One in three Somali-speaking students in the metro area attends a charter school. It’s a problem for a district like Minneapolis that’s working to raise its enrollment numbers. And it’s a problem for community members concerned that charters don’t prepare students for college and the work world – an issue that’s debated heatedly. Read the full story at the Twin Cities Daily Planet. 

Minnesota do-gooders, not exactly known for their creative pizazz, are spiffing up their public images -- and shedding some well-known nonprofit names in the process. Read the full story at the Star Tribune. 

Brainerd native Alyssa Parsons was promoted to associate development officer at Twin Cities nonprofit College Possible. Read the full story at the Brainerd Dispatch. 

Nearly 600 low-income high school students fanned out across the Twin Cities Wednesday and Thursday in search of the perfect college. They are a part of Metro Visit Days, which offers College Possible (formerly Admission Possible) students a chance to tour one of four institutions without leaving the metro. Read the full story at the Hmong Times.  

Mutual of America has awarded Twin Cities nonprofit College Possible Access and Success Partnership the 2011 Governor Hugh L. Carey Award, presented annually through its Community Partnership Award competition. Read the full story at the Community Reporter. 

The local nonprofit formerly known as Admission Possible this week launched its new name College Possible. Read the full story at the Asian American Press. 

Admission Possible, a college preparation program now helping 7,500 low-income Twin Cities students, changed its named on Monday to College Possible. Read the full story at the Star Tribune. 

Chelsey Tulgren is only in her early 20s, but she is already experiencing the pangs of what it feels like to be an empty nester, a parent whose child has gone off to college. Tulgren is in her second year as a coach at Como Park High School for the College Possible program, working with seniors who are preparing for college. Read the full story at the Saint Paul Monitor. 

Many high school seniors in College Possible, a college access and success program for low-income students, are among the first prospective students to get their applications in the door. This year's seniors have collectively submitted 3,252 applications, and 304 have already earned admission to college. Read the full story at the Hmong Times. 

Brainerd natives Delinda (Blanck) Rood and Alyssa Parsons joined College Possible’s staff with the goal of helping low-income students in the Twin Cities earn admission to and succeed in college. Read the full story at the Brainerd Dispatch. 

David Krause, who works at Beacon Bank in Eden Prairie, volunteers with BestPrep, a Minnesota nonprofit that gives students business, career and financial skills as they prepare for college. Krause’s visit to St. Louis Park High School is his second session this year with a group of juniors in the College Possible program, which works towards getting low-income students into college. Read the full story at the St. Louis Park Patch. 

Back in June, Woodbury residents Scott Penticoff and Todd Firebaugh competed in the Black Hills Ultramarathon on June 25, helping raise money for College Possible — a nonprofit organization striving to make college admission and success possible for low-income students. The documentary film ‘100,’ which recently debuted at the Showplace Icon 14 in St. Louis Park, profiles their pursuit to raise money and awareness for College Possible. Read the full story at the Woodbury Bulletin. 

Many young adults are entering the world of financial independence without knowledge of how to budget, but 38 Armstrong High School students received a valuable lesson on the life-changing topic last week. A financial advisor presented a class on budgeting and financial literacy to the juniors and seniors that participate in College Possible, a program that helps make college admission and success possible for low-income students. Read the full story at the Plymouth Sun Sailor. 

The nonprofit Admission Possible is about to take a new name: College Possible. The organization, which helps thousands of low-income students access college, will begin using that name in January, according to a news release sent Tuesday. Read the full story at the Star Tribune. 

Through its participation in National Make a Difference Day, College Possible celebrated service by harvesting canned goods from neighborhoods across the Twin Cities. Read the full story at Insight News. 

Some 80 students in the Coon Rapids High School College Possible program made a difference Saturday. To mark Make a Difference Day Nov. 5, the Coon Rapids students joined College Possible students from other Twin Cities high schools in a trick-or-canning project. Read the full story at the Coon Rapids Herald. 

More than 400 juniors and 300 seniors from 19 local, participating high schools came together to collect canned goods Nov. 5 for the Emergency Food Shelf Network during College Possible Twin Cities' National Make a Difference Day. The students participating have all been helped and part of the College Possible program. Read the full story at the Plymouth Patch. 

There's no quit in these kids, mostly city public school youths from poor or low-income families. None has the dough to afford four-year college or, in many cases, even community college tuition. But given their resilience against tough odds, it's a safe bet they'll find a way. Read the full story at the Pioneer Press.  

