Applying to college can feel intimidating and isolating for some, but one UCLA club is trying to make the process more equitable.

Rujula Vikram, the club‘s founder and president, said she created the Uplift Initiative – which seeks to address information inequities in the college application process – when she was in high school. The program specifically provides support for students in Title I high schools around Los Angeles, which have been earmarked for additional federal funding to help traditionally disadvantaged students obtain a high-quality education.

Vikram said she was inspired to create the club after going on a service trip to a Title I elementary school. While there, she said, she noticed the teachers carried a particularly heavy burden, such as having to cover many classroom expenses using their own money.

“For this club, just to provide a network of support for students across all backgrounds … who might not otherwise receive that from their schools or from their peers,” she said.

Through the initiative, students at Manual Arts High School, Fremont High School and Helen Bernstein High School are paired with UCLA mentors who have similar interests and goals, said Vikram, who is also a third-year economics and political science student. Vikram added that she looks for people who are dedicated to service.

“Let’s say there’s a student at the school who’s interested in becoming a doctor. You’ll be paired if you’re a bio major, for instance, or if you’re interested in going on the pre-med track as well, you’ll be paired with that student,” she said. “It will just be working on supporting them one on one.”

Piper Bailey, a third-year English transfer student who is part of the Uplift Initiative’s technology board, said the experience helps to create school-to-college pipelines for students from low-income areas.

To make this happen, mentors might talk about their own experiences as college students and what it was like to go through the college application process, Bailey said.

She added that the mentoring program also seeks to expose students to different educational paths and the resources available to explore them.

“As a transfer student, I really feel very passionate about being able to share my experience and be like, ‘Hey, I didn’t do the more traditional path of going straight from high school to a four-year. Here’s my experience with having gone to community college and the resources that come from that,’” she said.

Melody Peñaloza, a first-year business economics student, added that the Uplift Initiative is heavily involved in helping high school students with their college applications, such as by reading responses to personal insight questions and helping them navigate the federal financial aid process.

For some club mentors, participating in the Uplift Initiative helps them personally and professionally.

Peñaloza added that she appreciates helping students from her alma mater, as she remembers valuing her own tutor’s belief in her capabilities.

“I joined Uplift because I heard about how they were helping and mentoring these young girls,” she said. “Coming from a Title I school myself, it’s funny because one of the schools that they go into and tutor, I actually came from there.”

Bailey, who wants to work in education in the future, said the program is also a good opportunity to get experience working with students. She added that she enjoys participating in the mentoring program because of the satisfaction of being able to help students realize their goals.

Vikram said many high school students who have worked with the Uplift Initiative have gained a more solidified idea for achieving their plans following graduation.

“I think they’ve been able to get a little bit more concrete in their vision of how they can try to manifest their reality or their goals,” she said. “They seem a little bit more confident in their pursuit of what they want to do.”