, others because they like the school colors. While you may steer your student towards more serious criteria, the truth is that most colleges offer the same standard courses and departments, the rest is about your own personal preferences.You might want to consider:
    • Size of undergraduate student body
    • Diversity of campus (how many students look like you? how many receive financial aid?)
    • Location of campus (city, suburban, urban, is there even a campus at all?)
    • Student life (are fraternities big? are sports important? what about student clubs?)
    • Courses (check out the departments you’re interested in and see their class list — do you want to take those classes? Do they offer the subjects you’re planning on studying?)

Personal Statements

The personal essay is one area of the application students need a lot of help and you can spend quite a bit of time helping your student develop an essay. The essay is an opportunity for your student to show admissions officers who they are in their own words, and should highlight qualities that will make your student valuable to a college community (not simply regurgitate information that is already found elsewhere in the application). Choosing a story to tell is often the hardest part, so don’t be afraid to spend a lot of time with your student just on brainstorming.

Preparing the story:

  1. A good way for a student to start the essay process is to brainstorm qualities you like in yourself and experiences or qualities that make you unique. Are you proud of how hardworking you are? Do you like how creatively you think? This can be challenging but don’t skip this step! The point of the essay is to narrate a story about your best qualities and if you don’t know what those are, you aren’t going to have a good story.
  2. Next, brainstorm evidence. A personal essay should show rather than tell why you’re so great. Next to each quality or experience write down evidence from your life that proves their point.
  3. Third, have conversations with a mentor, friend, or family member, and tell your stories out loud by expanding on the evidence you’ve listed. You may learn something really interesting by just talking without the pressure to write. Once you’ve told your story, jot down some highlights just so you can remember them.

Planning to write:

  1. The personal statement is its own genre of writing, and if you haven’t seen one before you should ask friends or mentors to show you theirs (or search online). You can also see examples from The New York Times.
  2. You’ll have a choice of prompt for the common app and for many of your supplements. Play around with several of them before deciding on a final prompt and story to tell.

Tips for writing a great essay:

  1. Do keep your focus narrow and personal
  2. Do prove your point by adding specific evidence from your life
  3. Don’t write what you think they want to hear
  4. Don’t restate information already found elsewhere in the application
  5. Eliminate the unnecessary words–be ruthless, you only have so much space!
  6. Proofread!!

Editing the essay:

  1. Review your essay by reminding yourself of the qualities or values you aimed to demonstrate. Does your essay show evidence that you have those qualities or values? Can a friend or mentor identify the qualities?
  2. Proofread by yourself by putting the essay through spellcheck and grammarly. Read it out loud to catch errors (especially run-on sentences and poor punctuation).
  3. Have someone else proofread the essay, but be careful! Colleges know when the essay is written by someone other than the applicant. Remember, the essay does not need to be the best your teachers can write, it needs to be the best YOU can write!

Financial Aid Overview

Applying to College:

Colleges charge application fees, but your student shouldn’t have to pay them. They can receive 4 free application fee waivers from the CollegeBoard and may receive more from NACAC. State universities may waive fees for eligible students as well. If your student needs more fee waivers they should speak to their high school counselor, who can help them get more.

Paying for College:

Many students think they’ll never be able to afford a private or prestigious school, but that’s not true! Below is a list of the major sources of college funding for low-income students. 

Financial Aid Options:

NAME

WHAT IS IT

WHO IS ELIGIBLE

Pell Grants

A grant from the Federal Government (no need to repay). To get it, seniors need to fill out a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The amount they get depends on several factors but the maximum may be around $6,000 per year. Applications open October 1 and students should apply early as money does run out!

U.S. citizens or eligible noncitizens. Undocumented students (even with DACA) are not eligible. The FAFSA will not ask for parents’ citizenship status.

College Financial Aid

Colleges give aid to students based on need, and 400 colleges rely on the College Board’s CSS Profile to determine a student’s need. Students can start filling out their CSS Profile on October 1.

Each college sets its own criteria, but undocumented students may be eligible for private aid from colleges.

