Take Action: College Access and Success

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College access and success refers to the field of organizations working to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the ability to enter college and succeed in obtaining a college degree. College access programs address academic preparedness, college aspiration and knowledge, and financial barriers by working with students and their families.

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Source: Root Cause

While there are a variety of ways to prepare at-risk students for access and success in college, research shows that the best approach is a comprehensive program that includes:

Academic preparation and enrichment coursework
Activities to build college aspiration and knowledge
Financial aid and planning assistance

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Source: Root Cause

High school graduation, college enrollment, and college graduation rates are the most important indicators in measuring the college access and success gap for at-risk students. While this data is sometimes available through longitudinal studies, it is not yet collected systematically by states or the federal government.

High school graduation refers to the percentage of students with high school diploma
College enrollment refers to the percentage of students enrolling in college within 12 months of high school graduation
College graduation refers to the percentage of students completing a 4-year college within 6 years of enrollment

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Source: Root Cause

Boston, Massachusetts
Chicago, Illinois
New York, New York

Boston, Massachusetts
Recommended Organization	Recommended By
Breakthrough Cambridge	Root Cause
College Bound Dorchester	Root Cause
Hyde Square Task Force	Root Cause
Steppingstone Foundation	Root Cause
Steps to Success*	Root Cause
Trinity Education for Excellence Program	Root Cause
Urban Scholars Program**	Root Cause
Chicago, Illinois
Recommended Organization	Recommended By
Dream Associations Inc. ("I Have a Dream" North Chicago)	Root Cause
Umoja Student Development Corporation	Root Cause
New York, New York
Recommended Organization	Recommended By
Fiver Children's Foundation	Root Cause
Harlem RBI	Root Cause
"I Have a Dream" Foundation	Root Cause
Legal Outreach	Root Cause
Oliver Scholars Program	Root Cause
StreetSquash	Root Cause
Sponsors for Educational Opportunity	Root Cause

*The fiduciary agent for Steps to Success is the Brookline Community Foundation. View the Brookline Community Foundation's GuideStar report.

**Urban Scholars is a program of the University of Massachusetts Boston.