USD expands its Torero Promise

The Torero Promise Program extends admission and financial aid privileges to eight Catholic high schools

Glenn McDonell / Asst. News Editor / The USD Vista

This past fall, the University of San Diego concluded “Leading Change,” the most successful fundraising campaign in its history, promising to dedicate over $35 million of the proceeds to the creation of 233 new scholarship funds. In what is perhaps the first clear evidence of this proposed expansion, President  James Harris announced in January that the existing Torero Promise Program will now meet 100 percent of the financial need of the local San Diego applicants it serves.  

The program, which was announced in a press conference featuring San Diego’s Bishop  Robert McElroy and President Harris in February of 2017, provides a special admissions track for high-achieving students from a collection of Catholic diocese high schools in the San Diego region. In addition to the unique financial aid guarantee, this most recent expansion also extends the admissions and financial aid privileges to students at three more high schools in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.  

“We launched the Torero Promise Program to provide a clear path to USD for students from the five high schools in the San Diego diocese,” said President Harris in a statement last month. “We have been pleased with the growth thus far and firmly believe the addition of three new schools will significantly expand enrollment for more Catholic students who desire to pursue higher education in our dynamic Catholic environment.” 

First-year student and San Diego native Diana Arce was one of 17 applicants from the all-girls Academy of Our Lady of Peace in North Park to be accepted through the program last spring. She says her awareness of the program from early in the admissions process played a role in leading her to choose USD.  

“USD was always at the top of my list, but when our college counselors told us about the program, that definitely solidified it,” Arce said. “I like that it acknowledges a very specific group of students in the local communities. We feel recognized because of it.” 

This sort of solidarity with local high schools such as Arce’s is consistent with the university’s larger-stated goal of bolstering USD’s ability to function as an “anchor” institution for the greater San Diego community. As part of its strategic plan for the future, often promoted as “Envisioning 2024,” USD aims to emerge as the leading faith-based anchor institution in the United States within the next several years.   

The program was also conceived as a way to further connect the university to the diocese in which it belongs. 

In his 2017 address to admissions counselors and faculty members from the then–five local institutions, Bishop McElroy remarked on the program’s ability to encourage and affirm local diocesan high school students in their efforts.  

“Many of our young people desperately want to come to USD, and this program sends them a message that says that we support their excellence in all that they are doing,” McElroy said. “This symbolizes the linkage – the bond of love and affection, of faith and fidelity–between this university and the Diocese of San Diego.”

For Arce, who attends Sunday masses and is part of University Ministry’s (UM) scholar program, the transition from faith-based involvement at her high school to UM has been somewhat seamless. 

“The director of campus ministry at my high school was a USD graduate and she was very involved with UM during her time here, so it was cool to know about UM before I got here,” Arce said. “Going on the First Year Retreat and the weekly UM small groups was a great way to solidify my involvement.” 

The ministry connections between Arce’s high school and USD were one aspect of similarity which made her transition more comfortable, but certainly not the only one. As a local Catholic high school located only a few miles away from Alcala Park, students from the Academy of Our Lady of Peace are often invited to attend events on the university’s campus.  

“Since both USD and my school have a focus on social justice, we had a few times when we would come to the IPJ to hear from speakers and learn about the peace initiatives and things like that,” Arce said. “The campus itself wasn’t foreign at all for us.” 

Vivian Mateos Zuniga, a first-year student admitted through the program and a high school classmate of Arce’s from the girl’s academy, also says the USD campus was familiar well before she became a student.  

“Our school dances were here and I remember coming to events and really liking the campus,” Zuniga said. “Growing up I always thought I would want to leave San Diego for college, but all my visits in high school drew me to the campus. Finding out about the program just made it more of an exciting possibility. Very quickly I knew this was home.” 

Looking back on her impressions of USD as a presence in her life before she began as a student last fall, Mateos Zuniga has found that her affinity for the campus has only intensified.  

“It was nice to be somewhat involved with this community before,” Mateos Zuniga said. “It’s totally different to live it out and see the friendliness and community aspect in person. I liked USD then but now I love it.” 

For both Mateos Zuniga and Arce, the Torero Promise Program was USD’s way of recognizing their past achievements while furthering the ties with their local Catholic community. Going forward, the program will be able to offer more money for incoming students from the eight San Diego high schools.  

Assistant VP of Admissions Stephen Pultz played a leading role in crafting the original program, which was first used in processing applications in the spring of 2017 for the incoming Class of 2021. Pultz says that admissions will now be able to use the program to extend unique financial aid guarantees to eligible students in the incoming Class of 2023.  

“In the past, we did our best, but there was not this guarantee,” Pultz said. “Now, in large part due to the success of last year’s “Leading Change” fundraising campaign, we can extend full aid to students at these schools whose need cannot be met through other means available. This is a way that we in enrollment can live up to our goal of being a true anchor institution.” 

While only available to students from the group of eight Catholic schools in the greater San Diego region, the Torero Promise Program demonstrates the university’s efforts toward greater inclusiveness and a desire to maintain stronger roots with the local communities that helped to build it. 

These recent fundraising successes could possibly signal the coming of more enrollment and financial aid programs outside of the diocesan context in the future.