Apple Launches First-Generation College Student Mentorship Program

Apple this month announced a new Launch@Apple mentorship program that's designed for first-generation college students, with the program set to launch in early 2021.

apple launch student program
According to a PDF describing Launch@Apple, it is aimed at first-generation college freshmen and sophomores who are majoring in finance, mathematics, economics, business, data analytics, and accounting.

It matches college students one-on-one with Apple mentors who are able to provide resources for learning and opportunities for professional growth, with the possibility of job shadowing, paid externships, and paid internships.

Apple has not publicly announced Launch@Apple, and it's not entirely clear how the word is being spread. MyHealthyApple shared details this morning, and last week, a LinkedIn post highlighted the program. Ahead of when Launch begins in early 2021, Apple is accepting applications from students with a wide range of GPAs.

Students must be in their first or second year of college with a parent or legal guardian who has not obtained a college degree. Students must want to learn about finance in a "fast-paced, innovative environment" and must be intending to major in one of the accepted disciplines.

Apple is accepting applications through Friday, January 8, 2021, and students who want to participate must provide details on school, GPA, resume, and more, and are required to answer personal questions on life challenges, why they should be accepted, and what gives them joy. Applications must be sent to launch@apple.com.

Popular Stories

M5 MacBook Pro

Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:07 am PDT by
Apple today updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, which is also available in updated iPad Pro and Vision Pro models. In addition, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 4TB of storage on Apple's online store, whereas the previous model maxed out at 2TB. However, the maximum amount of unified RAM available for this model remains 32GB. Like...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

Apple Debuts New iPad Pro With M5 Chip, Faster Charging, and More

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple today announced the next-generation iPad Pro, featuring the custom-designed M5, C1X, and N1 chips. The M5 chip has up to a 10-core CPU, with four performance cores and six efficiency cores. It features a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerator in each core, allowing the new iPad Pro to deliver up to 3.5x the AI performance than the previous model, and a third-generation ray-tracing ...
apple oct 2024 mac tease

Apple Expected to Announce These Two to Three Products 'This Week'

Sunday October 12, 2025 7:05 am PDT by
Apple plans to announce new products "this week," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple's "Mac Your Calendars" teaser last October In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the products set to be updated this week include the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, and "likely" the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, with all three likely to receive a spec bump with Apple's next-generation M5 chip. Gurman...
maxresdefault

Here's Everything Apple Announced Today

Wednesday October 15, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We didn't get a second fall event this year, but Apple did unveil updated products with a series of press releases that went out today. The M5 chip made an appearance in new MacBook Pro, Vision Pro, and iPad Pro models. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up our coverage and highlighted the main feature changes for each device below. MacBook Pro M5...
joz macbook tease

Apple Teases Upcoming M5 MacBook Pro Launch: 'Something Powerful is Coming'

Tuesday October 14, 2025 11:59 am PDT by
Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak today teased the launch of an upcoming product, saying "something powerful is coming" on social media. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. A short animation accompanying Joswiak's teaser reveals a brief glimpse of a MacBook Pro along with the words "coming soon." The shape of the MacBook Pro is a V, which is the Roman numeral...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday October 14, 2025 8:43 am PDT by
Apple's AirPods Max have now been available for almost five years, so what do we know about the second-generation version? According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods Max will be lighter than the current ones, but exactly how much is as yet known. The current AirPods Max weigh 0.85 pounds (386.2 grams), excluding the charging case, making it one of the heavier...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
Vision Pro M5 Announcement

Apple Updates Vision Pro With M5 Chip, Dual Knit Band, and 120Hz Support

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:14 am PDT by
Apple today updated the Vision Pro headset with its next-generation M5 chip for faster performance, and a more comfortable Dual Knit Band. The M5 chip has a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, and a 16-core Neural Engine, and we have confirmed the Vision Pro still has 16GB of RAM. With the M5 chip, the Vision Pro offers faster performance and longer battery life compared...
macbook pro blue

