Free tutoring, academic programs, mentoring, research
opportunities, and available scholarships are all things most UCLA
undergraduates would jump at the chance to have.
All these opportunities and more are available right on the UCLA
campus through the Academic Advancement Program.
But there are eligibility requirements to be part of AAP, a
university- and grant-funded program.
“Some students … come from backgrounds of struggle, who
haven’t had (the) same advantages as a typical UCLA
Bruin,” said Masai Minters, director of UCLA’s AAP.
“We serve students who can most benefit from our
needs.”
Students are first introduced to AAP on their University of
California admissions application, where they can check a box
stating that they are interested in the program and wish to be
looked at for eligibility.
The admissions office chooses the students who are qualified for
the program, but students can always submit applications.
“There is always room, we take students year-round. Once
you’re in, you’re in until you graduate,” Minters
said.
Some factors looked at in the application process are the
student’s family income, how far they commute from, and their
parents’ education levels.
“There are two UCLAs,” Minters said. The average
income of students’ families are well over $115,000 a year.
When compared to students with families that make less than $20,000
a year, “that’s significant … (their) parents
didn’t graduate high school; they love them but can’t
help them … with midterms, papers, etc.,” Minters
added.
AAP scholarships are also available to AAP students, with money
that comes from private donors.
With over 5,500 current AAP students, the program has a great
effect on the UCLA campus.
“I struggled during my first quarter big time … I
enrolled the second quarter and it helped me a great deal, having
peer counseling, emotional support,” said Tanya Crawford, a
recent art history graduate. “My third year, I became an AAP
tutor, and it felt good giving back.”
Most of the 200 AAP tutors are undergraduates who go through a
specifically designed training program.
“We use a collaborative learning model to come together
… and teach one another,” Minters said, “Tutors
don’t just reteach, that’s just our
philosophy.”
Another part of AAP’s design is organizing programs where
students and their families attend together.
“I decided to go to UCLA because of Scholar’s Day,
because of the support with minorities and academic support. That
was really cool, it was a very warm environment,” said
Stephaneetta Bingley, a second-year communication studies
student.
Once AAP-eligible high school seniors and transfer students
decide to attend UCLA, they are urged to take part in the Freshman
Summer Program, where they enroll in classes that will accustom
them to the university.
“FSP (was my) best experience at UCLA yet. The transition
from high school to college was intense, but it really pumped us up
for the academic year,” Bingley said.
There is also another program designed to help freshmen students
succeed, the Program Leading to Undergraduate Success, which is
made up of only 200 students from more than 400 applicants.
PLUS is a nationwide program that works through AAP to give
freshmen students both professional and peer counseling and
mandatory tutoring for each of their classes.
As AAP undergraduates become ready to graduate, they are given
the option of graduate-school counseling from UCLA students in the
graduate schools.
The UCLA McNair Research Scholars Program, which works through
AAP, helps eligible undergraduates get into graduate school and
earn their doctorate degree in humanities or social sciences.
Only 10 students are selected each year to participate.
With so many programs and students, AAP remains busy each day
from 8 a.m. to midnight, Minters said.
Though some see the AAP offices as mostly a tutoring center,
others find it to be much more.
Bingley feels that AAP is her home away from home, “It is
more personable. I’m not just a number … They understand
where you are coming from and advise you where other adults on
campus can’t.”
For more information about AAP or to apply, go to 1209 Campbell
Hall.