THE HOUR FOR HOUR PROMISE
Each hour of tutoring purchased directly funds an hour of one-to-one SAT prep or college counseling offered to a low-income Bay Area student free of charge.
Why it matters
The college application process is necessarily impersonal. Because schools have to process thousands of applications in a matter of weeks, they have no choice but to place enormous weight on raw SAT/ACT scores and student essays as measures of a candidate's potential for success in college.
Although standardized tests strive to measure students' deep academic potential, the tests are learnable by their very nature: there will always be test-specific tips and tricks that give an edge to the students who know them.
The high prices tutors and test-prep companies charge reflect just how indispensable these resources are: for better or worse, individualized test preparation and college admissions counseling is worth thousands of dollars as an investment in your student's future.
But not everyone has thousands of dollars on hand to invest, and those without access to personalized preparation resources enter the arena at a severe disadvantage. The test-prep industry has taken what is widely perceived to be an opportunity for disadvantaged students to compete on equal footing, and turned it into yet another venue for economic advantage to widen the achievement gap.
Pro bono DETAILS
Once we agree to work together, pro bono clients receive our 48 hour packages in both academic tutoring and test prep / college counseling, which they can spend on whatever combination of services best suits their needs.
Our highest priority is to grant pro bono clients the same high-quality, individualized services paid clients receive, while also adapting to the unique challenges students in low-income communities face. While many paid clients prefer to meet in their homes, for example, partnerships with local schools provide workspace and tech infrastructure for students without access to a computer or graphing calculator at home.
eligibility
All Bay Area high school students who qualify for free or reduced lunch are eligible to receive tutoring free of charge. Details on the free/reduced lunch program can be found here.
Much of our pro bono client intake is managed in partnership with a mix of public, private, and charter schools in Oakland and Richmond, whose staff help identify high-need students motivated to make the most of this valuable opportunity.
We eagerly accept pro bono clients directly by phone and email, however, so if you are a low-income student or parent interested in working with us, please feel free to get in touch!