Since its founding in 2000, College Possible has grown 250-fold. Each academic year has brought exciting new opportunities and accomplishments.
1999-2000
Jim McCorkell put into action his life-long passion to make college admission and success possible for low-income kids. In his home state of Minnesota, working out of the spare bedroom in his St. Paul apartment, Jim and early supporters picked a name and a logo, recruited a Board of Directors and began raising funds with a freshly minted business plan for the yet-to-exist College Possible. Top
2000-2001
In September of 2000, College Possible (founded as Admission Possible) was given 501(c)(3) status, gained the support of more than 250 donors and received its first AmeriCorps grant. In January 2001, College Possible moved into office space in St. Paul, and Jim hired four part-time coaches for College Possible’s first students - 35 juniors at two high schools in the Twin Cities. Top
2001-2002
In the fall of 2001, College Possible was serving eight public high schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Twenty-six part-time AmeriCorps members coached 240 high school students across the Twin Cities. The organization’s original newsletter named "The Gate" was created, and Jim was joined in the office by three full-time staff members. Top
2002-2003
With the addition of another high school, College Possible was now serving 400 students. With an annual budget approaching $700,000, the four full-time staff members were joined by two AmeriCorps VISTAs. Top
2003-2004
Five full-time staff, three VISTAs, 40 part-time AmeriCorps coaches and nine full-time AmeriCorps site coordinators now offered full program service to 450 students at nine high schools. A more sophisticated database was created to house student information, programming for high school program graduates began and an external evaluation by the Wilder Foundation got underway. Top
2004-2005
In 2004, five full-time staff, 21 full-time AmeriCorps coaches, and three VISTAs served 550 students. The new website was unveiled, and a formalized version of the curriculum was distributed. All previous records were broken when College Possible juniors increased their ACT scores by 16 percent and 100 percent of College Possible seniors were admitted to college. Top
2005-2006
With a budget over $1 million and 600 students to serve at nine high schools, the full-time staff grew to six people, and the Wilder Evaluation report confirmed outstanding results. College Possible received the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Innovation Award, was featured in the New York Times and Jim McCorkell was selected as an Ashoka Fellow. With funding from the William and Nadine McGuire Family Foundation, and new records set for ACT increases and college acceptance rates, College Possible prepared for a big expansion. Top
2006-2007
Eleven leadership staff worked with 44 AmeriCorps members and two VISTAs to serve nearly 1,000 students at 13 high schools in the Twin Cities area. More than 200 people applied for the 48 available AmeriCorps positions, and College Possible was recognized in Princeton Review’s national search for the 2008 edition of Best Entry-Level Jobs. College Possible was also cited in a national report by the U.S. Congress’ Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance as a best practice in providing early financial aid information to students and families. Top
2007-2008
The addition of two schools brought the total number of College Possible partner high schools to 15. Twelve Leadership Team members, 44 AmeriCorps members and four VISTAs served 1,200 students and 1,100 program alums. The Board of Directors conducted strategic planning to consider national expansion of the program. Top
2008-2009
Five VISTAs joined a four-person Leadership Team in kicking off programming for College Possible Milwaukee, the second College Possible site and the first step of a national expansion plan. The year ended on a high note when President Obama highlighted College Possible in a speech recognizing innovative nonprofits. The Twin Cities' program continued to grow with the addition of two schools. It now spanned five districts, reaching 1,300 students by this academic year. Top
2009-2010
College Possible received national recognition with awards from the National Association for College Admission Counseling, the National College Access Network and CollegeBoard. With a positive track record of growth, the Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve an aggressive national expansion plan. The program grew to serve 1,540 students in its core high school programming, 2,200 high school program graduates through its college programming and 3,000 students through its college workshops. Top
2010-2011
With the Board's unanimous approval, College Possible moved forward with national expansion working toward a goal of serving as many as 10 cities by 2015. To support the new structure, a national office was formed. Now totaling 23 full-time staff and 70 AmeriCorps and VISTA members, the program reached 1,600 juniors and seniors through its core high school prograrm, 3,000 freshmen and sophomores through its college-planning workshops, and 2,200 high school program graduates through its college programming. Top