Table 1.

Summary of High School Student Focus Group Findings.

Theme	Example Quotations
Relatability Students identified more with mentors who could relate to their experience as a URM and/or urban high school student.	“...my mentor would talk about how [they] used to live in the inner city and there are things that happen and [the mentor] makes it positive and funny. So like, it was nice. Like we share our living situation, but like also we have a good laugh.” “[I loved] getting to talk with students that are in college every Wednesday who give us advice on how to go about solving an issue in our lab or even just in life in general that has been bothering us.”
Comfort Students believed the near peer setting was comfortable and they could approach their mentors with questions and problems.	“[I] found it easier to talk to strangers in a way and we kind of bonded during the week.” “[I] thought [my mentor] was really approachable and I think did a good job of asking us what our feedback was and everything and was open.” “I loved Wednesdays because they allowed me to be free and open while I felt I was in a great environment.”
Role Model Students enjoyed learning about educational paths and future careers. Some students felt in school they were seen as “nerds”, but identified positively the “science-loving” MSTP students.	“It was just a lot of fun to meet [the MSTP students] and meet good kids who also are passionate about science and like working hard in school.” “...it was great meeting with some graduate students and they just tell you like how they got their experience and they were pretty candid about what it’s like working [in research].”
Organization Some mentor-mentee groups had more guided near-peer experiences than others.	“I would have a specific plan for the Wednesday lunch meetings. I think that it is a valuable opportunity to interact with medical students, but it needs to be more organized.” “I think that there should be more consistency throughout the groups, as some groups did more than others. Also, I think that the group leaders should be a bit more prepared with discussion questions or activities.”
Mentor Fit Some students expressed lack of fit with their near peer mentor’s personality and/or communication style.	“The problem I had was with my Wednesday mentor... [they] weren’t very outgoing and didn’t seem to want to help me get through the struggle of doing something completely new which made me very frustrated for the first couple of weeks of the program.” “The mentor of my group was very immature in [their] structure of leadership. [They] allowed or sometimes even led the conversation to become extremely vulgar and even encouraged swearing and participated in swearing [themselves]...”