College confidant: Navigating college essays, financial aid for the first time

July 11, 2022
Contact:

In Michigan,
many high-achieving
high schoolers
consider college to be
out of their reach

BOB ZWIERS
TEACHER
Holland High School
They’re smart as a whip in class. They just don’t have the background knowledge or the help at
home. And that is so many of our students.
HANNA
STUDENT
Battle Creek Central High School
Will attend: Kellogg Community College
I had no clue where to go with college. I had no clue how to fill out my first application.
U-M’s Michigan College
Advising Corps (MCAC)
offers recent U-M graduates
year-long, full-time positions
in under-resourced high schools
to help high school students
reach their full potential
NOAH HOLLANDER
EXECUTIVE PRINCIPAL
Battle Creek Central High School
:34 We serve an underserved population and an under-resourced population.
add hyphen to under-resourced

TIFFINI HOLLINS
SCHOOL COUNSELOR

Battle Creek Central High School
We don’t have the time to spend just going over college applications and scholarships. The
college advising program solves a lot of those issues for us.
FREDDIE DE LA ROSA
MCAC COLLEGE ADVISOR
Holland High School
I’m extremely appreciative of this program and the way it impacted me when I was in high
school, and I’m very happy that I can give back now. I am pretty close in age and I often feel like
:56 a big brother role for a lot of these students.
he says “role” but the caption says “rule”
FLOR
STUDENT
Holland High School
Will attend: Kendall College of Art and Design
The first thoughts I have about college when I came, for me it was impossible. The word
impossible in my mind.
KARINA
STUDENT
Holland High School
Will attend: Hope College
1:11 And I’ve been an unaccompanied youth since I was 16. Mr. De La Rosa helped me to find
a stable living situation.
fix spelling of name – should be De La Rosa not Delarosa
MICHAEL TURNER
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, K-12 PARTNERSHIPS
CENTER FOR EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH
University of Michigan
Our applicants tend to be students that have gone through similar experiences as the students
in our schools. So then it becomes this very personalized, individualized approach. And I think
that’s what makes this program pretty unique.
ISAAK
STUDENT
Holland High School
Will attend: Undecided
1:28 Me and Mr. De La Rosa, we connected through the Promise Scholarship, and he kind of
fix name – same as above
1:30 helped guide me through it and
add “it”

1:35 and get me through that process of competing for it and receiving it. He was also like a
first-generation student.
add hyphen to first generation
FLOR (no onscreen name)
1:38 Thanks to him,
delete period
I had the confidence to keep going.
KARINA (no onscreen name)
1:43 Thanks to Mr. De La Rosa,
fix name
I was able to apply for Hope College and be accepted there and also to get a lot of scholarships.
Since 2010,
the MCAC program
has served more than
20,000
students
CHARLOTTE PIERCE
1:57 MCAC COLLEGE ADVISOR
correct spelling of advisor
Battle Creek Central High School
It’s really just a matter of helping them realize what opportunities are out there and that they
are not that different from all the other kids whose parents may have those resources or have
that family history of college.
KAMEILAH
STUDENT
Battle Creek Central High School
Will attend: Jackson State University
I was like, I’m not going to college. But then she started telling me more about it and she
2:12 started introducing
change “start” to “started”
opportunities to me, giving me more confidence.
LALRO
STUDENT
Battle Creek Central High School
Will attend: Grand Valley State University
She really strives to get to know every student and help them find a path.

HOLLANDER (no onscreen name)
What’s amazing about this program is that it’s not just about the University of Michigan, right?
Like the work that a college advisor does is What do you want next?
TURNER (no onscreen name)
It’s not a recruitment leg. It’s really about outreach and making sure that things are equitable,
2:31 delete period
communities have the resources so that students, no matter what their background is and
they’re able to map out some sort of strategy.
ZWIERS (no onscreen name)
We have hundreds of kids that wouldn’t have gone to college, wouldn’t have reached their
fullest potential without this program.
HANNA (no onscreen name)
If not for Miss Pierce, I wouldn’t have a future plan.
KAMEILAH (no onscreen name)
Because of Miss Pierce, I’m going to college.

For student Flor Sanchez, the first thought about college was “it was impossible”. Image credit: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography
For student Flor Sanchez, the first thought about college was “it was impossible.” Image credit: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography

Flor Sanchez, a student at Holland High School, described her anxiety about talking to the college adviser.

“Honestly, the first thoughts I had about college … it was impossible. The word impossible was in my mind, hearing about how much it cost, about the process. It’s a long process. Getting accepted, doing essays for me was impossible,” she said.

And then Sanchez met Freddie De La Rosa, who was once very much like her—a student unsure about if college was for him. He’s working with Holland students through a partnership with the University of Michigan where he’s part of the Michigan College Advising Corps program.

The MCAC helps high school students across the state determine and pursue their post-high school academic goals. They do this through training—and providing guidance to—a team of advisers, all recent college graduates, who work full time in schools across the state, through a mutually beneficial and financial partnership between U-M and the high school. 

Freddie DeLaRosa. Image credit: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography
Freddie De La Rosa. Image credit: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography

The program, started in 2010, has helped more than 20,000 students throughout the state select and apply for colleges and scholarships.

“He helped me open doors. Without Mr. De La Rosa, I couldn’t have done anything to go to college and thanks to him, I had the confidence to keep going,” said Sanchez, who plans to attend Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University in Grand Rapids to learn illustration and printmaking.

