IvyWise Scholars Pro Bono College Counseling
Our pro bono college counseling program serves high-achieving, low-income students across the U.S. applying as first-year or transfer students.
Pro Bono College Counseling Program
The IvyWise Scholars program offers free college admissions guidance from IvyWise experts to help high-achieving, low-income students reach their college admissions goals — providing support through every facet of the application and selection process. Our goal is to empower students to achieve their personal and academic goals, discover and develop their passions, and find success in the admissions process – and beyond.
Here’s what our pro bono students and families have to say about the IvyWise Scholars program:
IvyWise Scholars Program for High School Students
The IvyWise Scholars program for high school students is a combination of college counseling and tutoring, where students are guided through the admissions process by an IvyWise expert college counselor, with additional support from IvyWise tutors, to help them achieve their admissions goals. Scholars typically complete the Common App and 4-6 supplements by the end of the program. We also work with students applying to match with their top-choice schools through the QuestBridge scholarship from start to finish.
In addition to college admissions counseling, IvyWise Scholars in high school receive 10 hours of tutoring for use as needed, either for academic tutoring or test prep.
The IvyWise Scholars application for 2024-25 has now closed. Please stay tuned for the launch of the 2025-26 application cycle next year.
Please reach out to [email protected] with any questions.
IvyWise Scholars Program for Transfer Students
IvyWise offers the Transfer Scholars program for current first- or second-year college students planning to transfer to a different four-year institution. This includes personalized transfer admissions counseling guidance from our expert counselors, all of whom have direct experience in reviewing transfer applications. Scholars will be guided through the transfer admissions process with individual one-on-one counseling, allowing them to maximize their program time and gain a full understanding of why they want to transfer and what they need to do to secure admission to their top-choice transfer schools. Scholars typically complete around 2-3 transfer applications by the end of the program.
The IvyWise Transfer Scholars application will reopen in late 2024.
Do I Qualify as an IvyWise Scholar?
The IvyWise Scholars program is open to high school students who are 10th, 11th, or 12th graders and are planning to apply to a four-year university during 12th grade, as well as to current college students looking to transfer to a different university. Other qualifications include:
- Minimum 3.5 unweighted GPA
- Household income less than $75,000 per year
- U.S. Resident
The IvyWise Scholars Application Process
In order to be considered for the IvyWise Scholars program, you will need to first fill out a preliminary application. After all applicants’ preliminary applications are in, we will evaluate the information provided and reach out to applicants for supplementary materials to confirm eligibility, such as transcripts and parents’ tax return(s) from the most recent calendar year. All information will be reviewed only by our executive team and be held in strict confidence. During the application review period, we may ask for an additional interview in order to learn more about you, your interests, and your college goals.
In the preliminary application, we typically ask for:
- Information on your interests, college goals, intended major, extracurricular activities, etc.
- An essay asking, What are your college goals and what have you done thus far to achieve those? (250 words).
- A short video essay on the prompt: How would becoming an IvyWise Scholar help you reach your higher education goals?
