How Virtual Advisers Help Low-Income Students Apply To College
Our Take A Number series is exploring problems around the world through the lens of a single number.
Some high school students think of applying to colleges as a full-time job. There are essays and tests, loads of financial documents to assemble and calculations to make. After all that, of course, comes a big decision — one of the biggest of their young lives.
For top students who come from low-income families, the challenge is particularly difficult.
Research shows that 1 in 4 juggle all of that — the writing, the studying, the researching and applying — completely on their own. One approach to make this whole process easier? Pair students up with someone who can help, a mentor or adviser, virtually.
That's the idea behind CollegePoint, an initiative funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Here's how it works: When a high school student with a GPA of 3.5 or higher takes a standardized test — the PSAT, SAT or ACT
