AdmitSee: The Power of Near-Peer Mentors in the Higher Ed Application Process
The following article comes from our friends at AdmitSee. We’ve invited them to share their insight about peer mentors in the grad school application process.
As you begin the grad school application process, you will have plenty of opinions at your disposal. From your parents, to your current educational institution, to grad schools themselves–you may be bombarded with conflicting opinions on where you should apply. Add to that the plethora of free (and sometimes unreliable) information on the web, often written by anonymous sources, and you’re likely no clearer than when you started!
If you’re fortunate enough to have an older sibling with a tight group of friends who’ve taken career paths that interest you, you’re in luck! Spend lots of time talking with these folks about how and why they picked their grad schools, what they like and don’t like about their programs, and what they wish they knew when they were considering their options.
But, if you’re like most applicants, you need to seek out your own mentors.
Often, people with similar interests who are just a year or two ahead of you will be your most effective mentors. There are many reasons for this, but, to start, you will have an easier time connecting with your near-peers than with someone who’s 20 years older than you. You’ll find more common connections and more shared experiences to bond over. A strong personal connection is the foundation for a great mentor-mentee relationship.
Someone just a few years ahead will have the school application experience fresh in their mind, they will still be enrolled at the institution you’re considering, and they will be able to give you current and relevant advice. While your parents or the “experts” can also give you great guidance, they can’t always tell you about the current culture of a school they graduated from 30 years ago.
A great mentor-mentee relationship offers a mutual benefit. Mentees should feel they’re getting actionable advice, and mentors should feel there’s a value in helping. Most professionals agree that it’s extremely rewarding to serve as an effective mentor, but how to become one is not always intuitive! Mentees can help their mentors develop those skills. So, don’t view this as a one-way street!
As you look for mentors, don’t forget that you can add value to someone just behind you in the process. If you’re currently in college, you can sign up to serve as a mentor to high school students who are applying to college. You can create a profile here and upload your college application and answers to the advice prompts.
Building deep relationships as either a mentor or a mentee is important throughout your career. You never know where people will end up in 10 or 20 years.
With your mentors (as with life!), always respond to messages and phone calls promptly; think not only about how your mentor can help you, but how you can help your mentor; and find a way to stay connected to those who have supported you during the application process. And, as AdmitSee tries to support you every step of the way, we hope you’ll stay connected with the AdmitSee community and pay it forward when you have the opportunity to serve as a mentor!
About the Author
Zvia Schoenberg is the Head of Business Development at AdmitSee. Zvia has over 15 years’ experience working in education innovation with public, charter and independent schools. She was the Director of Strategic Planning for the Ascend Learning charter school network and served as Senior Regional Counsel for the NYC Department of Education. Her roles have spanned strategy, business development, legal, and operations. Fun fact: Zvia attended the second oldest continuously public high school in the US – Go Central HS in Philly!
About AdmitSee
AdmitSee.com offers the only peer-to-peer platform for current college and grad students to upload their entire applications as well as their responses to advice prompts. Applicants can browse basic profiles, filter to find students just like them, and pay to access their entire profiles and have them serve as mentors. And, the students who upload their information earn money for their work!