What is the name of your organization?
Uprooted Academy
What is the name of your solution?
Closing Opportunity Gaps
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Using AI to meet the college and career pathway matching needs of 1 million under-resourced students
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Los Angeles, CA, USA
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
United States
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
The college application process should be a gateway to opportunity, yet for many Black students, it becomes a significant barrier due to systemic inequities. School counselors—often the primary source of postsecondary guidance—are stretched thin, managing overwhelming caseloads with limited resources and inadequate training in college advising. As a result, students, particularly those from historically excluded backgrounds, are left to navigate the process alone, increasing stress levels and decreasing application completion rates. Without structured, ongoing support, many students struggle to make informed decisions, limiting their access to institutions that align with their academic potential and aspirations.
The overwhelming student-to-counselor ratio in many schools, especially those serving historically marginalized communities, makes it nearly impossible for counselors to provide consistent, personalized, and emotionally attuned guidance to every student, resulting in increased stress, incomplete college applications, and missed postsecondary opportunities.
What is your solution?
Our AI-powered college advisor will serve 1 million underresourced students who are 2x less likely to enroll into a best-fit college compared to their resourced peers. We believe if HS students are empowered with a personalized platform that delivers real-time guidance, knowledge and connections during the college application process, then they will be less stressed and better prepared to choose the best option for higher education.
Our platform provides targeted, scalable interventions that enhance counselor effectiveness and empower students with proactive, structured support, ensuring they successfully navigate the college application process.
By integrating AI-driven tools that proactively support students with task management, reminders, and real-time guidance, we can reduce the burden on school counselors, enabling them to focus on relational, high-impact advising. This scalable intervention transforms the college application process into a more equitable, responsive, and emotionally supportive journey for all students.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Populations We Serve:
Black & Latino populations
Low-income populations
Future first-generation college students
Title One School Students
Youth populations 14-18
Despite demonstrating resilience and drive, many of these students face racialized stressors, structural inequities, and a lack of social capital that can make the college application process confusing, isolating, and discouraging. They are often expected to navigate deadlines, financial aid forms, and personal statements with little guidance, while balancing external pressures from home, work, or community responsibilities. By embedding this tool into existing school structures and making it available 24/7, we extend access to guidance beyond the limitations of the school day, reduce cognitive and emotional overload, and ensure that all students—not just the most visible or well-resourced—receive the support they need to access and persist through postsecondary pathways.
