Since 1992, The Ivy League Project has identified high-achieving students from California's Central Valley and encouraged them to apply to the most selective universities in the United States. Through soft-skill training, college-admission coaching, and a signature East Coast tour, we prepare scholars not just to be accepted — but to lead.
In 1992, Martin Mares took six students from Parlier High School and Parlier Junior High School — selected for their academic rigor and the strength of their applications — on a trip that had never been taken before. They visited Harvard. They visited Yale. They visited MIT. For most of them, it was the first time they had ever left California.
The second year, the tour expanded to Brown and Columbia, with stops at Fenway Park, historic Boston, Times Square, and the Statue of Liberty. By the third year, three of Martin’s students had been accepted to Yale and Brown. The program has never looked back.
Over the past 35 years, more than 386 Ivy League Project scholars have been accepted to selective universities on the East Coast, and over 2,000 have been accepted to California universities. The mission remains exactly what it was on day one: develop the next generation of world leaders.
"Identify high-achieving students and encourage them to apply to selective universities in the United States." — ILP Vision Statement
An educator, mentor, and tireless advocate for Central Valley students, Martin Mares founded The Ivy League Project at Parlier High School in 1992 with a single conviction: that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. He has personally led every East Coast tour since — coaching students through applications, interviews, and the quiet art of walking into a room and knowing you deserve to be there.
Our mission is to develop the next generation of world leaders. Every part of the program serves three objectives — built over decades, refined each year.
Scholars develop oral communication skills through team-building activities — learning how to speak with confidence, think on their feet, and carry themselves in rooms they have every right to be in.
Scholars learn the full anatomy of applying to selective universities across the United States. We review the Common App and UC prompts together, and students read essays from peers accepted to elite universities — so no one is guessing.
A curated series of speakers from selective universities joins our scholars to share what a Champion Mindset looks like in practice — identifying meaningful goals in life and building the discipline to pursue them.
For most of our scholars, the Ivy League tour is the first time they've boarded an airplane. By the end of the week, it's no longer a mythical place on a television screen — it's a library they've sat in, a quad they've crossed, an admissions officer whose name they know. The transformation is not subtle.
Boston skyline, Harvard Yard, the Charles River at dawn, and the scholars who walked it all. A short film from our most recent spring break tour.
Three and a half decades of spring-break memories — campus steps, admissions offices, city lights, and the quiet after-hours conversations that change a life.
Before the trip, Yale was a name I'd seen in movies. After the trip, it was a place I had walked through, a dining hall I had eaten in, and a person I had introduced myself to. That changes everything about how you write your application.
Martin didn't just teach me how to write an essay. He taught me how to walk into a room and belong there. That skill has followed me into every job interview since.
My parents picked vegetables in these same valleys. When I told them I got into Yale, my mother cried, then she asked me to thank Martin by name. She knew exactly who made this possible.
We're now accepting applications from Central Valley high school sophomores and juniors for the Spring 2027 cohort. Space is limited, the competition is honest, and the investment in you is total.