KIPPsters Take on College (& Life!)

Senior year is an exciting time, and spring is an especially buzzy season as students make decisions about their postsecondary steps. It’s both a celebratory and pivotal time—for many students, this is the first time they are asked to make choices that carry such long-term weight: what college to choose, what to study, how far from home is too far, what loans should they look into, and who they want to become as an adult.

At KIPP, we know that being college-ready is about a lot more than earning a high school diploma. College-ready means that every student, no matter their starting point when they joined KIPP, graduates high school with the knowledge, skills, confidence, and support to succeed in college, as well as a post-secondary plan aligned to their passions. We want our students stepping onto college campuses with the confidence, habits, and sense of belonging needed to persist and eventually graduate. Through KIPP Forward, our best-in-class college and career advising model, students receive individualized guidance on college selection, financial aid, and one-on-one advising to help them translate their passions and aspirations into concrete plans.

The experiences of three current KIPP Northern California seniors illustrate how that preparation takes shape. Hilary, Steven, and Anton’s paths are all unique, and they reflect on how identity, opportunity, and support systems have influenced their next steps throughout this pivotal year.

In one of her earliest classrooms in the United States, she remembers being unable to communicate with teachers or peers: “No one spoke Spanish. I couldn’t communicate with anyone. They didn’t know what to do with me, so they would sit me in the back and have me color instead of learning.”

Over time, that began to change as she found school environments where she felt seen and supported. Part of that journey was attending KIPP for her high school journey. At KIPP, the small-school setting helped her build confidence.

“They taught me there is no shame in asking questions,” she said.

With the support of programs like SEO Scholars and KIPP Forward, Hillary began to expand her understanding of what was possible after high school. What once felt uncertain became tangible through exposure to college campuses and consistent advising.

For a long time, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to study. That changed during a conversation with a friend who was interested in civil engineering. Curious, Hillary began researching the field and quickly noticed that there aren’t many women in engineering: “I want to prove that women can go into STEM, too.”

Like many of her peers, Hillary found that senior year was even more weighty than expected. The first semester meant college applications and deadlines; the second brought the realization that time with friends was limited.

“My friends and I know we don’t have much time left together,” she said. “So we try to prioritize that.”

Admitted to Santa Clara University with plans to study aerospace engineering, she is excited about what lies ahead, even as she navigates moments of uncertainty.

“Sometimes I worry about imposter syndrome,” she said. But when she reflects on how far she has come, she knows the growth has been real.

As she is getting ready to leave high school, she leaves a bit of advice to incoming ninth graders: “Get good grades, but don’t only focus on GPA. Find activities you enjoy and people who support you. Balance is key.”

“Even when things were tight financially, we still found ways to enjoy time together,” he shared.

Those early experiences, combined with relationships built during high school, influenced how he sees the world around him. His ninth-grade English teacher pushed students to stay informed about the world around them, while his baseball coach encouraged him to speak up about issues he cared about. This encouragement from trusted adults motivated him to think critically about his community.

Over time, Steven began to notice patterns in the Bay Area; in particular, the challenges of transportation and access across the region. He has family in San Pablo, but he noted that it feels impossible to get to certain places without a car: “The design of our communities doesn’t always support people.”

That observation sparked an interest in urban and regional planning. Steven’s goal is not just to leave the Bay Area for college, but to return with the tools to improve the systems that shaped his experience.

For Steven, senior year has been less about slowing down and more about pushing himself in new ways. He’s leaning into more opportunities and joined new activities, including cross country and baseball and different clubs.

“People say senior year is supposed to be chill,” he said. “That hasn’t been my experience. This year has been about growing in new aspects, and I love the challenge this year.”

Recently accepted to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Steven is looking ahead with both excitement and reflection.

“I’m nervous about moving out,” he admitted. “But I’m excited to try new things and become more independent.”

For him, college is a chance to explore new ideas while eventually bringing those lessons back home: “I’d love to come back to San Francisco after college and help solve some of these regional and city problems”.

Finding stability in a new environment did not happen immediately. But over time, what stood out most was not just the structure of school, but the people within it.

“I really like small schools. I know everyone, and they know me,” he shared, reflecting on his experience at KIPP Prize for middle school and later KIPP Navigate for high school.

At KIPP Navigate, relationships and routines work together: “There are clear standards here and there’s a routine, but the people make the school what it is. My friends and the people I know here make the experience special.”

This combination of consistency and connection helped shape how he experienced school.

“KIPP is very supportive and they care about what I’m doing,” Anton shared. “I feel that they are invested in my future.”

His interest in math and computer science began early, structured by the time spent learning alongside his father. Even after being separated during the war in Ukraine.

“He would wake up at 2am his time to tutor me so it worked with my school schedule,” Anton said. “I’m super grateful.”

When applying to college, Anton approached the process with precision. He analyzed admissions data, researched financial aid policies, and prioritized program strength over name recognition. That approach led him to apply early decision to Carnegie Mellon University, where he was accepted.

“The computer science program is amazing. They offer free tuition for families under a certain income, and we would qualify.”

Throughout the process, his KIPP Forward college counselor played a critical role: “Ever since junior year, my Director of College Counseling has been very involved. She suggested I take challenging courses at a nearby community college. She read my essay four times and gave me so much advice.”

At Carnegie Mellon, he is excited to have a fresh start and try new activities he has yet to explore while meeting new people. He plans to study data science and statistics, with the goal of using technology to improve health outcomes.

“I want to connect health with math, specifically with technology to help detect health disorders faster than the human eye, with great accuracy. I want to have an impact on society in either a social or innovative way.”

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Together with their peers, Anton, Hilary, and Steven are learning how to make informed decisions about their futures. With direct support from KIPP Forward counselors, they are weighing financial realities, exploring academic interests, and developing the confidence to step into unfamiliar spaces.

This June, nearly 500 KIPP NorCal high school seniors will cross the stage and start their postsecondary journeys. Our goal is that they carry with them the confidence to pursue their ambitions, the awareness to navigate complex systems, and the belief that they belong wherever they choose to go.