ESSAY BUSTERS: YPIE
COLLEGE-BOUND MENTOR APPLICATION, 2015
Dear Prospective Essay Busters Mentor,
Thank you for your interest in the Essay Busters Mentor Program. Essay Busters is a non-profit that gives underprivileged high
school students the essential tools to write the required college essay. Economically disadvantaged, college-bound students learn how
to communicate “Who I am” through the written word.
Essay Busters (est. 2008) works! Ninety percent of the students in last year’s program were accepted to one of their topchoice colleges. As a mentor, you can help us make it 100 percent for the coming school year’s graduating class.
Responsibilities of the mentors include assisting students to select topics; write college personal statements and
supplemental essays; and help fill out college applications. This school year, our student participants at Essay Busters: YPIE come from
neighborhoods throughout Yonkers and many will be the first members of their families to attend college. Our students require extra
support throughout the college admissions process. That’s where you come in.
Our volunteer mentors will work closely with our high-school junior, college-bound students for seven sessions, on Saturdays
from 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM (please refer to Page 3 for complete schedule). During this time, mentors will be partnered with up to three
students and help him/her write college essays and finalize college applications. Throughout this process, we anticipate that our
mentors will form long-lasting bonds with their students and become an integral part of their college admission process.
Being a mentor/tutor in any organization is a rewarding experience, but being an Essay Busters mentor has two added wins:
1) your work will result in getting a low-income, typically disenfranchised high school student into a leading college, changing the
course of his/her life and his/her family’s life forever; 2) you will be part of an inspirational program whose success will in large part be
due to your participation.
We thank you in advance for completing the attached application and for taking it--and this commitment--seriously. In order
to begin your involvement as an Essay Buster Mentor, please complete the following:
● Volunteer Application (see pages 2-6)
● Essay Revision Sheet (see pages 7-9)
● Resume (please submit attached to this application)
● Photo Release Form (separate form)
If you are accepted as an Essay Busters mentor, you will be required to attend one training session with an Essay Busters
representative. Also, an Essay Busters college/grad admissions coach will always be in attendance at every session with students and
will supervise all final work.
We know this is a significant commitment, and appreciate your interest and dedication to being a part of our mission to help
low-income, under-represented high school students communicate “who they are” through the written word and get them into
college!
Please send completed application materials to John DeCosta, the Essay Busters Mentor Lead for this program,
john@essaybusters.org. Also, please feel free to contact John (212-849-8914) if you have any questions or concerns about this
application.
We look forward to working with you to make a difference.
Sincerely,
Evan Forster
Evan Forster
Essay Busters Inc.
259 West 15th Street, Suite D
New York, NY 10011
212-741-0990
evan@essaybusters.org
ESSAY BUSTERS: YPIE
COLLEGE-BOUND MENTOR APPLICATION, 2015
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Name:
Date:
Email:
Home Phone:
Address:
Cell Phone:
City:
DOB:
State:
Driver’s License#
Zip:
If your application is accepted, Essay Busters may
request your Social Security Number to conduct a
background check.
EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION
Occupation:
Current Employer:
Business Address:
City:
Work Phone:
State:
Zip:
Fax
Name of Supervisor:
Title:
Address:
City
State
Zip
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ESSAY BUSTERS: YPIE
COLLEGE-BOUND MENTOR APPLICATION, 2015
EDUCATION
School
Location
Graduation
(yes or no)
Major
Degree
In case of emergency, please contact:
Name:
Telephone:
Want to make this an even better experience?
Please identify 1 or 2 individuals who you believe will be great mentors who would be interested in receiving this
application and/or more information about Essay Busters.
Name: ______________________________
Email: _______________________________
Name: ______________________________
Email: _______________________________
Name: ______________________________
Email: _______________________________
AVAILABILITY



