|
INTRODUCTION:
Admission Possible's mission is to help make college admission possible for promising and motivated low-income students by providing ACT and SAT test preparation services and admissions and financial aid consulting. Admission Possible was founded on two fundamental beliefs:
• Many low-income high school students lack the resources to compete effectively for admission to colleges and universities, and
• Colleges and universities are very interested in admitting students from low-income backgrounds, but have difficulty identifying and attracting them.
Over the past six years, Macalester College has partnered with Admission Possible in achieving shared goals. Through this enhanced relationship, Macalester and Admission Possible promote the enrollment of promising Minnesota low-income students, many of whom are students of color/multiracial students, into Minnesota colleges and universities. This project joins together the offices and programs at Macalester that currently work independently with area youth and students of color, including the Civic Engagement Center, Lealtad-Suzuki Center, MAX Center for Academic Excellence, Financial Aid, and the Admissions Office.
Over 30 Macalester students volunteered last year with Admission Possible. This year, one student will be a workstudy student and five recent alums serve as fulltime AmeriCorps members at Admission Possible. These individuals assist with ACT prep courses, campus visits and assist students with college applications or financial aid forms.
It is our hope that you will join us in this effort through the Opportunities Abound Student Leadership program!
VITAL COMMUNITY NEEDS SERVED BY THIS PROJECT:
Despite concerted efforts to attract students of all
backgrounds to higher education, a recent federal report shows that a
wide gap of 32 percentage points still separates the
college-participation rates of students from wealthy families from the
college participation rate of children in poor families. This gap is
nearly as wide in the late 1990s as it was in 1970. Indeed, a recent
study by former Macalester College President Michael S. McPherson and
Morton Owen Shapiro, president of Williams College, found that the
percentage of high-achieving students who do not enroll in college is
five times higher among those who are poor as among those who are rich.
One factor in this imbalance is that students from
economically disadvantaged backgrounds historically score significantly
lower on standardized tests than students from wealthier backgrounds.
Students from families whose annual income exceeds $100,000 score an
average of 1,131 points on the SAT, while students from families
earning less than $10,000 annually average a score of 873 points. This
258-point gap is important because admission to many colleges requires
a score at or above 1,000.
Low-income students also often lack crucial information
about the college admission and financial aid processes. Because these
students are typically the first in their families to attend college,
they cannot draw upon the resources and experiences college-educated
parents offer their children. Dwindling resources and insufficient
counseling staff prevent many high schools from supplying this
information to prospective first-generation college students. This is
especially true for students applying to highly selective colleges such
as Macalester. By providing low-income students with the guidance, the
basic information, and the skills to compete effectively, Admission
Possible dramatically improves the chances that low-income students
will attend a college or university.
Nearly 98% of the students who
participate in Admission Possible are admitted to college. Through
Opportunities Abound, Macalester will support Admission Possible and
many similar organizations in helping prepare students for successful
admittance to highly selective colleges. 13 Admission Possible alums will be attending Macalester in the 2007/08 school year.
OBJECTIVES FOR CAMPUS VISITS:
- Make visitors feel welcomed by the Macalester
community
- Familiarize visitors with the distinctive character
of the Macalester community through interaction with current Macalester
students, staff, and faculty
- Introduce visitors to key campus facilities in a real
way (not just walking through on a tour)
- Enhance visitor excitement about the prospect about
going to college
- Provide visitors with broadly applicable information
about such topics as preparing for college, the college search process,
applying to college and college-survival skills
Click here for information about the OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND
LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
|
