College Possible

Last updated
College Possible
Founded2000
FounderJim McCorkell
Location
  • Saint Paul, MN
Area served
Chicago

Minnesota
Milwaukee
Omaha
Oregon
Philadelphia

Washington state
MethodUtilize AmeriCorps volunteers to provide low-income students with ACT preparation, admission and financial aid counseling, and guidance in the transition to and through college.
Employees
150 Leadership Team members
Volunteers
approximately 290 AmeriCorps members
Website http://www.CollegePossible.org

College Possible (formerly "Admission Possible") is a nonprofit AmeriCorps organization making college admission and success possible for low-income students in the United States through an intensive curriculum of coaching and support. Its model uses recent college graduates serving an AmeriCorps term of service as near-peer mentors for students lacking the social resources to successfully enroll in and graduate from college. [1] Headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the organization serves students in all 50 states with offices located in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area, Chicago, Milwaukee, Omaha, Portland, Philadelphia and Seattle.

Contents

History

College Possible was chartered as a nonprofit in September 2000, beginning operations in two Twin Cities public high schools the next spring. By the 2008-09 school year, the organization was serving students in seventeen high school schools across Minneapolis-Saint Paul and launched a second site in Milwaukee. [2] In the spring of 2015, College Possible launched a sixth site in Chicago, Illinois. In 2016, College Possible launched Catalyze, a program to embed their coaching model and curriculum on campus with partner colleges and universities. In the summer of 2019, College Access Now merged with College Possible to become its seventh location, College Possible Washington. [3]

During the 2017–18 school year, College Possible served more than 22,000 students at hundreds of high schools, colleges and universities across the country.

Programming

A New York Times article from November 2005 quotes CEO Jim McCorkell as saying: "My starting idea was what if we replicated Kaplan for poor kids." [4] To be eligible for College Possible's free services, students must come from low-income families and have a GPA of 2.0 or higher. [5] High school students accepted into the program participate in after-school sessions over their junior and senior years, with time divided between test preparation, college applications, financial aid applications and preparing to transition to college. [6] The program also has a service component, including an annual service event on Make a Difference Day. [7]

College students receive guidance in finding and accessing campus resources, renewing the FAFSA, locating internships, maintaining a healthy balance between homework and social obligations, as well as when transferring schools. [8]

College Possible is a partner organization with the Bloomberg Philanthropies funded CollegePoint program, which is a virtual advising program designed to help high-achieving, low-income students gain admission to top colleges. [9] [10]

Evaluation

College Possible is a 501(c)3 organization that has received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator for financial management and a three-star rating for accountability and transparency. [11]

A 2011 Harvard study determined that Admission Possible more than doubles the chances a low-income student will enroll in a four-year institution. [12] A later 2013 Harvard study found College Possible to have a significant positive impact on four-year college enrollment, though it had no statistically significant effect on ACT scores. [13]

Wilder Research, an arm of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, performed an evaluation of Admission Possible in 2006, substantiating its claim that 91% of the organization's students enrolled in college, and that it compared favorably to similar programs. [14]

The Charities Review Council deems that it "meets all standards". [15]

Recognition

McCorkell was named an Ashoka Fellow, a recognition for social entrepreneurship, in 2006. [16] The organization has been recognized with awards from the Financial Times and Citi, [17] the National Association for College Admission Counseling, [18] College Board, [19] and the National College Access Network. [20]

In June 2009, President Barack Obama mentioned the organization in a speech on social entrepreneurship saying: "Admission Possible operates in just two states now. So imagine if it were 10 or 20 or 50." [21] In February 2014, College Possible was invited to be part of a White House summit on college opportunity. [22]

In October 2018, College Possible was the first recipient of the $125,000 Evergreen National Education Prize, awarded by the Greenwald Family Foundation to programs that "best help low-income youth access access and compete college or vocational degrees." [23]

In September 2019, College Possible's CEO and founder, Jim McCorkell, received the Executive Leadership Award of Excellence at the National College Access Network’s annual conference. [24] The award recognized 20 years of McCorkell’s hard work and dedication leading College Possible to expand college access for students from low-income backgrounds.