The Mentor Training is mandatory. If you cannot make the training session below, please contact John DeCosta
(john@essaybusters.org) immediately.
You are permitted to miss one work session (not including the first or final sessions).
Missing more than one session will result in dismissal from the program.
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ESSAY BUSTERS: YPIE
COLLEGE-BOUND MENTOR APPLICATION, 2015
Date
Thursday, May 28th
Time
6:30pm-8:00pm
Saturday, June 13th
Saturday, June 20th
Saturday, June 27th
Saturday, July 11th
Saturday, July 18th
Saturday, July 25th
10:30am-12:30pm
10:30am-12:30pm
10:30am-12:30pm
10:30am-12:30pm
10:30am-12:30pm
10:30am-12:30pm
Saturday, Aug 1st
10:30am-12:30pm
Topic
Location for Training Sessions only:
Manhattan 259 W. 15th St.#D
Personal Statement
Personal Statement
Personal Statement
Interview Skills / Personal Statement
Personal Statement
Supplemental Essays
Supplemental Essays / Awards
Ceremony
Note: All sessions (except for the training session) will take place at a school or library in Yonkers. The location is TBD,
but will be close to a Metro North Station. If it is not within walking distance, transportation to and from the station will
be provided for by Essay Busters.
*For those of you traveling from New York City, Essay Busters will arrange for a discounted group rate ticket to be
explained at training. Mentors are expected to pay for their discounted ticket. It is roughly $70. If you have a financial
difficulty, don’t give up, just contact us.
Will you be able to commit to attending the mentor training as well as the seven Saturday sessions from 10:30 AM12:30 PM during the duration of the ESSAY BUSTERS Program? (Please note the attendance exception regarding
missing no more than one session.)
Yes ___
No ____
How did you hear about ESSAY BUSTERS?
Referral by: _____________________________
Alumni Network:__________________________
Volunteer Posting:________________________
Other:__________________________________
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ESSAY BUSTERS: YPIE
COLLEGE-BOUND MENTOR APPLICATION, 2015
Why would you like to become a volunteer with ESSAY BUSTERS?
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ESSAY BUSTERS: YPIE
COLLEGE-BOUND MENTOR APPLICATION, 2015
VOLUNTEER AGREEMENT AND AUTHORIZATION FORM
The undersigned acknowledges and agrees that:

he/she is not obligated to perform the volunteer services applied for;

neither Essay Busters nor Yonkers Partners in Education is obligated to assign him/her work with students in the
Essay Busters Program;

he/she will not meet students from any Essay Busters program outside of the agreed-upon time to work at an
assigned facility;

he/she will complete all necessary screening and training required by Yonkers Partners in Education;

