via Youtube, video by Ogilvy & Mather
Transliteration of “Carlos Tifa”, published in El Diario on April 28, 2015.
Carlos Tifa, a young Puerto Rican-Dominican from the Bronx, decided to take action when he found out that his high school would not prepare him to get into college. In his search for SAT help and college guidance, he came across Let’s Get Ready, an initiative supported by the New York Community Trust. Under the tutelage of the organization’s volunteers, Carlos rose to the occasion, reaching proficiency in SAT subjects and receiving the kind of college application advice that only recent college students can provide.
One of these volunteer is Michael King, 21, who discovered Let’s Get Ready at a volunteer fair at Fordham University. Intrigued by the organization’s mission, he quickly joined up as a Coach in the College Access Program where he was assigned to Carlos, whom he helped with financial aid applications. “I’m an admirer of the program because I know that for a person from a low-income [background], it is really hard to spend thousands of dollars to go to a university,” stated Michael.
Carlos remembers that the grammatical section of the SAT was the biggest headache but his mentor taught him not to be afraid of letters. “That was the best strategy,” he notes. With Let’s Get Ready’s help, Carlos saw a 270-point increase in his SAT score, landing him with a final score of 1,770.
“We know this tutoring can help a lot of students like Carlos be prepared for college,” says Robin Melen, Program Director from Westchester Community Foundation. “92% of the participants enter college after going through the Let’s Get Ready program and working with a Coach/mentor. This is a big success because only 47% of students [from low-income backgrounds] enter college after high school,” she adds.
At print time, Carlos has been accepted at Stony Brook University, where he plans to study International Finance and Economics. His next goal is to work at a Fortune 500 company.
Note: With Let’s Get Ready’s help, Carlos saw a 270-point increase in his SAT score, landing him with a final score of 1,770. Since this article’s publishing, Carlos Tifa has been accepted to and plans to attend Dartmouth University.