Students in the College Possible program at Coon Rapids High School will be making a difference tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 5). They will be walking the neighborhoods near the high school trick-or-canning from 9 to 11 a.m. as part of Make a Difference Day. Read the full story at the Coon Rapids Herald. 

More than 400 juniors and 300 seniors from 19 local, participating high schools will collect canned goods from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, in the metro as part of a National Make a Difference Day project with College Possible Twin Cities. Read the full story at the Plymouth Patch. 

For a group of Coon Rapids High School students it was a first-of-a-kind opportunity as they consider post-secondary education. Nineteen of them were among some 400 low-income students in the College Possible program that had exclusive access to over 170 college recruiters from public and private institutions across Minnesota and the nation during the Minnesota Independent Schools Partnership (MISP) college fair in Minneapolis earlier this month. Read the full story at the Coon Rapids Herald. 

Social Venture Partners launched a national fund to replicate some of the most promising nonprofits it now supports. College Possible, a St. Paul-based group that prepares low-income students for college, is one of two recipients chosen to receive those funds next year. College Possible, which also operates in Milwaukee and Omaha, plans to expand in Minnesota and nationally, said spokesperson Natalie Rule Burns. Phoenix and Portland, Ore., are being eyed as next steps, she said, and both have Social Venture Partner chapters. "Our goal is to reach 20,000 kids in 10 markets no later than 2020,'' said Burns. Read the full story at the Star Tribune. 

College Possible has expanded this fall to two suburban high schools: Kennedy High School in Bloomington and Park Center High School in Brooklyn Park. The program is committed to making college admission and success possible for low-income students. A total of 40 juniors are taking part in both schools. Read the full story at the Twin Cities Daily Planet.

College Possible, a nationally recognized non-profit founded in Minnesota making college admission and success possible for low-income students, has expanded into Bloomington and Brooklyn Park. Read the full story at the Asian American Press.

College Possible is seeking volunteers in the Coon Rapids area for the first year of its Idealistic Mentor program. The program will be featured in three schools this year, including Coon Rapids High School. The Idealistic Mentor program matches low-income, college-bound high school seniors participating in College Possible's intensive college access program with supportive adults to help them achieve their academic, personal and career goals. Read the full story at the Coon Rapids Herald. 

Twin Cities Executive Director Sara Dziuk was interviewed on KARE 11 about College Possible's Idealistic Mentor initiative on Tuesday, Sept. 13. Idealistic Mentor matches low-income, college-bound high school seniors participating in Admission Possible's intensive college access program with supportive adults to help them achieve their academic, personal and career goals. Watch the full story on KARE 11. 

Woodbury residents Scott Penticoff and Todd Firebaugh competed in the Black Hills Ultramarathon on June 25, helping raise over $93,000 for Admission Possible — a nonprofit organization striving to make college admission and success possible for low-income students. Read the full story in the Woodbury Bulletin.

Jim McCorkell is featured in this story, which is part of a series called Driving Change: A Lens on Leadership, profiling leaders in Minnesota tackling problems with creative solutions. Admission Possible harnesses the power of national service to address the achievement gap. Read the full story on MinnPost.

The St. Paul Foundation is issuing 50 grants totaling $2.53 million to help wide-ranging nonprofit efforts in the Twin Cities and around the country. The Admission Possible organization, a St. Paul nonprofit that prepares minorities and low-income students from 17 Twin Cities high schools for college, will receive $40,000 toward a program that tracks and works with its alumni.Read the full story in the Pioneer Press.

Chaska High School graduate Jon Truong is finishing his second 10-month term of AmeriCorps service at the Twin Cities nonprofit Admission Possible. In his role as a senior coach, Truong mentored 36 seniors at Robbinsdale Armstrong High School as they completed college applications, searched for scholarships and prepared to navigate the transition to college. Read the full story in the Chaska Herald. 

"For sure, working-class kids entering college face challenges, chief among them coming out of college with a mountain of debt," said Jim McCorkell, CEO and founder of Admission Possible, a St. Paul-based nonprofit. "But for low-income students, who are fighting every barrier to college entry, we cannot take away one of the most desperately needed resources -- financial aid." Read the full story in the Star Tribune.
 