“I even saw there were opportunities that I never really had in my life. So I changed my mind and I said, ‘OK, it is possible, and if these people are helping me it is because they see something in me, and now I have to see it.'”

Battle Creek Central High’s Charlotte Pierce with banners of the colleges students will attend. Image credit: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography
Battle Creek Central High’s Charlotte Pierce with banners of the colleges students will attend. Image credit: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography

After four weeks of training over the summer, the MCAC advisers work in high schools across the state, anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours away. They live in those communities and are typically involved with the program for a year or two.

“I WOULD GUESS WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF OUR KIDS THAT WOULDN’T HAVE GONE TO COLLEGE, WOULDN’T HAVE REACHED THEIR FULLEST POTENTIAL WITHOUT THIS PROGRAM. I THINK IT’S INCREDIBLE THAT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN IS PAYING FOR THIS PROGRAM TO HELP KIDS GET INTO ANY COLLEGE.”

Bob Zwiers, a teacher at Holland High School

Along with Holland, the program’s 16 advisers serve students in 25 schools around the state including Saginaw High School, Pontiac High School, Chandler Park Academy High School, Holland High School, Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, Battle Creek Central High School and Flint Southwestern Classical Academy.

“Hundreds of our kids wouldn’t have gone to college” without the program, says Zwiers. Image credit: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography
“Hundreds of our kids wouldn’t have gone to college” without the program, says Bob Zwiers. Image credit: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography

They work primarily with senior students, sometimes juniors, and determine what the next chapter could be for those students—community college, a university, potentially U-M.

And the impact over the past decade has impressed Bob Zwiers, a teacher at Holland High School. 

“I would guess we have hundreds of our kids that wouldn’t have gone to college, wouldn’t have reached their fullest potential without this program,” he said. “I think it’s incredible that the University of Michigan is paying for this program to help kids get into any college.”

And De La Rosa was one of those students and counted Zwiers as a teacher and mentor.

“So my goal to come back to Holland was definitely the fact that Holland was very influential in me getting to the University of Michigan through the scholarships, through the support of my high school and the community,” De La Rosa said. “I was able to get into the University of Michigan, and I wanted to give that same opportunity to students.”

De La Rosa figured he’s met with 90% of the seniors at Holland High to support them through whatever their next steps may be—whether that’s college, the military or the workforce.

“It’s really about outreach and making sure that things are equitable,” says Michael Turner. Image credit: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography
“It’s really about outreach and making sure that things are equitable,” says Michael Turner. Image credit: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography

Michael Turner, associate director of K-12 partnerships for the Center for Educational Outreach and program manager for the Michigan College Advising Corps, stresses that the program isn’t a recruiting tool for U-M.

“It’s really about outreach and making sure things are equitable,” he said. “So that students, no matter what their background, are able to map out some sort of strategy.”

‘Getting the funds necessary’

A critical piece of the puzzle for many students who strive to attend college is how to find scholarships, grants and other financial aid. And that’s a specialty of the Michigan College Advising Corps.

The program helps students submit college applications and find scholarships. Image credit: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography
The program helps students submit college applications and find scholarships. Image credit: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography
“How do I make that [college] dream a reality? By getting you the funds necessary to help you through school:” Hollander. Image credit: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography
“How do I make that [college] dream a reality? By getting you the funds necessary to help you through school,” says Noah Hollander. Image credit: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography

Tiffini Hollins, a school counselor at Battle Creek Central High, said the U-M trained advisers have been a tremendous help to her and the students and she’s grateful for the partnership. 

“The challenge with students is the knowledge and the equity and the opportunity to have access to college scholarship opportunities,” she said. “And for us, in my opinion, the Michigan College Advising Program solves that program.”

Noah Hollander, executive principal at Battle Creek Central, said the school serves an under-resourced population and a big barrier that students face when contemplating college is how they will pay for it. 

Partnering with U-M has also brought a greater sense of credibility to the school’s advising efforts, he said. 

Even more powerful for individual students is the self-confidence they gain from working with someone like De La Rosa or Charlotte Pierce, the MCAC adviser in Battle Creek.

“There’s that expectation of excellence and then being able to have access to a school that many of our kids never even thought was going to be a thing for them,” Hollander said. “So understanding that there’s a connection point in our building to the University of Michigan, that is powerful.”

“How do I make that dream a reality? By getting you the funds necessary to help you through school,” he said. “So having that support system in the school that they can access that says, ‘I will walk you through the process of figuring out how you make this financially possible’ is incredible.”

Pierce said that with a lack of resources and knowledge about different educational and career paths, students are often uncertain about where to turn.

“All of these students are capable of moving on to the next step after high school, but they just don’t realize it yet,” she said.

“Because of Miss Pierce, I’m going to college:” Kameilah Mullen. Image credit: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography
“Because of Miss Pierce, I’m going to college,” says Kameilah Mullen. Image credit: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography

One of her students, Kameilah Mullen, said the advising made students more confident about their futures. At first, she didn’t think higher education was something for her. Neither of her parents finished high school, she said. 

But with Pierce’s guidance, she got a spot at Jackson State University in Mississippi to study business administration.

“She was introducing opportunities to me, giving me more confidence,” Mullen said. “I’ve dealt with confidence issues for a long time. But hearing that from a second person, instilling that into me was like ‘OK, maybe I can do this.'”