Education at The New Group

YTT College Access at The New Group

The New Group’s YTT program provides free college application and interview workshops, mentorship, and networking for students and their parents. We strive to help each student find the school that is the right match for their interests and affordable for them and their families, while encouraging them to strive for the best colleges and universities. It is key to our mission that all of our programs are offered at no costs to students and their families.

YTT is a year-long program beginning in January, and is designed especially for students that are applying for college the following fall. However, one can apply to join up through the early fall and still benefit. In addition, it is open to all high school students, including freshman and sophomores. Colleges strongly advise students to begin this work as soon as possible in their high school career.

If you have questions, please email Juan Carlos Salinas, Education Coordinator at juancarlos@thenewgroup.org

Columbia University Admissions Office visit to YTT

Yale Multicultural Open House at Yale University

YTT working group at The New Group's office

YTT College Fair at The New Group

YTT College Fair at The New Group

Our History and Approach

Created in 2010, YTT College Access has worked with over 2000 students and has a 100% acceptance rate. An acronym for Y Tu Tambien, YTT joined with The New Group in 2020 in response to the pandemic, expanding its offerings to include My Story workshops rooted in theater techniques and creative drama led by theater professionals, to help students develop a sense of self awareness, while strengthening their writing abilities, interviewing skills, and self-presentation abilities. These skills are meant to help students not just through the guise of college applications, but as soft skills that are used consistently in everyday life. Our collaborative group meetings, both in person and virtual, are meant to relieve the stress of the college application process. Programming is offered during the week and weekends, to maximize student involvement.

Embracing the model of a public library, YTT is not restricted to any one group or demographic. While over 70% of our students identify 1st Gen or low-income, and over 90% will require financial aid to attend college, we believe in bringing a diverse community of students together to work on a common goal. YTT has had the highest acceptance rates to elite institutions like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and Cornell of any nonprofit community-based organization in the city.

YTT Program Activities

My Story essay writing and interview workshops
Weekly writing center meetings at New Group offices
One-on-one office hours
Walk through the entire application process, from beginning to end
Prepare for college, internship and work interviews
Support parents through regular workshops and meetings
College panels and meetings with admissions officers

YTT Work in 2023