Related Research Articles

Teach For America (TFA) is a nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to "enlist, develop, and mobilize as many as possible of our nation's most promising future leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational equity and excellence."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City Year</span> American nonprofit organization

City Year is an American education nonprofit organization founded in 1988. The organization partners with public schools in 29 high-need communities across the US and through international affiliates in the UK and Johannesburg, South Africa. City Year teams are made up of 18 to 24 year olds, who provide student, classroom, and whole school support, intended to help students stay in school and on track to graduate high school. City Year is a member of the AmeriCorps national service network, and is supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service, school district partnerships, and private philanthropy from corporations, foundations and individuals.

CharityWatch, known until 2012 as the American Institute of Philanthropy, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Chicago, created in the United States by Daniel Borochoff in 1992, to provide information about charities' financial efficiency, accountability, governance, and fundraising.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AmeriCorps</span> Independent agency of the US government

AmeriCorps is an independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in service through a variety of stipended volunteer work programs in many sectors. These programs include AmeriCorps VISTA, AmeriCorps NCCC, AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps Seniors, the Volunteer Generation Fund, and other national service initiatives. The agency's mission is "to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering." It was created by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993. In September 2020, the agency rebranded itself as AmeriCorps, although its official name is unchanged.

The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is a South Carolina–based charitable organization serving K-12 aged students in Micronesia. Habele's initial geographic focus was the so-called "Outer Islands" of Yap State as well as lagoon and outer islands in neighboring Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia. It now serves students of all backgrounds throughout the Freely Associated States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Playworks (organization)</span>

Playworks is an Oakland-based national nonprofit that supports learning and physical health by providing safe and inclusive play to low-income students in urban schools. Playworks works with schools to design curriculum and activities that offer play opportunities during recess, lunch and after school programs. Trained coaches work in schools to run a variety of games and sports, as well as teach techniques in group management, violence prevention and conflict resolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scholarship America</span>

Scholarship America is a Minnesota-based American philanthropic organization that assists communities, corporations, foundations and individuals with fundraising, managing and awarding scholarships to students. The organization designs, administers and manages corporate and foundation scholarship programs; it also operates Dollars for Scholars, a coalition of local scholarship organizations in communities across the United States.

Candid is an information service specializing in reporting on U.S. nonprofit companies. In 2016, its database provided information on 2.5 million organizations. It is the product of the February 2019 merger of GuideStar with Foundation Center.

ServiceNation was a campaign of Be The Change, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization based in Boston, Massachusetts. Its mission is to rekindle an ethic of civic responsibility in America through universal national service. ServiceNation's goal was to expand opportunities for Americans to spend a year in non-military national service such as AmeriCorps. National service programs like Americorps pay a living stipend and reward volunteers who have completed service with a monetary education award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Literacy Volunteers of Illinois</span>

Literacy Volunteers of Illinois (LVI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes adult literacy throughout Illinois. It serves families, adults, and out-of-school teens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act</span>

The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act or Serve America Act was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on March 9, 2009, by Representative Carolyn McCarthy of New York. Originally titled the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act, the bill reauthorizes and expands the AmeriCorps program that was first established in 1993. It passed in the House of Representatives on March 18, 2009. The U.S. Senate debated and approved an amended version of the bill on March 26, 2009, renaming it the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, after Senator Ted Kennedy. The House of Representatives voted on the bill a second time, approving the amended version on March 31, 2009. It was signed by President Barack Obama on April 21, 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Khazei</span> American entrepreneur and politician

Alan Khazei is an American social entrepreneur. He served as chief executive officer of City Year, an AmeriCorps national service program he co-founded with Michael Brown, his friend and roommate at Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

Peter Thum is an American businessman. He has founded several companies and not-for-profit organizations. He is best known for creating the brand Ethos Water and leading the company as its president through its acquisition by Starbucks.

Vanessa Kirsch is an American social entrepreneur who is the founder and co-CEO of New Profit, a venture philanthropy fund based in Boston, Massachusetts. She also founded and formerly led Public Allies, a national youth service organization, and the Women’s Information Network, an organization that provides support, training, and political access to young women.

