Ortiz, who is also one of two senior coordinators, says many students also ask what their chances are of getting in. “We just speak about our personal experience and tell them we’re not admissions officers, that we can’t gauge, but we always encourage them to apply,” she says.

One of the most difficult parts of the job for Karen S. Johnson ’11, the other African American coordinator, is speaking with students who weren’t admitted and want to know why.

“It’s just hard because it’s a process and I don’t know what the deciding factor was,” she says.“You have to make them aware that [...] it’s not that they weren’t a good candidate but they weren’t chosen.”

Though the majority of the queries the UMRP receives are admissions questions from prospective students and their parents, they also get their share of surprising calls. These range from parents wanting to know how to get their 7-year-old admitted to people in their seventies who dream of getting a degree from Harvard.

NOT JUST WORD OF MOUTH

The UMRP was founded in 1972 when the college was interested in increasing the number of minority students. According to Banks, 40 years ago the recruitment process was based on word of mouth, which accounted for the homogeneous student body.

“It was very informal, either through a coach, teacher, family member, or someone who was already part of Harvard,” he says. “There was not a lot of outreach.”He adds, “Colleges of this kind took a long glance in the mirror and figured this is really not representative of what the country could be.”

To change this, the College decided to involve its students in getting the word out about Harvard’s accessibility. The message resonated with Solinap.

“I always had a dream of applying to Harvard, but seeing someone from my own high school and my hometown do it motivated me to think I could do it too,” she says.

Inspired by her friend’s help, Solinap now acts as a resource to others through the UMRP. She works as Co-Coordinator for the Mexican American division alongside Robles.