Happy December and New Year!

On Monday, January 15, at 12-2 (Mt. Zion Church, 857 Main Avenue, Passaic), we have an amazing guest speaker!

Andrea Navedo (from Jane the Virgin) is coming to Passaic to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with us and share her story of challenges and success as, among other things, a first-generation college student.

Students can pick up their free copy of her book at the United Passaic Organization offices:

1 Howe Ave Ste 301, Passaic.

UPO is open Monday through Friday, 9-5, but call just in case before you go - (973)-472-2478.

MTB students will be meeting with Ms. Navedo privately from 12-1. Families are welcome to join at 1 (or come at 12 for food). Free lunch will be served, and students can participate in the MLK Day of service in coordination with the launch of UPO's community food truck, 10-12 and 2-3.

Please register for this event.

Congratulations to Sherly, Natalie, and Rachel for their early college acceptances! Some schools notify students early; it's also normal and fine not to have heard any news yet. Many of our students are still busy working hard on applications with support from their mentors.

Here's a Comment from a Fellow about Getting Help from her Mentor:

"Today I met with M and I was able to show her my college essay draft. She gave me some suggestions and will continue to give me more as I write/fix it here and there. M will also help me if I need any help when I create my FAFSA account as well as my mom's!"

FAFSA Preparation!

FAFSA will officially open on December 31, but we can expect delays throughout January.

For now, families need to keep a few things in mind.

• Parents with existing FSA IDs will need to update their profiles to include an email address. This can be done now.

• For many families, the FAFSA only required one parent to have an FSA ID. This will change for many but not all families.

• When students begin the FAFSA, they will go through a process to determine which parents (called "contributors") will be "invited" to contribute to their application.

• There will be a new online process for parents without a social security number (before families had to mail in a form). This process will be safe and secure but will not open until December 31.

• FSA IDs will take a few days to process and cannot be completed on the same day as the actual FAFSA completion.

Ask a Question

There's no such thing as a stupid question. Ask anything and everything by going to this form. Don't be shy! bit.ly/AskMTB

Question: How do students pick their mentors?

Question: How do MTB High School Fellows get matched with their College Student Leaders (mentors)?

Answer: It's a student-led process.

Every summer, our College Student Leaders participate in summer training. They learn about financial aid, how to be a good mentor, and more. They also work together to make MTB work. Each summer, our newest Leaders put together information about the College Student Leaders (usually videos) and ask the incoming High School Fellows to rank their top three choices for a mentor. Then, the Leaders do the difficult job of matching students up.

If a Fellow wants to choose a different Leader at the end of the first year, they are welcome to do so although that has never yet happened. We work hard to make sure that our mentor/mentee pairs are communicating well and building a strong relationship so that our College Student Leaders build the trust of their mentees before they begin the senior year of high school and the college application process.

Question: How do the stipends work?

Question: How do the stipends work?

Answer: Communication and completion of MTB tasks are key.

MTB is built around the idea of giving financial support to our students. High School Fellows receive $75 a month, and College Student Leaders receive $400 a month. The funds are intended to free our students from some of their other financial responsibilities and to give them space and time to come together as a community of success in MTB.

Students need to participate in weekly meetings in their small mentoring groups, complete their monthly MTB tasks, and attend our monthly Full Group Meeting. Life sometimes gets complicated, and all our MTB students have learned how to communicate effectively about conflicts.

Each month, students complete a stipend survey where they reflect on their work in MTB. The goal is to help our students think critically about their work in a safe and supportive environment.

Checks get sent out at the end of each month. Occasionally, they don't arrive, and students are encouraged to reach out to Audrey if their check seems to have been lost in the mail.

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