Become a Mentor

What Is Commitment and What Are the Expectations of Mentors?

Work with students throughout the school year, from September to May.

Meet with students at least once a month, and preferably twice, for approximately 45 minutes to one hour. Sessions are sometimes held weekly during the students’ senior year.

Communicate with students to remind them of a group meeting, follow-up with them on grades or assignments.

Communicate with the program Staff if any problems or concerns arises with a student.

Attend occasional meetings and/or training sessions held with Staff.

Attend informational sessions scheduled with other mentors.

Attend an annual meeting with parents.

Mentors also have the option to attend other PreCollegiate activities including parent programming, summer programs, high school graduation, and college fairs.

Some mentors enjoy following up with students once they graduate from high school and go on to college, but there is no program requirement that you continue with your group after they graduate.

What Kind of Support Does the Staff Provide?

Once you complete the application process you will attend a formal mentor training session where you will learn more about being a mentor and about our curriculum.

At your request, we will attend your group meetings to support and/or monitor their progress.

We provide practical coaching and ongoing direct support and feedback for all mentors.

We furnish a resource binder you can use to prepare for student sessions.

Via email, we make sure you stay up-to-date with the program schedule and ongoing developments both in the college application process and at their school.

We organize meetings where you will have a chance to share ideas and resources with other mentors.

Can I Pair Up with Someone, Like a Spouse or a Friend?

Absolutely, we have many co-mentors for groups including friends and spouses. Often the co-mentoring approach offers distinct benefits to the students and helps you with scheduling and managing the process.

Working With a Group From 7th to 12th Grade Seems Like a Long Time. What If I Can't Commit to That?

We understand that life goes on for our volunteers as much as for the students, and that the period from 7th to 12th grade seems like a long time (although it goes by in a flash!). We like mentors to know going into it that it is ideal for them to stay with the kids their whole high school career, and the vast majority of our volunteers do.

Mentors are really only meeting with their groups from 1-2 hours a month for nine months, and most of our mentors report that they wish to spend more time with their groups, not less. If something happens that impacts your ability to meet the expectations we are happy to work with you and your students to get help, meet requirements, and ensure that any transitions are smooth.

It is more important for us that we start with a group in 7th grade with a mentor willing to commit for the short term than to wait to serve the students later in their high school career.