As the clock counted down the minutes before the inaugural Black Hills 100 Ultramarathon Set began, runners and their supporters began to cheer, a sight that will undoubtedly take place again this morning when the participants of the 100-mile race are expected to return. Some runners decided to tackle the 100-mile race as a team. Seven men from Minneapolis and Chicago ran in support of Admission Possible, an organization that helps underprivileged teens apply and get into college. Read the full story in the Rapid City Journal.
 

Admission Possible places college preparation coaches in high schools in the Twin Cities and Milwaukee areas to help get low-income students into college. Several organizations share a similar mission, "but we had a key insight," Admission Possible founder Jim McCorkell says: "If you harness the desire of young people to serve their country, you could dramatically reduce the cost of delivering intensive services." Read the full story in Twin Cities Business. 

Admission Possible Twin Cities Executive Director Sara Dziuk and Board member Todd Firebaugh were featured on the Cities 97 Morning Show with BT and Lee Valsvik. The hosts praised Admission Possible's mission and success, and talked about the program's plans to expand nationally and the AD4AP team's ultramarathon on Saturday to raise money and awareness for Admission Possible.

Nearly 1,000 low-income students celebrated their achievements at the tenth annual Admission Possible Twin Cities Year-End Graduation Celebration May 21 at the University of Minnesota’s Ted Mann Auditorium. Read the full story in the Asian American Press and Sun Sailor.

Admission Possible students and staff were featured in two installments of MN2020 Kitchen Table Conversations focused on college access. Admission Possible graduates and current Augsburg College sophomores Jose Aranda and Jorge Mondragon discuss the barriers to college admission and success in Pushing Open the Ivy Gate. Admission Possible graduate and incoming St. Olaf freshman Tosaka Thao and his senior coach Jim Swakow discuss the process of applying to and choosing a college that is a good fit in Finding the Right College Experience.

Mai See Khang came home last week after Admission Possible session to find her 10-year-old sister hiding a package from her. "She thinks it's fun to deliver news," she said. "I freaked out because I saw 'Gates' printed on it. I opened it, read 'Congratulations,' and did what I think everyone else did. I stopped reading, ran around screaming, and I cried," she said. Read the full story in the Hmong Times.

St. Louis Park Senior High students enrolled in nonprofit Admission Possible's college preparation program for low-income pupils at the school have performed better than many of their peers. Erickson works with a group of 40 juniors. Meanwhile, high school coach Claire Hipkens works with 37 St. Louis Park seniors on application to colleges, financial aid and other efforts. Read the full story in the Sun Sailor.

A local non-profit is providing low-income students with the tools they need to get ready for college. It's called Admission Possible and the group is recruiting students through the end of the month. Watch the story on KSTP.

Sitting among his classmates, Junchi Vang seems like any other teenager in the room. To see him in class you would never guess his story. Vang was born in a refugee camp in Thailand. In 2004 his entire family -- his parents and 14 kids -- came to the U.S. "We came here because we have more options and you have an opportunity to have the American dream," he said.  Watch the segment on Channel 12.

Forest Lake High School graduate Chelsey Tulgren is serving a 10 month term of AmeriCorps service at the Twin Cities nonprofit Admission Possible. In her role as a junior coach, Tulgren helps 40 juniors at St. Paul Como Park High School prepare for the ACT exam and begin the college search process. Read the full story in the Forest Lake Press.

Admission Possible is recruiting 40 sophomores to join next year's junior cohort at Coon Rapids High School. The program will graduate its first class of seniors Coon Rapids High School this spring. Watch the story on CTN News.

Admission Possible is a Minnesota-based non-profit that helps disadvantaged high school students who have a desire to attend college. Executive Director for the Twin Cities Sara Dziuk says the program is now accepting high school sophomores for next fall's program. Watch the full story on KARE 11.

Like most high school seniors, Kyila Fears is eager to finish up and move on. In her family, college is not an option; it’s mandatory. ...She got connected with Tyson Morgan, the Admission Possible coach at Humboldt Senior High. Morgan helped her practice for the ACT. She brought her score up from an 11 to a 20. Watch the full story on WCCO-TV.

Admission Possible is recruiting now through April for sophomores interested in earning a college degree. Applications are being accepted from eligible sophomores by Admission Possible staff at each of the program's Twin Cities partner high schools. Read the full story in the Hmong Times, Asian American Press, Insight News, and Sun Focus.