Apple's M5 MacBook Pro Imminent: What to Expect

Tuesday October 14, 2025 4:35 pm PDT by
Apple is going to launch a new version of the MacBook Pro as soon as tomorrow, so we thought we'd go over what to expect from Apple's upcoming Mac. M5 Chip The MacBook Pro will be one of the first new devices to use the next-generation M5 chip, which will replace the M4 chip. The M5 is built on TSMC's more advanced 3-nanometer process, and it will bring speed and efficiency improvements. ...
MacBook Pro M5 Screen

New MacBook Pro Does Not Include a Charger in the Box in Europe

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:59 am PDT by
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip does not include a charger in the box in European countries, including the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and others, according to Apple's online store. In the U.S. and all other countries outside of Europe, the new MacBook Pro comes with Apple's 70W USB-C Power Adapter, but European customers miss out....

Top Rated Comments

peytn Avatar
63 months ago

This is offensive to me as a first-gen in the country and college graduate. Every student has the same level of access to counseling and 1-1 with advisors. We aren’t stupid.

Wish I had this when I went to school but I’m doing alright without it or any gender/race based grants/scholarships. Really hope Apple doesn’t have a quota for this...
1st gen as well here. The tough part seems to have been knowing how to put together a traditional career when your parents hadn’t. Having a mentor at a big company would probably help. Also let’s stop being offended when we disagree. Talking things over is okay.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannyyankou Avatar
63 months ago
Good on Apple for doing this. First generation college students often lack the resources and guidance to succeed. Hopefully this will help.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citysnaps Avatar
63 months ago

This is offensive to me as a first-gen in the country and college graduate. Every student has the same level of access to counseling and 1-1 with advisors. We aren’t stupid.

Wish I had this when I went to school but I’m doing alright without it or any gender/race based grants/scholarships. Really hope Apple doesn’t have a quota for this...
How nice for you!

You may not be aware that every family's immigration story is different. And what worked for you and your circumstances may not work for others and their circumstances.

Rather than be seriously offended, try and find happiness that Apple in stepping up to help.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rtomyj Avatar
63 months ago

Good on Apple for doing this. First generation college students often lack the resources and guidance to succeed. Hopefully this will help.
This is offensive to me as a first-gen in the country and college graduate. Every student has the same level of access to counseling and 1-1 with advisors. We aren’t stupid.

Wish I had this when I went to school but I’m doing alright without it or any gender/race based grants/scholarships. Really hope Apple doesn’t have a quota for this...
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pilot Jones Avatar
63 months ago

Why do you need parents? Honestly my parents sucked. Divorced and poor. Very low chance of succeeding but I understood their limitations. You know what I did? Found friends that could be my “mentor”, asked questions and made plans. Basically I was as an adult.

The mentor ship is nice. I just feel like it’ll be targeted to “underprivileged” (ie minorities) people and not the once hungry/eager/etc. I like that GPA doesn’t necessarily qualify you, but being someone who almost failed HS, had no studying habits first couple years in a community college and then taking myself seriously at a university - GPA does definitely determine hunger/eagerness/etc.
good on you mate. truly, i'm genuinely glad you made it out of a bad situation.

but everyone is not you. a lot of people don't have anyone (yes, even friends, counsellors & supportive teachers) or the resilience, guidance & fortitude to power through it. They NEED that major boost at a critical time in their lives to take them from nothing to something.

it's really quite myopic of you to argue for a universal application of your logic with such a specifically personal anecdote.

Some people have the talent but not the drive. They do not always occur together and a lot of the time, even if they had it, life has just beaten it out of them. Yes this also isn't universally true, but why be so negative at even the smallest chance to make people's lives better?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannyyankou Avatar
63 months ago

This is offensive to me as a first-gen in the country and college graduate. Every student has the same level of access to counseling and 1-1 with advisors. We aren’t stupid.

Wish I had this when I went to school but I’m doing alright without it or any gender/race based grants/scholarships. Really hope Apple doesn’t have a quota for this...
And good on you for working hard and doing well. But my point was more that other families are privileged to have structures in place to give their kids tons of extra resources, private tutoring, etc to give their kids a head start. First generation college students usually come from poorer families and they don’t have the extra resources.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)