Can a child of immigrants get into college? Naomie and Hannah, best friends at High Tech Los Angeles, dreamed of getting into college, but they didn’t know where to begin. And neither did Naomie’s parents, who were immigrants and unfamiliar with college education in the United States.
The girls’ goal was to each go to a college that met their academic, social and emotional needs, details their high school college counselors weren’t able to spend the time to help them find.
I met with Naomie and Hannah weekly starting in 11th grade. I helped them understand that college was about more than just academics; it’s an opportunity to build friendships, develop leadership skills and prepare for adulthood. Together, we discovered the best colleges for their needs, and I helped them apply. Naomie was accepted to UC Irvine, and Hannah went to UCLA. Both flourished at their chosen colleges, and they sent me this joint thank you letter.
“We truly appreciate the time you took to get to know us, in order to help us go somewhere we would be happy. You opened our eyes to colleges we didn’t know were out there and to the idea that college isn’t just a place where you get an education, but also where we could build a life and create memories…you created a comfortable environment to talk about our concerns, and made us excited about the future!” — Naomie and Hannah, Class of 2015
Whether your parents have gone to college themselves, or have little understanding of the U.S. college and university systems, if you want to go to college, you deserve the best chance of getting there.
Public high schools typically have very few resources to help families in this situation. But at Magellan College Counseling, we’ve helped students whose parents are immigrants, or who did not attend college in the U.S., many times. And we can your children, too, no matter where you’re from.
Are you or your child having a tough time applying to college? Contact us and let’s see how we can help.