ASAP at Mission High School
ASAP is a student-centered college access and persistence program based at Mission High School, focused on getting students to and through college. We encourage all students to realize their full potential for college completion.
ASAP at Mission High School merged with Mission Graduates in July 2020!
We’ve been partners in building pathways to college for a long time, and our missions were aligned. Together we’re making a difference for even more students in San Francisco and are supporting their paths to and through college.
ASAP is a student-centered college access and persistence program based at Mission High School. Our goal is to empower students to believe that college is possible and accessible to them.
We create and cultivate a college-bound culture on campus to provide access to one-on-one mentoring, individualized college counseling services, college persistence programs to support students to and through college, and college summer school programs.
Important Information & Contacts
Are you an ASAP alum? Sign up for our mailing list to receive updates on ASAP and Mission Graduates.
ASAP Students, join us Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 2:00 – 4:00 PM. We can help you with college applications or other college related questions, talk about the future, talk about the past, talk about your dreams or your life or your cat…
Come hang out with us!
“This program has had a direct impact on what I will look for when deciding the college I will attend. Not only did it influence and mold my perspective on college, but it gave me a taste of the college lifestyle.” Isaac Alvarez, Mission High School Class of 2018
Program Highlights
Pre-College Counseling & College Access Mentoring
The ASAP office, located inside Mission High School, is open every day as a unique college counseling and support space that assists students with the college application process, including choosing schools to apply to, personal statement writing, and the financial aid process. We help year round with CSU, UC, Common Apps, and other general college applications including applying for FAFSA and DREAM Act.
College Persistence
We employ current and recent college students, our College Success Advisors (CSA’s) to advise our high school seniors during the college application process. Once in college, our college mentoring program – Alumni Mentoring Program (AMP) – matches college freshmen with older alumni to assist newer students with transitioning into, navigating through, and succeeding in college. Our CSA and AMP programs are currently on hold to ensure the health of our communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Scholarships
ASAP offers help with financial aid and scholarship applications. We also offer our own scholarships, including the Promise Scholarship, which provide financial support and promote a connection with ASAP through college. 95% of Promise Scholars have graduated or are on track to graduates from college within 5 years.
Summer Programs on College Campuses
ASAP provides students with full scholarships to attend summer programs (academic, leadership-building, or sports-related residential programs on college campuses) to experience college and meet new people. Past schools include UC Berkeley, Saint Mary’s, Cornell, Columbia, etc. Come use our computers, get help from volunteers for applications, and enjoy!
History
Athletic Scholars Advancement Program (ASAP) began with a few people who believed that they could help make a difference in the lives of at-risk youth and has evolved into a multi-year commitment to our students. ASAP has grown from a grassroots effort to send a soccer team to camp into a year round college access and persistence program helping students at San Francisco’s Mission High School on their journeys to and through college.
In 2004, after a series of gang-related student deaths, Scott Kennedy – the school’s athletic director and soccer coach – hoped to bring his team to summer camp at UC Berkeley, not only to learn skills but also to remove them from the violence in their communities. The San Francisco Chronicle featured an article about the gang violence affecting the soccer team at Mission High. Responding to the article, Judy Grossman helped to raise money to send those 18 soccer players to UC Berkeley for summer camp. As she got to know the students better, she realized the need to create a larger support system to help them explore academic and athletic opportunities, as well as to apply for college. Working with Scott Kennedy and then-Principal Kevin Truitt, they created the Athletic Scholars Advancement Program.
ASAP has expanded from working with a handful of students in 2004 to more than 300 students today. It has evolved into a year-round comprehensive program that provides pre-college mentoring and in-college support for students from all backgrounds. Since its inception, over 1100 students have attended summer enrichment programs on college campuses, at no cost to the participant.
Today, in addition to our summer programs, we also have our own student advisory with more than 20 students, individualized pre-college counseling (includes all different parts of the application process, financial aid, and scholarships), and college persistence through our Alumni Mentoring Program (AMP) and ASAP scholarships. The programs are run by our small, diverse, and dedicated staff with assistance from well-trained volunteers.
Impact
Since its inception in 2004, over 100 seniors and 300 younger students receive college access guidance during the academic year and over 1,100 students have attended summer enrichment programs on college campuses.
In the past two years alone, three times more ASAP students have completed bachelor degrees and ASAP has supported 75% of Mission High alumni who have graduated from college.