In order to be considered for the program, students must meet achieve eligibility criteria in addition to the acceptance criteria of a partner school. Since achieve is a four-year high school program, students apply beginning in October of their eighth grade year. All students must submit a recommendation by their middle school principal, counselor or approved program director.
Step Five
5
Selection Process and Finalist Interviews
SELECTION PROCESS AND FINALIST INTERVIEWS
- All applications are reviewed by achieve founder and staff.
- Applicants are eliminated based upon the relative strength of their total application and will be notified in late February.
- Finalists will be notified in late February.
- In early March, finalists and their parent(s) or guardian(s) will be interviewed by achieve founder, school principal/president and achieve staff.
- All Finalists and their parents/guardians must bring proof of full vaccination, including booster, to the interview.
- Notification of achieve scholarship awards are sent with the school acceptance letter.
Thank you for your interest in achieve.
We hope to meet you soon!
Student Testimonials
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This program has helped me not only create and achieve goals I would not have fathomed possible for myself, it has also shown me that the limits to my success are as boundless as I desire them to be.
Sofia Ortega-Guerrero '18 - Yale University '22
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I came into achieve as a young teenager with dreams. I am leaving achieve as a teenager who knows how to make those dreams a reality.
John Bermudez '16 - Colgate '20
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Thanks to the achieve Program, I have been exposed to a myriad of opportunities I would not have had access to anywhere else. My internships at the Exploratorium, UCSF Medical Center, and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital of Oakland Research Institute have been absolutely pivotal in my life.
Natasha Alvarado '18 - University of Chicago '22
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The guidance and mentorship of the achieve Program has shaped me into the man I am today — confident in my abilities and ready to tackle the next step in my journey after high school.
Louie Mezie '19 - Lawrence University '23
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achieve has shown me that I can be more and I can help other people in my family and community be more, too… achieve has changed my life and I will use the tools given to me to become a driving force in success, change and empowerment.
Brittany DeWeaver '16 - Carleton College '20
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Without achieve, Middlebury College would have not been a possibility because I would not have had the knowledge of the college process. Not only did achieve give me the resources to apply to college, but also helped me understand what types of colleges fit me.
Nestor Orozco-Llamas '19 - Middlebury College '23
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When I was accepted into the program, my 14-year-old self was not aware of the gifts that would be given to me by achieve in the next four years: knowledge, personal growth, life-changing events, support, and love.
Samantha Alvarado '19 - Southwestern University '23
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achieve has taught me that giving back and helping others is something you should do all of your life. It gives you a feeling of happiness when you see others smile and hearing that your actions have benefited the people in your community.
Gaby Nunez '17 - Lawrence University '21
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The greatest impact the achieve Program has had on my life is that it has helped me step out of my comfort zone and try new and challenging things that I never thought I would be able to do.
Melissa Cervantes '17 - St. Olaf College '21