The Mountain View-Los Altos Foundation has been piloting a community campaign this school year for juniors and seniors in the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program to fund students’ standardized tests and college application fees.
“$70 for an application fee can make a difference in someone’s life,” MVLA Foundation Co-Executive Director Margaret Gong said. “It’s not a huge ask, but very important to the person receiving it.”
Every year, the foundation grants $100,000 toward the program as a whole, which aims to help first-generation high school students prepare for college and future careers. This year, the goal is to raise an additional $20,000 specifically for seniors’ college fees as well as tests such as AP, SAT and ACT for all grade levels, according to Gong.
Although college application fee waivers are available, they are based on family income and many students are on the border, making them unable to receive that aid, Gong said.
“It’s already so hard to get into college, so applying to just one or two is not going to work,” Gong said. “Without the campaign, it lowers the probability of them getting into their dream college.”
The funding is also especially significant in light of the University of California (UC) schools considering bringing back standardized testing after ending the SAT and ACT requirement in 2020, according to Los Altos High School AVID teacher Jonathan Kwan.
The campaign comes as the AVID program has doubled over the past decade, increasing the need for funding, according to foundation members. The aim is to ensure that all AVID students facing financial difficulty will continue to receive financial aid from the district.
“This is a really wealthy community, but we still have a fair number of students without resources,” Mountain View High School AVID advisor Laura Schmidt said.
For some AVID students, the campaign means more than securing financial aid.
“Whenever my parents have to pay a fee for a test or class, I feel extremely guilty,” Los Altos High junior Brian Hernandez said. “So this financial aid would help relieve that guilt, but also help me succeed in classes and get opportunities to take tests I wouldn’t be able to take otherwise.”
For others, it makes a difference for their families who are already managing multiple expenses.
“My mom’s the one taking care of us, so she would have three children that she would have to pay AP tests for,” Los Altos High junior Cynthia Ramirez said. “So, that’s a major thing (MVLA) helps out with so she doesn’t have to take care of that.”
According to Kwan, the funding gives AVID students opportunities they might otherwise miss.
“We try to stretch every dollar to give students opportunities to see a world they dream of and fight for,” Kwan said. “The money is going directly to aid students and their chance to go to college.”
The first $10,000 raised will be matched by anonymous donors, according to the foundation’s website.
To donate and for more information, see mvlafoundation.org/avid.
