College Possible has built a strong reputation for helping low-income high school students earn admission to college. We do this by focusing on results and having a "whatever it takes" attitude when it comes to our students. Program evaluation is a very important aspect of our work, and below you will find several reports and other sources of information on the effectiveness of our program.

Harvard Comparative Historical Analysis
A 2011 Harvard study shows that the College Possible program model more than doubles the chances a low-income student will enroll in a four-year institution. The Harvard evaluation compared College Possible students to very similar students who did not participate in the program. Harvard is also conducting a randomized controlled trial, the 'gold standard' of evaluation, of College Possible's core high school program that is expected in early 2013. Read the Report.
 

ICF International - Program Evaluation

College Possible recently sought an external evaluation to verify two key program outcome measures: 1) growth in ACT scores from pre- to posttest periods and 2) college acceptance rates. The organization itself is committed to rigorous monitoring of student outcomes. But as College Possible expands its service area and provides assistance to larger numbers of students, rigorous, systematic evaluation of program implementation and outcomes becomes increasingly important to ensure the organization’s credibility and sustainability. Read the report.

American Youth Policy Forum - Program to Watch
Success at Every Step: How 23 Programs Support Youth on the Path to College and Beyond is a publication designed to help policymakers and practitioners learn about effective programs supporting college- and career-readiness. In it, College Possible is listed on p. 35 as a "Program to Watch" because of its innovative approach to one or more of the Elements of Success. Success at Every Step is published by the American Youth Policy Forum. Read the report.

Wilder Foundation Research - Program Evaluation

Wilder Foundation Research, an independent external evaluator, captured College Possible's success in an evaluation report. Overall, the results show, the program has been very effective in helping the students who complete the program gain admission and financial assistance to college. Read the report.

Social Return on Investment Analysis

Respected Minnesota business leader, Peter Heegaard, completed a "return on investment" analysis of the College Possible program. He found that an investment of $3,000 (College Possible's programming costs for one student for the 2 years of our program) will yield a 500 percent return to society over the student's life. