College Success
Making College Graduation Possible for More Students
A college education is the most reliable path to prosperity, especially for children who grow up in poor communities. Yet low-income students at every level of academic ability are less likely to finish college. Nationally, only 15 percent of these students earn bachelor’s degrees at the six-year mark, well below the 70 percent college success rate for students from affluent families.
We encourage all students to pursue higher education by building a college-going culture from the time they join our network through our Camino through College program. We provide college access and alumni support services to help students prepare for, gain admission to, and succeed in college. Research on college access highlights the importance of establishing college-going norms, increasing access to college information, and using concrete adult guidance and support, but first-generation college students, like many Camino Nuevo students, often lack this social capital at home. We provide students intensive guidance to help them translate their college dreams into actions as they navigate the college admission process. Staff assist with college and financial aid applications, organize college campus tours, and facilitate workshops for students and parents to build college knowledge. We also host college and career fairs and facilitate college tours to connect students directly with multiple postsecondary pathways.
Our commitment to our graduates extends into college. Each year, we provide over 600 alumni in the college pipeline ongoing guidance and support, including financial support via our robust Scholarship program. Our Scholarships which provides over $250,000 in financial support to over 130 graduating seniors and Camino alumni in college.
Beyond the halls of Camino Nuevo, alumni programming includes activities to help college-bound students navigate the college matriculation process, link them to campus resources, and provide ongoing support to deal with cultural challenges, course selection, financial aid packages, scholarship searches, and career development. We also operate a peer mentoring program that pairs first-year students with Camino Nuevo alumni who are upperclassmen, as well as a cohort-based mentorship and related series of workshops for first- and second-year college students to support college persistence.
Get Involved
Supporting our students in getting to and through college is a core part of our work. We invite you to make a gift today in service of our students’ postsecondary success or to get involved in another way.
If you would like to participate in mock interviews with our juniors, speak at Career Day, or tell us about internship opportunities for our high schools students, contact Janay Battaglia, internship coordinator, at [email protected].
If you would like to share your college or career journey alongside other members of your corporation, visit one of our schools, or learn more about our approach to postsecondary success, reach out to the Advancement Team at [email protected].
