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2011 NATIONAL AWARD-WINNING PROGRAM
GOVERNOR HUGH L. CAREY AWARD RECIPIENT
College Possible Access and Success Partnership
Minnesota has one of the largest college-educated populations in the country. Yet as Jim
McCorkell, a social entrepreneur, Harvard graduate and former low-income student, looked
around his state in the late 1990s, he noticed a disturbing trend: while middle- and
upper-income high school students were thriving academically, even the brightest of their
low-income peers were having trouble getting into college.
Determined to “level the playing
field,” McCorkell founded College Possible (originally called Admission Possible) in
Minneapolis-St. Paul in 2000 to help boost college admission among economically disadvantaged
students. Based on its success, the program was replicated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2008 and in
Omaha, Nebraska, in 2011.
College Possible offers two programs:
first, a rigorous two-year after-school high school program of college admissions and financial aid
coaching and support that begins in the junior year; and second, a college program that offers coaching
as students work toward their college degree and prepare to enter the workforce.
What makes College Possible unique is
its innovative use of AmeriCorps members to provide the intensive intervention required to help
low-income students successfully navigate the barriers they must overcome to get a college education.
College Possible’s results speak volumes.
Three independent evaluations have confirmed their impact, including a 2011 Harvard study demonstrating
the program more than doubles a student’s chances of college enrollment. Since its founding, 98 percent of
College Possible students have earned admission to college. Of those who enrolled in college, 80 percent
have graduated or are still working toward their degrees.
Perhaps President Obama said it best when he
commented on the impact of College Possible at a 2009 White House event honoring nonprofits: "[College]
Possible operates in just two states now. So imagine if it was 10, or 20, or 50."
College Possible continues to think big.
"This year, College Possible will serve 8,700 students in 28 high schools in the major metropolitan areas
of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Milwaukee and Omaha, and on nearly 150 college campuses across the country," says
Natalie Rule Burns, director of external relations for College Possible. "Our goal is to reach 20,000
students annually in 10 U.S. urban markets by no later than 2020."
Organization
College Possible
Program
College Possible Access and Success Partnership
Partners
High schools in the Twin Cities metro area of Minnesota; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Omaha, Nebraska
AmeriCorps & VISTA
Institutions of higher education across the country
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