The New York City Coalition Against Hunger (NYCCAH) is a nonprofit organization, which aims to “enact innovative solutions to help society move ‘beyond the soup kitchen’ to ensure economic and food self-sufficiency for all Americans”. NYCCAH works collaboratively with local, state, and national legislatures as well as New York residents and community associations. In contrast to other organizations, NYCCAH generally does not distribute food but rather concerns itself with providing technical assistance to groups which do while simultaneously affecting hunger policy at a more macro-urban scale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel R. Porterfield</span> American nonprofit executive, academic administrator, and government official

Daniel R. Porterfield is an American nonprofit executive, academic administrator, and government official serving as the president and CEO of the Aspen Institute. Porterfield previously served as the 15th president of Franklin & Marshall College, senior vice president for strategic development and English professor at Georgetown University, and communications director and chief speechwriter for the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary during the Clinton Administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloomberg Philanthropies</span> Charitable organization

Bloomberg Philanthropies is a philanthropic organization that encompasses all of the charitable giving of founder Michael R. Bloomberg. Headquartered in New York City, Bloomberg Philanthropies focuses its resources on five areas: the environment, public health, the arts, government innovation and education. According to the Foundation Center, Bloomberg Philanthropies was the 10th largest foundation in the United States in 2015, the last year for which data was available. Bloomberg has pledged to donate the majority of his wealth, currently estimated at more than $54 billion. Patti Harris is the CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strive for College</span> Non-profit organizations based in California

Strive for College is an American nonprofit dedicated to "alleviating inequity in access to higher education". Strive provides high school students with free, online mentoring and guidance with college applications. It is headquartered in Milpitas and has volunteer mentors from corporations and colleges nationwide.

Green Corps is an environmental organization in the United States that trains recent college graduates in a one-year post-graduate program in grassroots community organizing. During the program, Green Corps organizers learn in the classroom and are deployed in the field to work on campaigns.

One Million Degrees (OMD) is a non-profit organisation based in Chicago, Illinois, USA. OMD aims to support students from low-income backgrounds in the Chicago area to graduate from community college. Additionally, OMD helps students network with professionals and receive mentoring in their chosen career fields. One Million Degrees offers financial, educational, and emotional support throughout the participants' studies.

References

  1. ↑ "AmeriCorps". Archived from the original on 2011-12-15. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
  2. ↑ Admission Possible history Archived 2010-11-09 at the Wayback Machine , accessed 10.28.10
  3. ↑ "Two Nonprofits That Help Low-Income Students Are Merging". Diverse. 2019-08-16.
  4. ↑ Test Prep Help for Those Too Poor to Afford Kaplan, New York Times, November 16, 2005, accessed 10.28.10
  5. ↑ A stairway to higher education Archived 2012-10-13 at the Wayback Machine , Star Tribune, Minneapolis, April 7, 2009, accessed 11.02.10
  6. ↑ Admission Possible shows the way for college aspirants, Star Tribune, Minneapolis, May 24, 2010, accessed 11.02.10
  7. ↑ Students scare up 10,000 pound donation for foodshelf Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine , InsightNews.com, Minneapolis, November 5, 2009, accessed 11.02.10
  8. ↑ "College Program". Archived from the original on 2011-12-16. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
  9. ↑ "Free College Advisers Make A Hard Decision Less Lonely". NPR.org. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
  10. ↑ "College Access and Success | Bloomberg Philanthropies". Bloomberg Philanthropies. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
  11. ↑ "Charity Navigator - Rating for College Possible".
  12. ↑ "Comparative Historical Analysis Admission Possible 2007-2009 Harvard Kennedy School June 2011" [ permanent dead link ]
  13. ↑ "Study tracks impact of counseling on low-income students".
  14. ↑ Admission Possible evaluation results Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine , Laura McLain (2006), Wilder Research
  15. ↑ Admission Possible profile on Charities Review Council website
  16. ↑ Jim McCorkell’s profile Archived 2011-04-29 at the Wayback Machine on the Ashoka website
  17. ↑ Award announcement from the Financial Times
  18. ↑ A list of Human Relations Award recipients Archived 2012-09-18 at archive.today on the NACAC website, retrieved 10.26.2010
  19. ↑ 2010 Innovation Award Winners on the College Board website, retrieved 10.26.2010
  20. ↑ NCAN Announces 2009 College Access Awards of Excellence, NCAN news release, 09.30.2010
  21. ↑ AmeriCorps and a Nod from Obama Give College-Access Group a Lift, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, October 15, 2009, accessed 11.02.10
  22. ↑ "From White House Summit, College Possible Announces Philadelphia Launch | College Possible". Archived from the original on 2015-05-07. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
  23. ↑ "St. Paul-based College Possible wins $125,000 prize". Twin Cities. 2018-10-16. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
  24. ↑ "College Possible's Jim McCorkell Wins 2019 Executive Leadership Award of Excellence". 2019-09-16.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.