Putting College in Reach
The Philadelphia Scholars and College Access Program

By Meg Wise

Do you know what it costs to go to college these days? A 2003 study by the College Board indicates that the average annual cost of a four-year public college is $12,000. For families who qualify as low-income (making less than $25,000), federal and state grants usually total about $3,800. This means that low-income students must come up with another $8,200 every year to achieve their dreams of earning a college degree.

The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education reports that “on average, poor families spent 25 percent of their annual income for their children to attend public four-year colleges in 2000, compared with 13 percent in 1980. For middle-class families, the percentage of annual income required to attend public colleges nearly doubled as well, to about 7 percent from 4 percent. For the wealthiest families, there was no increase from the 2 percent spent in 1980” (“Losing Ground: A National Status Report on the Affordability of American Higher Education," 2002).

Yet we know that earning a college degree is an investment that pays off. The lifetime earnings of a worker with a Bachelor Degree are over $1 million higher than a worker who graduated from high school but did not go to college.

The challenge is helping more students—especially low-income students—access the resources they need to prepare and succeed in higher education. The College Access Program and the Philadelphia Scholars are two exciting initiatives that are working to this end. Both were founded in 1990 and are administered by The Philadelphia Education Fund, an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

The College Access Program (CAP) operates in 12 Philadelphia public high schools and their nine feeder middle schools. Services to students begin in 6th grade, continue through their senior year of high school, and include: comprehensive college awareness and readiness services, college and career workshops, individual advising and counseling, and financial aid and scholarship assistance. CAP staff also present workshops for entire classrooms and plan school-wide events. School-based CAP programs reach over 3,000 youngsters every year.

The CAP staff also operates three community-based Centers in West, North, and Center City Philadelphia. The community centers are open to the general public and center staff provides guidance and access to college reference materials, computer labs, financial aid and scholarship information, on-line “virtual” campus tours, and standardized testing information. Over 8,000 people visit the Community Centers annually.

Students who have graduated from one of the 12 high schools that participate in the College Access Program, as well as two other donor-designated schools, are eligible to apply for a “Last Dollar” scholarship from the Philadelphia Scholars Program. Participating students attend the following comprehensive, neighborhood high schools in Philadelphia: Bartram, Ben Franklin, Edison/Fareira, Germantown, Simon Gratz, Kensington, Northeast, Olney, Parkway Gamma, Roxborough, Strawberry Mansion, West Philadelphia, William Penn, and University City.

The scholarships are intended to fill the gap between a student’s financial aid package and the actual cost of going to college; awards range in size from $200 to $3,000, and are renewable for up to six years. For the current school year, nearly 300 students are receiving Last Dollar Scholarships totally $700,000. Since the program’s founding, nearly 1,300 Philadelphia Scholars have gone to college and over $4.3 million has been awarded in scholarships.

Unlike other scholarship programs in the region, the College Access and Philadelphia Scholars programs do not serve elite, magnet schools, nor do they target the top students in the schools served. The Philadelphia Scholars are hard-working young people who come from families and communities that have had little experience with higher education. However, they have a dream to succeed, and they know that receiving a college degree is a key component in improving their lives.

To help put college in reach of Philadelphia youth, you can make a tax-deductible contribution to the Philadelphia Scholars program. To find out more, please call Meg Wise at The Philadelphia Education Fund, 215-665-1400 ext. 3323.