ERIC Number: ED530693
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Apr
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Make Me a Match: Helping Low-Income and First-Generation Students Make Good College Choices. Policy Brief
Sherwin, Jay
MDRC
Educators, researchers, and policymakers across the political spectrum agree that America must send more of its young people to college and find ways to help them graduate. Yet it has been difficult to design and implement effective strategies for dramatically increasing college enrollment and graduation. In Chicago, an intervention now under way, the College Match Program, takes an innovative approach to solving the problem of low college graduation rates. Developed by MDRC in partnership with the Chicago Public Schools, College Match targets a population that has been overlooked by many other college success initiatives: capable students who are prepared for college but need advice and support to choose college wisely. A large percentage of such students are "undermatching,"--that is, enrolling in colleges for which they are academically overqualified, or not going to college at all. The program places young adult advisers in high schools to help these students find colleges that meet their academic, social, and personal needs, and tests the theory that students who enroll in a college that is a good match are most likely to thrive, persist, and graduate. (Contains 1 table and 17 notes.)
Descriptors: First Generation College Students, Graduation Rate, Educational Attainment, Young Adults, Enrollment, At Risk Students, Low Income Groups, Intervention, College Choice, Student Needs, High Schools, High School Students, Public Schools, Program Effectiveness
MDRC. 16 East 34th Street 19th Floor, New York, NY 10016-4326. Tel: 212-532-3200; Fax: 212-684-0832; e-mail: publications@mdrc.org; Web site: http://www.mdrc.org
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: High Schools; Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Ford Foundation; Jack Kent Cooke Foundation; John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Kresge Foundation; Joyce Foundation; Spencer Foundation
Authoring Institution: MDRC
Identifiers - Location: Illinois
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A