Y Tu También - College Access

La Unidad Latina Foundation’s college access program Y Tu También strives to increase access to higher education for NYC high school minority and first-generation students.

Since 2014, we have provided free college application workshops, mentorship, and networking for students and their parents.Since 2014, we have provided free college application 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, while encouraging them to strive for the best college and universities.

It is key to our mission that all of our programs are offered at no costs to students and their families.

Accepting Applications for our Y Tu También 2021-2022 Class

The student application is now open for NYC high school freshmen through seniors who wish to be a part of our 2021 Y Tu También class. To apply, please email ytutambien@lulfoundation.org.

Become an Y Tu También Mentor

For college alumni and working professionals, we are always looking to add to our group of mentors who support our students through the college application process. To become an Y Tu También mentor and support our high school students, please email ytutambien@lulfoundation.org.

Our Approach

College Applications: We walk our students, regardless of their legal documentation status, through the entire college application process. Several of our mentors are current or former admissions officers from Ivy League schools. We also assist students through the financial aid process.

Interviews: All students are thoroughly prepared for college, internship, and work interviews. We use theater education techniques to conquer stage fright, and students go through various mock interviews.

College Trips: Our college trips are not simple tours. We have alumni from top tier schools who help arrange for our students to meet with high ranking administrators and officials in charge of diversity initiatives. Students also meet with current college students who are Y Tu También alumni.

Parent Engagement: The college application process can just as daunting for parents. We offer workshops to support parents as their students transition from high school to college. We want parents to know that their students will have all of the support they will need to succeed.

Giving Back: As all of our services are free of charge, we ask that students come back and serve as mentors. This part of our programming was born out of Yale Day of Service hosted by the Yale Latino Alumni Association.

By the Numbers

  • Served over 600 high school students in our program history.
  • Average of 3 hours weekly devoted to each student.
  • Over 600 hours every year of college access programming.
  • Average 12 annual college application panels serving over 140 students per year.
  • During the 2018-2019 academic year, all 76 high school seniors received at least one offer to a top 50 school as ranked by US News and World Report, Forbes, and Wall Street Journal.

  • “The way I felt when beginning the college process was, undoubtedly, the most afraid I had ever felt in my entire life. Being 1st Gen, on top of it all, only heightens the fear and anxiety. Before YTT there were many nights where I felt alone. YTT changed everything for me. It provided me with information and resources which helped me feel like I had the upper hand in the college process; it made things easier; I finally began to truly understand what I had to do and how I had to do it. YTT helped me feel less alone.

    - Melanie Esterine, YTT 2019, University of Michigan

    List of Colleges Acceptances

    Amherst College
    Barnard College
    Boston University
    Brandeis University
    Brown University
    Carnegie Mellon University
    Case Western Reserve University
    Columbia University
    Cornell University
    Dartmouth College
    Duke University
    Emory University
    Fordham University
    Georgetown University
    Harvard University
    Hunter College
    John Hopkins University
    Lehman College
    Long Island University
    McGill University
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Northeastern University
    Northwestern University
    New York Insitute of Technology
    New York University
    Princeton University
    Queens College
    Reed College
    Rice University
    Rochester Institute of Technology
    Ross School of Business
    Seton Hall University
    St. John's University
    Stanford University
    SUNY Albany
    SUNY Binghamton
    SUNY Buffalo
    SUNY Polytechnic Insitute
    SUNY Stony Brook - Honors College
    Tufts University
    UCLA
    University of Chicago
    University of Michigan
    University of North Carolina
    University of Pennsylvania
    University of Southern California
    University of Texas - Austin
    University of Virginia
    Vanderbilt University
    Villanova University
    William E. Macaulay Honors College
    Williams College
    Yale University

    Contact Us


    La Unidad Latina Foundation
    25 Broadway 12th Floor, New York, NY 10004