SOY’s College-bound program helps our first-generation students succeed in middle school, high school to gain access college. SOY believes all students have the potential to go to college and need the resources to start their journey to college at the start of middle school. SOY tries to level the playing field by providing their students the same resources that their peers have.
College-Bound Program
Not only has this program helped me grow as a successful student, but most importantly, as a person. I am forever grateful towards S.O.Y for this amazing experience!
Kimberly Sanchez
ECHS
I am very glad that I made the decision to go on this trip because not only have I attained important information but I have also met new people who are also interested in higher education.
Betsy Avila
CMHS
During this trip I not only got to visit universities in northern California, but visit new cities as well as new people, which I have gotten close too.
Estefani Gomez
NHHS
Each student that enters the college-bound academic program at SOY from 7th grade to 12th grade, receives support and guidance and specialized assistance to get to college, including monthly academic meetings throughout high school, and college application and essay writing assistance when they are seniors. They also go on college tours, receive financial literary workshops, and assistance with the FAFSA and their scholarship applications.
100% of our SOY seniors in the college-bound program graduate from high school.
100% of our SOY seniors who complete the college-bound program and enroll in college are guaranteed a SOY scholarship, in addition to being eligible for other scholarships.
Upon signing a contract to be in the college-bound program, students are offered academic counseling and free monthly college tours to local colleges and universities in Southern California, with tours provided by SOY alumni studying at the university they are visiting. They learn first-hand, from a student like themselves, from the same town and program, that they too can succeed in college.
During Presidents Week SOY takes students on longer full day trips to San Diego to visit UCSD and other colleges and universities. During Spring Break SOY takes students on a week-long Northern California Trip to tour visit 5 UCs and 5 Cal State Universities from Santa Barbara to San Luis Obispo to Santa Cruz to San Jose to San Francisco to Berkeley to Davis to Merced.
Most of our students have not been out of Orange County or LA, and this trip is life changing.
They step on college campuses for the first time, visit cities that they might one day call home, and for seniors, this allows them to actually visit the campus they have applied to and got into.
Please click here to learn more about our college tours and how you can get involved.
SOY’s College counseling, which starts in ninth and tenth grade, advises them on the A-G requirements and the extra-curricular activities they should be involved in at SOY and at school to help them get into college, and the various options of colleges and universities they could go to. As Juniors, SOY helps them prepare for their senior year with mentoring, advisement on choosing classes, instruction about the college process, and deciding on college majors and career interests.
Senior Year they receive the most help and assistance. They not only receive special assistance throughout the year from individual writing tutors designed to guide them in the difficult and time-consuming college admission process, but they also receive a UCI college mentor matched to meet their intended majors and goals. They receive weekly senior application writing workshops in the fall and weekly scholarship application writing in the spring. In the winter they receive assistance on filling out their FAVSA or AB540 forms. Then upon receiving acceptances to the universities and colleges of their dreams, they receive special individual advice to analyze their college financial aid packages to see which university will offer the best value and education for them.
Currently there is a SOY alum study at every UC in the state and most Cal States. All of them on a SOY scholarship. These students give back as tour guides and mentors to younger students coming up.
Throughout their years at SOY in the college-bound program, students receive academic support with their classes and individual attention from tutors if they fall behind. They also receive wellness workshops to help with stress and anxiety.
Please see our academic tutoring section
And ways to get involved.
Please see our Health and Wellness section.
Mentoring is an important part of our college-bound program since most of our students’ parents have received only a high school education and don’t speak English. As first generation college students they need to know their options for careers and speak to professionals in their field of interest.
SOY provides a variety of ways to help our youth expand their horizons. SOY sponsors monthly Career Nights where alumni, Board members, and community members visit SOY to discuss their careers and inspire students to think about different career options. We have had Career panels in STEM, Engineering, Law, Education, Medicine, Women in Leadership, Psychology & Social Work and Business, among others. Most opportunities require a college education, and the panelists share their own college and career paths, while others may require training for trades where they can achieve success. (See also our section on Career Development)
Some of our Previous guest speakers at SOY Career Nights.
SOY Career Speakers
SOY has also had professionals come individually to give a more in-depth understanding of their profession, whether a doctor or an engineer, for example, and they would provide a hands-on presentation of what they do day to day and how they got to where they are.
Dr. Jorge Mauricio Castellaños, a cardiologist at Hoag, has come to speak at SOY a few times and has been a mentor for our SOY students. One of eight children, he was an English learner, coming to this country in the fourth grade and becoming valedictorian of his high school, attending Stanford University and then Harvard Medical School and also receiving his specialty of cardiology at Harvard Medical School. He owns his own medical practice and also practices at Hoag hospital while also volunteering at SOY. He brought medical supplies to SOY to let them try out how he places a stent in someone’s heart through a person’s artery in the wrist. See the photo below.
SOY has a mentor program, matching professionals with students to help guide them in their idea of following a certain career path. Some of our guest speakers and alumni have become mentors to our students, guiding them toward careers in medicine, business, engineering, finance, and teaching, among others.
If you are interested in becoming a mentor you may find out more information here.
For the last few years SOY has paired juniors and seniors with a UCI college student mentor. They meet at SOY or on zoom and discuss life as a college student, what types of classes they need to take for certain majors, living and working on campus, and how to get involved and still study while in school. This allows our students to actually see themselves as a college student.