Equal Opportunity Programs

Opportunity Programs are designed to help students who might not otherwise attend certain colleges due to economic or educational constraints. Students accepted to a college through EOP will get full financial aid plus special advising, tutoring, and extra guidance throughout college.

There is no separate application. As long as students apply, fill out the FAFSA (and CSS if applicable), and are eligible, the college will consider the student for admission through its opportunity program.

Note: Admissions criteria for opportunity programs are typically lower than what it would be for the college generally, so if a school is a “reach” the student may still get accepted through an opportunity program. Another good reason to still apply to dream schools!

Opportunity programs are for students from low-income families. The student’s application to college and FAFSA will help schools determine if a student is eligible.

Private scholarships

Every dollar counts, and private scholarships are a great way to fill the gap between a school’s financial aid package and their needs. Searching the internet will turn up thousands of scholarships ranging from full tuition, room, and board (like QuestBridge or Gates) to a few hundred dollars. View our scholarships and opportunities pages for our recommendations.

Each scholarship sets its own criteria, and by searching online students will find there is something for everyone out there. 

Government loans

There are three types of Federal loans:

  1. Subsidized (based on financial need; no interest accrues until 6 months after college graduation).
  2. Unsubsidized (anyone can take out; the loan starts accruing interest immediately).
  3. PLUS (for parents of undergraduates or for graduate students; interest begins accruing immediately.)

Dependent students can take out a lifetime maximum of $31,000 in federal loans (no more than $23,000 unsubsidized) for undergraduate degrees.

When repaying government loans, students also pay interest (which is fixed at 3.73% for undergraduate loans and 6.28% for PLUS loans) and an “origination fee” of 1.057% in 2022. 

It may be helpful to use the government’s loan simulator to estimate the real cost of tuition with loans. 

Like Pell Grants, students must be U.S. citizens or eligible noncitizens. For subsidized loans students will need to demonstrate financial need.

Students do not need to pass a credit check to qualify for loans.

Private loans

Students who hit their yearly or lifetime maximum for Federal loans may want to look to banks for private loans. Interest rates on loans from banks may be lower than the Federal rate and students may be able to borrow much more. 

Banks determine how much to lend based on a student’s creditworthiness. If a student doesn’t have much of a credit history they may need a co-signer who has a good credit score. 

Submitting the FAFSA

The first place to start with financial aid is the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The FAFSA can get very stressful for students and their families, but you can help your student (and their parents) prepare in advance. For some context about what first-generation students face with the FAFSA see this article from Nerd Wallet. 

To submit a FAFSA here’s what they’ll need to do:

  1. Apply for an FSA ID. This first step is pretty easy. The FSA ID just allows the Federal Government to verify your identity so that you can sign your FAFSA application online.
    Keep this in mind:
    • You and your parents need separate FSA IDs
    • It can take 3 days for your FSA ID to start working
    • You’ll need your SSN to apply
  2. Gather your paperwork. Here’s what you’ll need:
    • Identification:
      • Your Social Security number (it’s important that you enter it correctly on the FAFSA form!)
      • Your parents’ Social Security numbers if you are a dependent student
      • Your driver’s license number if you have one
      • Your Alien Registration number if you are not a U.S. citizen
    • Family Financial Information:
      • Federal tax information or tax returns including IRS W-2 information, for you (and your spouse, if you are married), and for your parents if you are a dependent student.
      • IRS 1040
      • Foreign tax return or IRS 1040NR
      • Tax return for Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or Palau
      • Records of your untaxed income, such as child support received, interest income, and veterans non-education benefits, for you, and for your parents if you are a dependent student
      • Information on cash; savings and checking account balances; investments, including stocks and bonds and real estate (but not including the home in which you live); and business and farm assets for you, and for your parents if you are a dependent student
  3. Fill out the FAFSA online. Don’t forget to assign it to your colleges, and apply the FAFSA to New York State TAP.

