Jan. 31, 2014 3 News College Possible expands options for low-income students By EMMA JOHANNINGSMEIER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF For students in the best of circumstances, with the most informed parents, applying to college is incredibly complicated and time-consuming. Signing up for and taking the ACT or SAT, researching college options, figuring out how to submit applications, writing personal essays, gathering letters of recommendation, getting transcripts sent out, having a parent fill out lengthy financial aid forms...it’s a formidable task. Just try figuring it all out if you’re the first person in your family to apply to college. It’s no surprise low-income students, many of whose parents did not attend college, find the process especially intimidating and confusing. For low-income students at Westside, though, it’s getting much easier. This year, Westside has entered into a relationship with an organization called College Possible, whose mission is to enable promising students from low-income families to attend college and be successful there. College Possible is still a young organization, but it gets results: an astounding 98 percent of its students go to college. Ellen Sundermeier, a college coach and the organization’s representative at Westside, is currently working with 35 juniors. Her job is to ensure these students will be ready to apply to four-year colleges next year. That includes teaching them how to navigate college websites, working with them on test preparation, and helping them with their resumés and college essays. “These are students that are really, really driven, and just have such passion for the things they are involved in, and getting the chance to work with them and see that they do have the potential and the drive to succeed in college makes it really worth it,” Sundermeier said. To be eligible for College Possible this year, students had to have a GPA of 2.0 or higher, and their families had to fall in a certain income range, which Sundermeier said is confidential. “Basically, the range that we go for are the students who have a good chance of doing well in college but maybe don’t have the resources to get there, unless they have us as an extra help,” Sundermeier said. “It’s the students who maybe have a great GPA but aren’t really able to succeed on the ACT because they can’t afford to pay for expensive test preparation or something like that.” Last spring, all the sophomores who fit the GPA and income range — about 120 in all — had letters sent to their parents and were invited to come speak to a College Possible representative. When junior Courtney Perquin got the invitation last year, she decided to check it out. Her number-one motivation, she said, was making her mom happy. After having a child at a young age, her mom didn’t have the opportunity to go to college when she was younger. “She’s in college right now,” Perquin said. “But besides that, not even my grandma or my dad, or
Above: Juniors Kyro Iskandr and Courtney Perquin attend a College Possible session after school Tuesday, Jan. 21. The sessions are currently devoted to ACT preparation. Right: College Possible coach Ellen Sundermeier runs through the math section of an ACT prep book. Sundermeier, who graduated from UNL last year, is working with 35 Westside juniors. Photos by Sarah Lemke anybody in my family, really, has even graduated high school, so [for me] to be the first person to graduate college, or even go to college in general, is kind of a big deal, and [my mom] wants me to be something — be better. I think every parent wants their kids to be better than what they did.” By the time Perquin finished the application process and found out she got in, she knew College Possible was something she wanted to be involved in. “I knew I would definitely need the help,” Perquin said. “Especially as far as financial-wise goes, I needed a little bit of help there. So after I met the coaches and they were both super nice, I was like, ‘This is definitely what I want to do.’” The most helpful thing about College Possible, Perquin said, has been the ACT preparation. Twice a week, each student in College Possible attends a two-hour after-school session run by Sundermeier; the content will change over the year, but right now, the sessions are about test prep. Three different groups meet at different times, so students get plenty of attention. On some Saturday mornings, they come to school and take practice ACT tests. “When we get our results back, every single time, every [student’s] grades always increase, each ACT that we do,” Perquin said. “So far we’ve done four, and then we have the official one in April.” In the fall, the juniors in College Possible had the opportunity to visit a number of colleges in the area on the weekends. Later in the spring, when the weather is nicer, they’ll visit more campuses. “I [used to think] that college was really scary, but after the college visits and everything, you kind of realize it’s just like a bigger high school,” Perquin said. The current juniors will be required to apply
for at least one summer enrichment program at a college or university. Next year, when they’re seniors, they’ll get help identifying colleges to apply to, and a coach will guide them through the application process, including financial aid forms and scholarships. “I think a lot of students have it in their head that it’s not really possible for them to go to school, because seeing those sticker prices of colleges where they’re so expensive — it’s really scary,” Sundermeier said. “A lot of them don’t realize that there are grants and scholarships and loans that we can work on. We’re making sure that they are able to do that and overcome the things that might seem most scary at first.” A major consideration in Westside’s decision to partner with College Possible was the fact that someone from the organization continues working with students once they’re in college. “That was the key piece in the decision to bring College Possible in — that follow-up piece they do once the students get onto the college campus,” guidance counselor Melissa Hansen said. “Because a lot of times once they get there they have even more questions than they did when they were in high school, and they don’t know where to go, or they get told ‘no’ and they kind of give up.” Soon, College Possible will start recruiting students from the current sophomore class, for next year. Hansen encouraged any students who are interested to contact her. She said she envisions College Possible being part of Westside for years to come. “This program is definitely helping those students access the American dream of going to college,” Hansen said.
The
FACTS
Source: Collegepossible.org
8 Percentage of lowincome students who graduate from college by age 24; for students in the top income quartile, the figure is 73%
98 Percentage of College Possible students who go to college
5 How many times more likely a College Possible student is to graduate from college, compared to lowincome peers
Westside explores ways for students to earn college credit By Elise Tucker Staff Writer When you think of college, some of the perks that come to mind may be meeting new people, getting a dorm room and having fun classes. But what if high school students could get half of an Associate’s degree without going to college? That’s what a group of 20 teachers are trying to implement here at Westside. Guidance counselor Melissa Hansen said the degree is only an idea, but it would be a great option in the future. “Students would be able to take college courses here at Westside,” Hansen said. “The courses would mostly be in the medical field, such as Health Sciences.” The possibility of this happening is slim right now, but Westside already has some classes that offer college credits or Dual Enrollment. “Many of the health and computer classes do offer Dual Enrollment,” Hansen said. “The Career Academy also lets students go out of the school to watch and experience their chosen career path.” Assistant Superintendent Mark Weichel said a grant could be given to Westside to help begin the Associate’s program. Weichel has already talked with 20 staff members about the idea of offering a degree. “The idea has great potential, because we could possibly get a grant to go towards the project,”
Weichel said. Weichel and the group also discussed how Westside could add more college credits. “We talked about how it could help the students generate more credits in high school,” Weichel said. “Dual Enrollment can help students achieve the goal of having to take fewer classes in college.” The group of high school staff members has not yet proposed the idea to the school board, but plans on doing so once there has been more planning related to developing the program. The group is working with Nebraska colleges such as University of Nebraska-Omaha and UNL to see if they could come here or have students go to their campuses, but there have been challenges in the planning as far as making the program fit students’ needs. Westside also has seniors participating in the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s High School Alliance program. Students in the program attend classes at Westside in the morning and health-related classes at UNMC in the afternoon. “We have many barriers that we need to get through,” Hansen said. “Some people are traditional and say students should stay here on campus. That is just one of the hurdles we must face.” Hansen said plans for other programs are also underway. “We are working on a program of study with the Nebraska Methodist Health College where students can take anatomy and other health-related
courses over there,” Hansen said. “We are going to focus on new programs of study first, then go into more career fields.” Hansen’s main goal is to provide opportunities to students, and thinks offering different approaches to education enhances the individual learning experience. “I would like to see students grow and for them to stay engaged in their education,” Hansen said. “I also want students to get a head start, because college is so expensive. If there is any way we can reduce the cost for students and their families, it’s a good thing to do.”
Graphic by Sarah Lemke