Equalizing college opportunities for the poor requires more fundamental, complementary strategies than just improving financial aid. There appear to be huge and growing disparities in the capacity of elementary/secondary school systems to prepare youth for the world beyond high school. Colleges cannot redress these inequities alone but must…

The Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP) is designed to provide assistance to low income students. The program provides discretionary grants for the purpose of increasing the readiness of low income students to attend and succeed in postsecondary education. The grants are up to six years in length and provide…

Few researchers have asked students directly about what they know and need to know regarding college and career planning. Given the critical choices made early in high school, ninth graders (n = 222) were surveyed regarding their educational and career plans and the resources they were using in their decision-making. Overall results as well as…

It is never too early for parents to think about college for their children. This resource book was designed to help parents and educators work with students to ensure that their children have the option of going to college. The booklet provides tips on academic preparations and also offers ideas on how parents can plan for the costs of a college…

This study of 1989 graduates represents the second year that the Detroit (Michigan) Public School system has conducted a follow-up survey of public high school graduates to establish their occupational status at about 16 months after graduation, collect their perceptions of their high school experiences, and record their postsecondary educational…

Blueprint 2000 is the Florida state policy moving Florida education toward higher standards in the long term, requiring extensive collaboration among the public schools, community colleges, state universities, and the Florida Department of Education. The Task Force on High School Preparation for Postsecondary Education and Employment was formed in…

The College of Engineering and Computer Science at Wright State University implemented its first summer pre-engineering program in 1988 to increase the number of minority students from the area who graduate from high school with sufficient interest and academic preparation to successfully pursue engineering or some other science- or…

The effects of several variables on social, emotional, and academic development of high school students were evaluated. Variables were: (1) educational level of parents; (2) marital status of parents; (3) number of children in the family; and (4) family stability. Subjects were 52 10th-grade college-preparatory students from a southern public high…

The Strive Toward Excellence Program (STEP) of the University of Akron (Ohio) is a pre-college preparatory program designed to encourage, motivate, and prepare minority and economically disadvantaged students to acquire a strong secondary education and to attend and successfully complete college. Students are selected while enrolled in the sixth…

The declining rate of college-bound high school students and the growing high school dropout rate of minorities both nationally and locally are trends that need to be immediately addressed and reversed. In an effort to reverse the trends, children need academic encouragement in elementary and middle school, and need at an early age to envision…

In response to low college-going rates and low persistence rates of college students, Clark Technical College (CTC) initiated the High School Liaison Project to improve articulation between the college and local schools. The project served as an umbrella for several related activities, including a program for assessing the potential college skills…

An overview is provided of articulation activities between the community colleges and secondary schools of California. Part I reviews the progress made in the implementation of: (1) articulated "2 + 2" vocational education projects; (2) the community colleges' provision of academic performance reports to high schools on their graduates;…

The University of Arizona's Precollege Program for academically talented secondary school students, which enrolls qualified students in selected university summer courses, is described. The majority of the students are between their junior and senior year in high school and have a grade point average of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale. In addition to…

This study guide helps both the new and old college student determine if college is for him, if he is ready for college, and which study skills need to be mastered in order to be a successful college student. The guide offers a step-by-step approach for developing study habits which include the student's knowledge of: (1) the classroom, (2)…

Founded in 1967, Harlem Prep is an independent, non-sectarian school, located in the Central Harlem section of New York City. The school currently has an enrollment of more than 600 students who range in age from 16 to over 40. The student body is primarily black, male, and from the lower socioeconimic groups. However, the student population also…