    Some common mistakes to avoid:

      • Entering the wrong name—you should enter your full name as it appears on your social security card (or other government documents)
      • Entering the wrong SSN–double and triple check it to avoid delays
      • Confusing parent and student information–if the FAFSA says “you” it means you, not your parent!
      • Calculating your household size–make sure to count based on the FAFSA’s instructions here
      • Not entering the schools where you plan to apply–you can list up to 10.
      • Mislabeling yourself–most students are dependent on their parents and have no dependents themselves. Most students are not in a legal guardianship.
      • Mislabeling your parents and their marriage status. Who exactly is a parent for the FAFSA? Check out this guide.
      • Visit this government website for more information on the common mistakes students make and how to avoid them.

Immigration Status and College Applications

Many of your students are likely immigrants or the children of immigrants and this may become a major factor in their application experience. Below are some potential obstacles and ways of overcoming them.

  • If your student is undocumented
    • There are no laws preventing undocumented students from being admitted to college, but there are some restrictions to the financial aid they can get, which is often the biggest barrier to college. Undocumented students are not eligible for Pell grants (no need to fill out a FAFSA), but they may be eligible in-state tuition.
    • Undocumented students may also be eligible for aid from private colleges by filling out the CSS Profile. State-specific resources can be found at the College Board’s Repository of Resources for Undocumented Students.
    • Undocumented students can still apply for scholarships. The Mexican American Legal and Educational Fund has a list of scholarships for undocumented students. Students in Columbia’s KFF program also came up with a list of resources for undocumented students which you can view here.
    • Please review CARA’s Toolkit for Undocumented Students for a comprehensive guide to college applications.
  • If your student has legal immigrant status
    • Green Card holders can apply for Pell Grants through the FAFSA, as can other legal immigrants including refugees and asylees. Check how many months of residency in your state you’ll need to qualify for in-state tuition.
  • If your student’s parents are Immigrants
    • A parent’s immigration status may arise when applying for Federal financial aid through the FAFSA, but students will still be able to complete the FAFSA. Students whose parents are immigrants may need extra time or support getting the proper tax documents in order for FAFSA. The FAFSA does not ask for the parents’ immigration or citizenship status. 
    • If the parents are undocumented (do not have a social security number), they should write 000-00-0000 as the SSN in the FAFSA. The student should fill out the rest of their parent’s financial information accurately. Their parents will not be able to create an FSA ID which means they won’t be able to sign the FAFSA online. They’ll have to print it out and mail it in.
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Incorporating Knowledge for Freedom

By participating in Knowledge for Freedom your student has shown they’re ready for college-level work, they’re an ambitious and academically-driven student, and that they’re passionate about making a difference in their community. Those are qualities colleges LOVE to see, so help your student incorporate it into their application!

  1. Personal Statements and Supplements:
    1. The Knowledge for Freedom summer was an intensive and exciting experience, and colleges will be interested to know about it! Perhaps the summer seminar changed your relationship with the humanities, deepened your understanding of the value of college, or gave you a different perspective on their place in society. Perhaps your civic projects have taught you organizational skills, collaboration, and project management. You may be meeting interesting activists, learning about engagement opportunities on college campuses, or becoming more invested in solving a societal problem.
  2. Letters of Recommendation:
    1. A letter of recommendation from your summer professor can make a big difference in your college application. Not only can your professor explain the rigors of your summer course, but he or she can speak about your unique contributions, ideas, and growth. That’s a really big deal! Make sure your letter gets sent to every single college by assigning it on the common app and any other portal.
    2. Many students are worried that it’s extra work for their teachers or professors to submit letters of recommendation. First of all, even if it was a lot of work–that’s their job and they’re prepared for it! Second of all, don’t worry! Your recommenders submit the letter 1 time to the portal and then it’s up to you to assign your letter to every single college. So the work is all on you!
  3. Extracurricular Activities:
    1. You should include information about your participation where the application asks for extracurricular activities. We suggest splitting the program up into 2 components (summer seminar and civic leadership project) so you can accurately account for the hours per week. Ask your program staff how many hours per week they recommend submitting.