he/she gives Essay Busters and/or Yonkers Partners in Education permission to conduct a background check;
I affirm under oath and subject to penalties of perjury that the foregoing answers and statements are, to the best of my
knowledge, true, correct and complete.
I release Essay Busters Inc., Yonkers Partners in Education, and program coordinators from any future liability that arises
during participation in the program.
I understand that although the agency respects the confidentiality of client and volunteer records, it must retain the right
to disclose information received when, in the agency’s opinion, such disclosure would be in the best interests of a child.
I understand that, while active as a volunteer in the Essay Busters Program, I am obligated to report if there are any
changes in my arrest record.
I understand that Essay Busters Inc. and Yonkers Partners in Education use photos of volunteers in a variety of activities
for recruiting and promotional reasons. I am willing to support their efforts. Yonkers Partners in Education and ForsterThomas Inc. have my permission to use my name and photos of me to promote this program.
I hereby certify under penalty of perjury that information above has been read and answers given are true and correct
to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Signature:
Date:
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ESSAY BUSTERS: YPIE
COLLEGE-BOUND MENTOR APPLICATION, 2015
ESSAY REVISION SECTION: Read instructions carefully & edit/revise essays below.
ESSAY EXERCISE #1 (EDITING)
 Please read the directions for the essay below.
 This is a grammar and punctuation exercise. Edit (fix grammar, spelling, etc.) hypothetical student’s paragraph below.
 We do not expect you to be a professional “copyeditor” (a grammar and style master), nor will you be responsible for
final drafts (we have staff that will go over all final drafts before applications are submitted to schools) we do require
that our mentors have a basic facility for grammar, punctuation and spelling.
 You can do this by hand or you can simply rewrite the paragraph and send it to us as a separate attachment. DO NOT
USE TRACK CHANGES.
Activity Essay Directions:
Please briefly elaborate on one of your activities (extracurricular, personal activities, or work experience). 150 words
or fewer
I learnt alot in the summer of 2007, when I started my first job. I worked, for summer Youth
Empolyment. I was park sanitation. I learned too be responsable. I would help clean the park and,
pickup glass and garbage and i would help other people with there area’s and they would help me with
mines. I wanted to make new york cities parks fields clean. This way when the children played they
would not cut theyselfs. I also learnt that making money is not an easy task. I finally, understood what
my mother always said that money does not grow on trees and that you have to work hard for it. My
mom's life has been hard and she works very hard. I learnt to have commitment. So that made me
appreciate my mother more for the work she's done and the work I do in life.
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ESSAY BUSTERS: YPIE
COLLEGE-BOUND MENTOR APPLICATION, 2015
ESSAY EXERCISE #2 (REVISION)
 Please read the directions for the personal statement below.
 Revise hypothetical student’s essay below by writing your ideas and suggestions directly into the text by typing in
bold. Again, DO NOT USE TRACK CHANGES.
 At the end of the document, please write an overall assessment in no more than 100 words on what you would do to
make this essay great.
 Note: Do NOT worry about editing this version for punctuation and grammar. Unlike exercise #1, this exercise is about
“story” and “structure,” not grammar and punctuation.
 As with the previous exercise, when reading the personal statement below, ask yourself one of the two questions:
“Would I submit this essay?” or “Would my mother allow me to submit this essay?”
 Any questions? Contact Essay Busters at (212) 741-0990.
Person Statement Directions:
This personal statement helps us become acquainted with you in ways different from courses, grades, test scores, and
other objective data. It will demonstrate your ability to organize your thoughts and express yourself. We are looking
for an essay that will help us know you better as a person and as a student.
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact
on you or choose a topic of your choice.
During the summer of 2004, I was only 13 year old. My best friend Jackie (well the person I
though was my best friend) called me and me that we should run away from home. I didn’t think was a
good idea, but she assured me it would be fine. How everything was going to be better for us. I
believed everything she told me because, after all, she was my best friend and I trusted her. She set the
time and place for us to leave. That day my mom woke up early to go to work. As I left, I told my two
little sisters that I was going to the store. I met up with Jackie at her house and we left from there. I
didn’t know where we were going, or how we were going to get there.
To tell the truth, I never really went out much. I helped my mom around the house with my little
sisters. My mom always had a lot going on so I tried to do my best to keep the house clean and my
little sisters happy. On top of all of that I maintained good grades in school. My mom often told me
that Jackie was a bad influence on me, but I still gave all my truth to Jackie. We did everything
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ESSAY BUSTERS: YPIE
COLLEGE-BOUND MENTOR APPLICATION, 2015
together, and we knew everything about each other. One day out of the blue, she came up with the idea
to run away.
The reason way I felt like running away was because everything was too much for me. I had a lot
of responsibilities and there was lot of pressure on me. I though that if I ran away everything would be
easier. I wouldn’t have a lot of responsibilities and no one would be pressuring me to do better. I was
going to be free to do what ever I want to do and there would be no rules. I was going to be able to
enjoy being a kid.
We went to Jackie male friend’s house. The first day, all I could think about was how my mom was
and what she was doing. I felt terrible and wondered if I had made a mistake, but I though Jackie
wouldn’t lie to me about anything. As the day went by nothing got better, it only got worse. I began to
realize that she really didn’t care about me and had only let me down. After about a week we were at a
park just sitting on the bench and a police man came up to me and asked for my name. I didn’t know
what to say because I was so seared I looked over to her but she just look away. So I replied to the
police man and told him my name. He told me to get into the car. When the car stopped I saw my mom
and I ran out to hug her. We stood there crying while she hugged me so tight I didn’t want her to let
go. I will never forget that day.
A woman once told me that there are no good friends. That some friends are like a hole in your
pocket- you put everything into them only to have it all fall out. I finally realized that what she said
was true. It is really hard to find that one true friend. This has opened up my eyes and I see the world
differently now. I see people for who they really are, and I have a hard time trusting people.
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