How We Can help Disadvantaged Kids get to College

Parents Forum
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<p>Become teachers in inner city middle schools that serve low income multi-cultural families. Try to get them ready for high school success.</p>

<p>Find a classroom that services these students and offer to buy some presents to be given to the students - books, paint sets - piano lessons-</p>

<p>Create and get funding for a district pre-school news letter informing parents of activities that can help them with their child - keep it {let your four year old sort the socks} simple, remind them of library reading programs. </p>

<p>Thank you for even thinking about these kids they need our help.</p>

22

<p>What a great thread. </p>

<p>I listen regularly to the radio station operated by the Minneapolis Public Schools (which may be the only high-school-operated radio in the country, I've heard). The station regularly has public service announcements asking for volunteer tutors, and I think that is an opportunity likely to exist in many school districts in many places. </p>

<p>This weekend parents in my homeschooling support group are putting on a resource fair for parents who are unaware of the many supplemental materials they could use to help their children learn various subjects. I will have a big display of math materials and a smaller display of visual art materials, and other parents will display materials about English, foreign languages, or other subjects they have learned in a family setting. I emailed companies with good distance learning programs and invited them to send brochures for the resource fair--all the companies exceeded my expectations in how many brochures they sent. </p>

<p>Tomorrow I will have a second meeting of our town's new Math Club, founded to help kids share enthusiasm about math and help parents organize competition teams in several of the local middle schools that now lack them. </p>

<p>There is a lot of local activism that parents can engage in to help learners other than their children, and I appreciate the detailed suggestions in this thread.</p>

23

<p>I have been asked by a friend--desperately broke friend who works cleaning houses and makes almost nothing (she gets food stamps)---to help her junior-year daughter apply to colleges. Helping her with applications is a minor part of it (and that part is easy). But I could use help with helping her mom do the FAFSA part of it. Any and all advice would be appreciated. (D wasn't sure of her PSAT score (maybe around 1200 (old SATs)), GPA is mid-3's, her DECA team is going to nationals, she's held jobs since she was 15.)</p>

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<p>For kids who absolutely need financial aid, the local state colleges are the first line of schools to investigate. Then the state schools where kid has to live away. The next step is to look for colleges that give close to 100% of need--the USN&WR Ultimate guide gives good info on that. It is too often a waste of time to apply to an expensive school that generally only gives 30-60% of need with large amounts of loan. The parents need to have their tax returns ready to use for the first round of the FAFSA and it pays to get the thing done early, and any kids' assets should be spent down as they will be assessed 35% vs 5.6% that family assets are hit by FAFSA.</p>

25

<p>I was wondering what happend to you DMD- glad to see you back
Libraries have books with local scholarships- better bets than national
I don't know where your friend is but

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Want to go to a fair of all WA colleges (public and private, 2- and 4-year)? It's March 30 at North Seattle Community College.

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and for jobs

[quote]

-Microsoft High School Internship Program is for Juniors/Seniors who are available all summer, and is geared to people under-represented in the field, i.e. African-Americans / American Indians / Hispanic students, women, students with disabilities, and students from low-income families. Participants are paid an hourly wage, and given bus passes and software discounts. Application due March 25; get info at <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/college/highschool/highschool.mspx%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.microsoft.com/college/highschool/highschool.mspx&lt;/a> today!</p>

<p>-If you're interested in technology, also check out the Tehnical Teens Internship Program through Technology Access Foundation (<a href="http://www.techaccess.org)%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.techaccess.org)&lt;/a>. It's a summer program for ages 14-18, and offers free computer classes the first year, and the opportunity for paid summer internships and college scholarships for students who do more than one summer. Applications due April 15.</p>

<p>-U-Doc program through the UW School of Medicine's Office of Multicultural Affairs is a free 6-week, residential program of community service, clinical, and academic activities for this year's Juniors. Application due March 25. <a href="http://www.depts.washington.edu/omca/UDOC%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.depts.washington.edu/omca/UDOC&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p>

<p>-Scholarships for Outward Bound wilderness expedition courses! <a href="http://outwardboundwest.com/student_services/financial_aid/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://outwardboundwest.com/student_services/financial_aid/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>-The Summer High School Volunteer Program at the Seattle Aquarium is for ages 16-18. You'd help for two 4.25 hour shifts per week for the summer. If you're interested, you need to attend the mandatory orientation on Saturday, Feb. 26, 9:30-12, at the Aquarium! See <a href="http://www.seattleaquarium.org/join/volunteer/teen/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.seattleaquarium.org/join/volunteer/teen/&lt;/a> or Laila for info.</p>

