College Coach
Volunteer in Los Angeles and impact a student’s future with just a few hours per month.
What is a College Coach?
Applying to college takes just a few hours, but it can change a student’s life forever. Our College Center in LA’s Boyle Heights neighborhood is a community hub supporting students on their college journey and our volunteer College Coaches are at the heart of this transformation. We train volunteers to provide critical guidance to high school students as they explore college options, revise essays, complete applications, and file for financial aid. College Coach are a vital support network for our students through this year-long arduous process.
Volunteers commit to serve for 12 months and choose from two ways to engage: match with a student or provide drop-in support.
Qualifications
College Coaches must hold a bachelor’s degree, commit to two+ student coaching sessions per month, complete our online training, and pass a background check.
ScholarMatch selects volunteers based on program capacity and discretion. Volunteer candidates are not guaranteed a spot in the program.
Match with a Student
College Coaches wishing to build a deep relationship with a student can choose to “match” with 2 local high school seniors for the academic year. ScholarMatch will assign the student to the volunteer in the summer and the volunteer will provide individualized support throughout the student’s senior year. College Coaches connect with their students at least once per month, are encouraged to meet students when possible at our college center, and are also able to continue the collaboration virtually in between meetings. This is a great opportunity for busy professionals and requires approximately 4-5 hours per month on average for coaches working with the standard commitment of 2 students.
Drop-in Support
College Coaches wishing to work with different students throughout the year can choose to provide valuable “drop-in” support during our College Coaching sessions. In the fall, college coaching centers on list building and essay writing. In the spring it transitions to scholarship research and reviewing financial aid award letters. Coaching sessions last two hours and take place at our college center on Monday-Wednesday evenings and select Saturdays; most drop-in coaching happens during the busy August-January application season, with occasional additional opportunities throughout the year. We ask drop-in College Coaches to commit to attending two sessions per month.
Visit Us
Our Los Angeles College Center is located in Boyle Heights and is a free resource open to the community. We offer workshops, 1:1 meetings by appointment, and drop-in hours for students and families to work on all things college admission!
ScholarMatch
1852 East 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA 90033
412.855.0132
Timeline
2019-20 Program Timeline
MARCH 15: Volunteer signup opens
JULY 12-13: Volunteer Convening in San Francisco
JULY-AUGUST: Student matching
LATE AUGUST-JUNE: College Center programming begins & College Coaches support students
SEPTEMBER 16: Volunteer registration closes
OCTOBER 4: Final deadline to complete online training modules
Training
We provide robust training for volunteers through several online training modules, which we estimate take 5-6 hours to complete. You may work at your own pace, but we recommend completing the modules within three weeks. In addition to online training, we host an optional (but encouraged!) in-person training convening in San Francisco on July 12-13, 2019. Resources from this convening will be also shared with all coaches who are unable to attend in person.