Admission Possible partnered with LearningWorks and the Minnesota Minority Education Partnership to put on the fourth annual Summer Enrichment Fair on February 26 at the Blake School. More than 250 low-income students from the Twin Cities had access to 14 summer programs encompassing diverse interests such as conservation and outdoor exploration, healthcare, entrepreneurship, and theatre performance. Read the full story in Insight News.

Nearly 600 low-income high school students will fan out across the Twin Cities Wednesday and Thursday in search of the perfect college. They are a part of Admission Possible's Metro Visit Days, which offers Admission Possible students a chance to tour one of five institutions without leaving the metro. For many students, it will be the first time they set foot on a college campus. Read the full story in the Hmong Times.

St. Paul-based nonprofit—Admission Possible—is recruiting to fill more than 80 AmeriCorps positions in the next two months. The nonprofit offers free college prep programming to low-income students and is looking for high school and college coaches, community and event organizers and external relations team members. Read the full story in Insight News.

Monday is Martin Luther King Day, a day when we honor one of the greatest civil rights leaders in American history. People across the country, and here in the Twin Cities, are paying tribute to Dr. King with acts of service and celebrations. While many Minnesotans could have had a day "off," instead, it's a day "on." More than 70 Admission Possible staff members and AmeriCorps volunteers are rolling up their sleeves and participating in a day of service in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Watch the video on FOX 9.  

Health Care: Condition Critical, a community forum presented by the Densford International Center for Nursing Leadership at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, featured guest speakers on the forefront of policy, community action and health care. Levi Downs, Jr., MD, University of Minnesota Physicians and Admission Possible's board chair, discussed the relationship between health and education. Watch the video. (Levi Downs appears at 52:38)

Gustavus alumna Sara (Brigger) Dziuk ’02 was recently named Executive Director of Admission Possible Twin Cities. Admission Possible is a nonprofit organization based in St. Paul dedicated to helping low-income high school students prepare for and earn admission to college by providing ACT/SAT test preparation, admissions and financial aid consulting and guidance in the transition to college. Read the full story in the Gustavus Weekly. 

Low-income students in the Admission Possible program had exclusive access to over 160 college recruiters from institutions across Minnesota and the nation during the Minnesota Independent Schools Partnership college fair in Minneapolis October 10. The partnership between MISP and Admission Possible, now in its eighth year, provides Admission Possible students the opportunity to meet college representatives, an important step in an increasingly competitive college admissions process. Read the full story in the Asian American Press.

For 9 years now the Hmong Resource Fair has been dedicated to connecting the Hmong community with the resources and tools it needs for success. Admission Possible participated in the 9th Annual Hmong Resource Fair to recruit students to join next year's junior class. Read more about the fair in Hmong Times Online.

Admission Possible graduate Shawn McDonald, overcame the barriers to college and earned admission to his dream school, Hamline University. Watch the full story about Admission Possible on  KSTP.com.

Admission Possible is celebrating its 10th anniversary serving low-income students and its second year at Coon Rapids High School. There are 38 seniors and 34 juniors in the program at Coon Rapids High School this year. “We had a very successful first year at Coon Rapids High School in 2009,” said Chris Mitchell, program coordinator at Admission Possible. Read the full story in the Coon Rapids Herald.

For 1,400 Twin Cities students, going back to school will include Admission Possible. As school kicks off, Admission Possible celebrates its 10th anniversary serving low-income students, having grown services more than 200-fold since the organization’s founding in the Twin Cities on September 11, 2000. In its biggest program year yet, Admission Possible will work with more students than ever before and, to help coach these students to success, will welcome its largest team of AmeriCorps members. Read the full story in Insight News or Asian American Press.

West metro neighbors St. Louis Park and Edina made the fourth annual list of "100 Best Communities for Young People," released by a national group striving to lower high school dropout rates. St. Louis Park was recognized for three programs: Building Assets -- Reducing Risk, which helps ninth-grade students make the transition to high school; Admission Possible, which helps promising low-income students obtain admission to college, and "No Shots, No School," which helps students start school with up-to-date immunizations. Read more about Admission Possible at St. Louis Park High School in the Sun Sailor  or read more about all three Minnesota cities in the Star Tribune.

Search Institute has been awarded a $1.6 million federal grant from the Investing in Innovation Fund to launch new academic programs in St. Louis Park high schools. Search Institute officials say they will work with Admission Possible, a well-known program that prepares at-risk students for college, to help more students get ready for college or a career after graduation. Read the full story in the Star Tribune.