Q&A with VP of Enrollment Ali: Finding Our Students’ Mentor Match

A: When a student initially enrolls with Command, both the student and their parents receive questionnaires that allow our team to get to know them better. The comprehensive questionnaires ask the student to describe their interests, goals, academic background, and personality, and the parents to provide background on their family, their student’s personality and values, and their typical schedule—among other topics. After the questionnaires are returned to us, we schedule a call with the student and parents to review the information and continue to get a more personal understanding of who the student is. From there, members of the Command sales team, mentoring leadership, and the executive team work together to assign the mentor who will be the best fit for the student’s personality and needs.

A: In the mentor matching process, consistent with Command’s overall approach to college admissions, we regard students as holistic people and customize the process to each student’s unique needs; so, we try to take all aspects of a student’s personality, goals, and values into account as we consider which mentor would be the best match for them. At the same time, a student’s personality is uniquely important when choosing a mentor—students’ goals and interests may change and develop throughout the process of working with Command, but their personality and core values will stay the same. By pairing the student with a mentor that will connect with their personality, we strive to ensure that the relationship that the mentor develops with the student will be a steady support throughout their high school career, even as some of their other circumstances may evolve over time.

We also consider the mentor’s availability—Command ensures that mentors have ample time to devote to each of their students by limiting each mentor to 2-3 students in each grade level.

A: Our near-peer mentors are all Ivy-League graduates with undergraduate or advanced degrees in an array of academic disciplines from Astrophysics to Creative Writing and Political Science. Whether a former distinguished fellows at prestigious universities, professional athlete, or seasoned educator, each mentor brings a diversity of expertise and a depth of knowledge about the ever-changing world of college admissions and how to help students stand out against thousands of other applicants. Our near-peer model is designed to provide students with a trusted and relatable mentor who is familiar with what elite schools are looking for now.

A: First and foremost, our mentors provide truly personalized, one-on-one support for students—this means that students can expect consistency, clarity, and reliability in the guidance they receive. At the same time, as a boutique firm, our mentors have the benefit of an entire team for support and frequently collaborate with one another to utilize every team member’s strengths to meet our students’ needs. So, while students will never be passed around to other team members throughout the process, they can rest assured that their mentor has a host of resources to ensure that the student benefits from the highest caliber of advice and expertise.

A: We routinely hear parents say things like, “I have never seen my son/daughter so excited about their work” or that their mentor “can connect with my son/daughter in a way that I’ve never been able to.” The most consistent feedback we receive is that our mentors ignite students’ passions; the joy students find in discovering what they love is palpable to those around them. Beyond helping students fill out activities lists and edit college essays, Command’s mentors help students set a course for their future and find their purpose. Reaching the end point of admission to their dream school is incredibly important, but families often express that the journey through which mentors guide students to reach their goals is as valuable as the ultimate destination.