Join us for Personal Statement workshops

We’re excited to announce a series of very special Personal Statement workshops to support seniors applying to college in 2020! While an in-person weekend event at Mission High School won’t be possible this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are bringing our Personal Statement support to students for the first time on distance learning platforms. This year’s workshop series will take place online using Zoom, and we’re hoping to support another 200 students this fall. 

We’re inviting all high school seniors in SFUSD to register, attend, and get that extra boost of support, and all available 826 Valencia tutors in the community to come out to support them as they write, revise, and edit these important responses. 

Here’s how it works: Students and tutors can sign up for one or more tutoring sessions, which run from 3:00 to 5:00 on Tuesdays and Fridays in October and November. 

• Tuesday, October 27 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
• Friday, October 30 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, November 3 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
• Friday, November 6 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

826 Valencia will pair trained tutors with students to provide individualized feedback on their college application essays. All personal statement and scholarship essay writers are welcome, whether they’re just starting, almost finished, or somewhere in between. 

Here are what some of last year’s students and tutors had to say about our Personal Statement event: 

• “My tutor was very interesting and understanding. Having spent time with someone as smart as my tutor motivated me to work harder on essay writing in general.”
• “Because I had a tutor to talk to, I was able to move much further along in the writing process of my personal statements. I learned to break down my essay into specific points that can be more clearly stated and understood. This made the writing process easier for me as well.“
• “It is always inspiring to hear the incredible stories of strength and resilience displayed by these amazing young people. They often do not perceive their own triumphs.”

Now that you’re excited, please spread the word, and get a friend to sign up with you! Our current record is serving 191 students in a single weekend, and this year we are aiming to serve even more with our four day workshop series. 

Students: Click here to register! You may sign up for up to two workshops. 

Returning Tutors: Visit our volunteer calendar to sign up for a tutoring shift.

New Tutors: Welcome! Please complete a volunteer application to begin the process of becoming an approved 826 Valencia volunteer. You will need to complete a LiveScan background check and submit negative TB test results to begin volunteering with our students. Feel free to contact us at volunteer@826valencia.org with any questions.

Note for all tutors:

This workshop series requires a personal statement training in advance. If you have attended a personal statement training since 2016 (either at one of our centers, or at Personal Statement Weekend) you will not need to attend again this year. Training will be offered on the following days/times:

Thursday, October 1, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Monday, October 5, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 8, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

Please RSVP to a personal statement training by signing up on the volunteer calendar or emailing volunteer@826valencia.org. Please reach out if you are not available for any of these training times but would still like to get involved.