Contact the Posse Foundation, 101 Marietta St. at 404-751-3340 or possefoundation.org.
Heading off to college brings about new challenges that can quickly become overwhelming. Having a support network of friends in place can make the transition from high school easier, as the organizers of the Posse Foundation believe.
Founded in 1989 in New York, the nonprofit takes its name from a student’s comment that the one thing he didn’t have at college was his “posse” to help him over the transitional hurdles. The foundation matches high school students with 53 partner colleges and then gives seniors the chance to form a “posse” before they head off together.
The Atlanta chapter of the foundation opened in 2007. Currently, 352 local teens are either in college or part of a rigorous pre-college training program designed to prepare them for the move into higher education.
“The goal is to provide a support organization for students from urban areas who would not be on the radar of an admissions staff,” said Zenith Houston, director of Posse Atlanta. “These are students who are leaders in their schools or community.”
Exceptional students identified by their high schools are invited to take part in an extensive assessment process. The first is a large-group interview that eliminates about 40 percent of the participants. The rest go on to a more personalized interview and the chance to list their top three school choices. That group is whittled down again, at which point the foundation’s partner colleges select the students they want to work with. Each December, about 60 students are selected for 4-year scholarships to attend Bard College, Boston University, Brandeis University, The College of Wooster, Syracuse University or Texas A&M University. Those 60 represent about four percent of the 1,500 students who are nominated.
From January through August, the scholarship recipients work through a program of weekly sessions that prepare them for college life.
“For instance, we have a writing program and an academic immersion day where they go to Emory to hear guest speakers talk about topics such as participating in class,” said Houston. “We prepare them for the challenges of that first year - the transition to a new environment both socially and academic, and the shift in academic rigor. They learn that college is not like high school; there’s a different level of focus that occurs. And we also talk about academic success, how to access resources on campus, how to engage as a student and what it means to be a campus leader.”
Throughout the eight months of preparation, students also bond with others who will head to the same university. “That creates a support system, so when they’re on campus and in a new environment, their posse cohort will continue to provide backup,” said Houston.
Once on campus, students are paired with a tenured faculty member who meets with them individually. Foundation representatives also visit the students three times during the year. The support and preparation pay off: Posse scholars have a 90 percent graduation rate.
Southwest Atlanta resident Deborah Fataki heard about the Posse program in middle school and spent her years at Carver Early College High working on winning a scholarship. She was selected last year to attend Brandeis.
“This program has made me realize that I want to go somewhere completely new, but I’ll do better to
have friends, people I know, who will support me once I get on campus,” she said. “Getting to know the other nine students going to Brandeis has been very instrumental to my getting out of my comfort zone.”
Nominations for Posse scholarships are accepted through the month of August and can be made through high school counseling offices.
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