(This email was sent to Lisa in April, from her student Ellen H., who will attend UCLA in fall 2020. It was published in Medium. For more information about how Journey Ahead can help your family, call 619-417-9242.)

Hi Lisa!

Since the large bulk of my college admissions journey is over, I wanted to thank you for all the help you’ve provided me throughout this process. I first signed up to receive a ScholarMatch mentor out of boredom, and didn’t expect much from it. When we were first paired up, I was pretty nervous for our first call and didn’t know how I should act. As the days went on, and you sent me all of the online quizzes and portals to assess which career path and college would be the right fit for me, I began to enjoy the process a lot more. I was constantly impressed by the tools that you had at your disposal, and just how helpful they were.

Ellen grew up in Los Angeles, CA. At her high school, she serves as captain of her school’s Academic Decathalon and holds the record for the highest score in a competition.

I knew from the start that applying to college would be very confusing, and yet I was still shocked by just how complicated some of the technical application questions were. I didn’t know what the Common App was asking half the time, but you were always there every step of the way. Looking back on the college selection process, I don’t even know how I would’ve decided which colleges to apply for. I knew absolutely nothing about researching different college programs and majors, and without you, a lot of my choices would have been ill-informed. You made me consider factors regarding college life that I never would’ve even thought of, such as the size of the school itself. All the college tours you sent me were very fun and helped me realize that I see myself on a larger campus (although I’m sure I’m going to complain about all the stairs at UCLA).

Even when I tried to give up, multiple times, you didn’t let me and I’m incredibly thankful for that.

During the summer when I received my SAT score, it hadn’t gone up by a single point (1250). I simply didn’t want to study for the damn test anymore. I figured that with a test score like that, I wouldn’t have much of a chance to get accepted to a university I’d actually like to attend, and wanted to throw in the towel. I was very scared to tell you, because I knew that you’d convince me to continue working and that deep down you were right.

I still remember when I was sitting in my best friend’s room, and you asked if you could call me to talk about it. After that call, I told my mom what you said and she agreed with you and told me that I’d regret it later on if I didn’t at least turn in the applications and see what happens. So I got up, and I gave it another shot. Even then, I felt like you did just as much work as I did, with finding me a tutor and continuing to assess what type of environment I’d like to spend the next four years in.

Later on, as I was trying to sort through the college profiles you sent me, I became disillusioned with the search for the perfect college list and felt as though every college was the same. When I finally told you how I was beginning to feel, you called me within the day and offered some helpful solutions. You didn’t let me take the easy way out, even when I really, really wanted to. I never wanted to make you feel as though I didn’t appreciate all your help, and that was a strong enough motivator to follow through with all the assignments you gave me. I know that there were times I’d accidentally make you worry about me — like through that entire FAFSA situation — and I’d continually be surprised at just how deeply you cared. You constantly went above and beyond for me. You’d call me at 9 pm out of worry, when you should be enjoying your leisure time, and you text back so quickly that I’ve began to think of you as my friend and role model, rather than my mentor.

Whenever I’d open one of my acceptance letters, I always wanted to tell you the good news first.

Your praise when I was accepted to UCLA rivaled that of my parents’, since you understood more fully just how difficult it is to get into a school that’s classified as a “reach” for everyone. Even though my name might be on the acceptance letter, it belongs to you just as much as it does to me. Without your kind words, helpful advice, and general companionship, I never would’ve been able to earn as many acceptances as I did. I know for a fact that I wouldn’t have listened to any counselor at my school if they told me to take pre-calculus, but I was willing to listen to you, and I’m thankful that I did. Words truly can’t express the full measure of my gratitude and appreciation for all your help. Even now, you send me resources that I can use in the future.

What started as registration for this program out of boredom turned into one of the best decisions I’ve ever made :) Once again, thank you so much, for putting up with me, and for helping me get to where I’ve gotten.

Sincerely,

Ellen H.

Ellen is a high school senior from Los Angeles, CA who will begin college at the University of California, Los Angeles in Fall 2020 as an intended Philosophy major. In the 2019–2020 academic year, Ellen participated in the ScholarMatch/CollegePoint virtual college advising program for high-achieving, low- and moderate-income students. Lisa was her coach.