College Going Cultures

STRENGTHENING OUR COLLEGE-GOING CULTURESRebecca Joseph, PhD

Associate Professor

CSULA

rjoseph@calstatela.edu

323-646-5759

True or FalseThis quiz addresses low-income students.

1. Students can only take the SAT or ACT once for free.

2. Students can apply to three Cal States and three UCs for free.

3. Undocumented students qualify for Cal Grants.

4. The UC Blue and Gold Plan guarantees financial aid accessibility for students whose families make less than $80K per year.

5. The new UC eligibility index includes the top 9% of qualified seniors applicants.

6. Colleges around the country fly in under-represented students to visit their campuses for free before and after the students are accepted.

7. Students can only apply to four private universities for free.

8. Students who go away to college are significantly less likely to return to their communities.

9. Counselors and teacher letters to colleges play a minor role in college admissions.

10. Colleges fly in counselors to visit their universities for free.

True or False 

1. FALSE. --Students can take the SAT, ACT, and three SAT Subject Tests free twice. Schools can raise money to pay for third or fourth tries. Test scores are more important than ever. Yet they truly discriminate against ELLs and under—represented students. Counselors can get unlimited fee waivers from the ACT and SAT. They need to apply early and help kids sign iup.

2. FALSE--Four of each. Undocumented students can only qualify for UC-s.

3. TRUE

4. TRUE. Loans are part of many, but significantly less than before.

5. TRUE. However, students must now pass with a C or higher 11 of 15 A-G classes by beginning of senior year. UCS and Cal States no longer count any post graduation make up classes

True/False Continued6. TRUE. I keep a list of these schools. They are desperate for

your students.

7. FALSE—They are multiple ways to keep application fee waivers. NACAC, College Board, etc.

8. FALSE-research shows they are much more likely to come back and serve their communities.

9. FALSE—They play a huge role and can help make or break a scholarship or college acceptance. Top counselors contact colleges and invite admissions reps into visit their students.

10. TRUE--here are multiple ways for counselors to visit colleges. Top counselors participate in WACAC and NACAC and make connections with colleges and non-profits.

Our Own Pathways to College

Why Do I Care• Former middle school teacher.• PhD Urban School Reform at UCLA• Associate Professor at CSULA• Train secondary teachers and teach remedial freshman

English support• College access expert. Get Me To College• Speaker at schools and non-profits around the country

about college access.

My Journey

Meet Gabriel and Johanna• Gabriel-Summer Programming

and Strong CounselingUCLA First in family to go to

collegeRegents Scholar/100% covered

• Johanna-Strong network of teachers

University of PennsylvaniaFirst in family to go to collegeSummer bridge program at

USC100% covered

Meet Martin and Michelle• Martin-GEAR UPVillanova University, First in

family to go to collegePresidential Scholarship,

100% covered including summer programs

Rome,

• ChioniqueGoucher-Jack Kent Cooke

FoundationFirst in family to go to collegePsychology, women’s studiesIntroduced President Obama

Higher Earnings. High Education

Statistics Are Powerful• Associate degree holders earn roughly 80 percent of the

income of bachelor’s degree holders.  The proportion falls to less than 50 percent for people who did not graduate from high school, and the proportion has fallen since 1991.

• Unemployment rates tell a similar story.  The unemployment rate for all workers in 2011 was 8.9 percent.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rates in 2011 decreased with educational attainment:

• Less than high school diploma: 14.1 percent• High school: 9.4 percent• Some college: 8.7 percent• Associate degree: 6.8 percent• Bachelor’s degree or higher: 4.3 percent.

California’s Leaky Pipeline

The Power of Outreach• College readiness takes significant systemic changes at

the middle and high school level. • Strong teachers and counselors

• College advising

• Positive mentoring

• Academic support

• Assistance with all aspects of college readiness, applications, financial aid, and more

• Parent/Family guidance

David Conley on College Readiness

Nine Principles.• According to UCLA’s Pat McDonough

It’s A Multi-Layer Approach

Making A Plan

• Teacher Level• Pathway Level• School Level

School and District Wide

Resources

• Pathways to College http://www.pathwaystocollege.net/• Removing the Roadblocks to College.

http://idea.gseis.ucla.edu/publications/documents/removing-the-roadblocks-to-college-report• Potholes on the Road to College: High School Effects in Shaping Urban Students' Participation in

College Application, Four-year College Enrollment, and College Match • http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/publications/potholes-road-college-high-school-effects-shaping-urban-students-parti

cipation-college• California Center for College and Career Connect Ed. http://www.connectedcalifornia.org/• Creating a College Going Culture.

http://apep.gseis.ucla.edu/bestla/BEST-CreateCollegeCultResourceGuide.pdf• College Tools for Schools: Helping California schools prepare students for college and careers.

http://collegetools.berkeley.edu/index.php• Application crunch. http://collegeologygames.com/• Woodrow Wilson. Early College High School Initiative.

http://www.woodrow.org/school-initiatives/readiness/schools/toolkit/index.php• Center for Student Opportunity.

http://www.woodrow.org/school-initiatives/readiness/schools/toolkit/index.php• Get Me To College. http://Getmetocollege.org/hs• Learn about various grants—Questbridge, Posse, Dell, Gates, Coca-Cola and more• Learn about various scholarships-SALEF, HSF, HCF, and more.• Learn about non-profits and other programs in your area. Fulfillment Fund, College Summit, HOLA, Upward

Bound, Talent Search, College Match, Latinos in College, College Week Live, and more.• Learn about fly-in programs, summer programs, internships, test prep, and more.

A Promise• I can help you develop stronger college readiness action

plans.• I can send you regular college readiness newsletters. • I can come back and do more work with you this fall. I can

even visit your schools.• I can connect you with other teacher and communities

committed to college access on a budget• Rjoseph@calstatela.edu• 323-646-5759