The Georgia College Advising Corps (GCAC) is featured in spring 2018 Diversity at UGA newsletter. The Georgia College Advising Corps (GCAC) — an outreach program of the University’s Institute of Higher Education — is a college access program that works to help low-income, first-generation and underrepresented students enter college. GCAC helps students find their way to college by placing well-trained recent college graduates in high schools to work one-on-one with students as they navigate the college admissions process, including researching college options, completing applications and applying for financial aid. Since many of the advisers are first-generation college students themselves, they have a unique understanding of the challenges facing the students they work with, and they are trained to help with college searches and the nitty-gritty work of completing admissions and financial aid applications. Close in age and background to the students they serve, GCAC advisers offer morale as well as practical support—and form bonds of friendship with many of the students they work with. “Being a senior, I thought I was supposed to know everything: how to sign up for the ACT/SAT, know what colleges I want to go to and how to apply on Common App,” said Kaya Pollack, a senior at Clarke Central High School who was served by GCAC adviser Alyssa Yuhouse (UGA Class of 2016). “I put off seeing my college advisor because I was too worried that I was too late in the game, it didn’t take me long to realize that one of the only ways I was going to be able to stay in the game was with Ms. Yuhouse’s help. She became my mentor, my friend, and the loudest person cheering me on.” The need for assistance is great, given the staggering workload of most high school counselors. College enrollment can be even more challenging for high-need students, who often do not have access to the resources and guidance necessary to enroll in college and secure financial aid. This is how Georgia College Advising Corps meets a critical need. Seniors who meet with a GCAC college adviser are more likely to aspire to go to college, apply to college and be accepted to college. During the 2016-2017 school year, students who met with a GCAC college adviser were 25 percent more likely to visit a college or university, 22 percent more likely to submit the FAFSA, 28 percent more likely to apply to college and 21 percent more likely to be accepted to a college. “Finding and applying to colleges can seem like a daunting and lonely process, and if there’s anything I’ve learned from my time with Ms.Yuhouse, you’re never alone,” said Pollack. “Whether it was on a Saturday night or 15 minutes before you left school, she would always be there reminding you to take a deep breath and hold your head high because she was proud of us. And having one person be on your team can change everything.”