<p>-Nursing Camp at SPU, June 19-25. Scholarships available! See Laila or <a href="http://www.spu.edu/depts/hsc/nursingcamp/index.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.spu.edu/depts/hsc/nursingcamp/index.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>-Teens in Public Service has paid summer internships with non-profits in Seattle for ages 15-19. Application due April 14. <a href="http://www.teensinpublicservice.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.teensinpublicservice.org&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p>

<p>-Seattle Youth Employment Program is now hiring for Spring and Summer! Students must be low-income (somewhere right around free lunch level) to qualify. You need to get info directly from their office now - 618 Second Ave., 6th floor, 9am-5/6pm Mon- Fri.</p>

<p>-Full Scholarships available for the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Summer Seminar at Colorado College. Open to Juniors. This is a 2-week, intensive visual art studio program. You'd need to find transportation down there, but all the rest is included. Application due April 6. <a href="http://www.sharpeartfdn.org/summer1.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.sharpeartfdn.org/summer1.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>-And lastly, Ecology Youth Corps is hiring students to help with road-side garbage pick-up and recycling education. Application due April 13. <a href="http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/eyc%5B/url%5D.%5B/quote%5D"&gt;www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/eyc.

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</a></p>

<p>also the Seattle times has a good resource and the King county libraries let you use their computers for over an hour every day
<a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/education/collegeguide/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/education/collegeguide/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

26

<p>Umm, thanks jamimom, but my friend has zero assets, no husband, no idea where he is, 5 kids, hasn't filed a tax return in years. Does that change the advice any?</p>

27

<p>Not really. Though unless the kid is motivated to go away for college, it he will probably go the local route. Kids tend to go where their peers go, and in cases like this, the kids tend to go local and commute. If he has the stats to go to the state flagship school or other state school that entails boarding, he will need the stats to get in which is not so easy these days. It is even more essential that the school list is comprised colleges tha provide 199% of need. I have seen families beggar themselves sending a kid to some private school that in their eyes is a big chance for them to improve themselves when they are not worth the money. Usually the school gaps, and the family is psychologically hooked through the process. And if the school is Glynndale Business College, it ain't worth the sacrifice. I see it here with some of the Catholic collegs with famiies slaving to send their kid to the school which gapped them terribly in financial aid, and the kid would have likely been as well off or better at a state school or a school that did not cost as much or did not gap.</p>

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<p>nela also has free workshops ( on queen anne_
but her high school career center should have resources too.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.nela.net/mediaroom/newsreleases/ne60804.asp?nav_section=7&pp=default.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nela.net/mediaroom/newsreleases/ne60804.asp?nav_section=7&pp=default.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

29

<p>Thanks EK4. I was away a few days. Oh, and friend (and D) are in Redmond.</p>

30

<p>dmd, </p>

<p>we knew a kid whose mom was undocumented alien. This kid obviously could not get FAFSA docs. She got a full ride in Nebraska, I think perhaps U of Nebraska. She was a great student & sweet kid with very few options due to her mom being "off the grid."</p>

31

<p>NELA is a great resource, thanks, EK4. (I feel so fortunate that I've never needed to know these things!)</p>

<p>And SBMom, it's good to know that things can go forward without the FAFSA.</p>

32

<p>Here is a thread I started a couple of weeks ago about a non-profit college guidance/counseling organization here in the Bay Area.</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=38301%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=38301&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>and the article:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/03/04/EBGTOBGA0M1.DTL%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/03/04/EBGTOBGA0M1.DTL&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>DMD: The Princeton Review site has a good tutorial on filling out the FAFSA form.</p>

33

<p>Great ideas all around. As someone who lives in a socioeconomically diverse school district, I think the greatest opportunity to change lives would be around 3rd-4th grade, before kids are lost to distractions. We have a large corporation nearby which has actively supported their employees becoming mentors to at-risk kids, which has been beneficial to the kids involved. Kids need to know more than having big dreams, they need to see that hard work and dedication is required, and that delayed gratification will pay off long term. For many kids, by the time they're at the end of high school, a lot of doors are already closed.</p>

34

<p>I've plugged this organization before, and will plug it again: <a href="http://www.admissionpossible.org/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.admissionpossible.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>They are helping disadvantaged kids, and you can help them.</p>

35

<p>Please forgive me if someone else has already posted this link, but I'm struck by the relevance of this thread to another that digmedia posted in the same forum: HS kids beat MIT in robot competition but can't go to college, about four kids from Arizona who, despite their obvious drive and ability, don't qualify for any sort of financial aid because their parents are undocumented aliens (<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=45483%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=45483&lt;/a&gt;). </p>

<p>It's nice to think that someone will spot the piece on Wired.com and offer to sponsor one or more of these students--but are there other ways to help kids in similar situations?</p>