Ivy Scholars Pro-Bono College Consulting Program

Ivy Scholars is pleased to introduce our new Pro-Bono program, aimed at helping underprivileged students in the Houston area fulfill their collegiate dreams.

There are three steps to the Ivy Scholars Pro Bono Program.

Step 1 – Students nominate themselves for our program.

Step 2 – Students complete the Pro Bono application that is shared with them following the completion of one of the forms in step 1.

Step 3 – Applications are reviewed by our team and students are notified of their acceptance or rejection within two weeks.

To nominate yourself, download and complete this form, and send it to probono@ivyscholars.net along with a copy of your resume.

Our Mission

We are a for-profit company, but we are in a good position to see the problems students face from the current state of college admissions, and how schools’ admissions policies are failing students. We understand that, unfortunately, there are many outstanding students who are unable to hire a college admissions consultancy to assist in their educational journey.

After all, we often exhort our students on the benefits of volunteering, it would be remiss for us to do otherwise.

Although we do not have the resources to help every student, we do have a collection of insider resources and admission tools available for free to students and counselors.

Pro Bono FAQ

What are the admission requirements for the program?

Pro-bono students should be high achievers academically, but struggle with college applications due to outside circumstances. We select students with high grades (i.e. mostly As), who have challenged themselves academically, and who are at the top of their class. We also require students in the pro-bono program come from families earning under $65,000 per year.

What is Ivy Scholars looking for in applicants?

We want to see students with a compelling story, who have worked hard and made the best of their situation. We look for the same thing colleges look for; engagement with passions, a desire to learn for its own sake, and internal motivation. We want to help our students succeed, and because our resources are limited, we pick the students who are most likely to benefit from our assistance.

What’s the curriculum?

Our pro-bono curriculum is the same as the one we offer to all our students. You can read about how it works here.

What’s the time commitment?

We usually meet with students twice a week, for an hour or less each time. However, we assign a lot of work outside our meetings. While the amount of time this will take to complete varies, you should expect to spend up to five hours a week working on essays or doing homework. This is a lot of work, but colleges demand a lot from applicants. The overall length of an engagement varies, depending on how many applications we are doing together.

How often do students meet with mentors?

Once or twice a week, for an hour or less each meeting. We may meet more often or for longer as deadlines approach if we need to finish essays or applications. This schedule gives students time to work on their applications between meetings, and finish any homework that gets assigned.

How does the program change over time?

Our first meetings are informational and designed to finish clear and short tasks. We try to finish these early and quickly. Later on, we begin work on essays, which are more complicated, and require more effort to do well.

Where do graduates of our program go?

We’ve had great success with our students so far, with graduates of the program attending Columbia, Rice, and UT Austin’s McCombs Business Honors Program. Another student attended University of Houston’s Bauer College of Business on a full-ride scholarship. For more information on our past students, check out our case studies below.

Is the program in-person or online?

As with our regular college admissions program, all of the lessons take place online. Ivy Scholars hires the best mentors we can find, regardless of where they live, which means in-person meetings are often impossible. We use an online project management software, Asana, to keep our progress on track and organized. We meet with students over Zoom, and use Google Docs and Classroom to good effect.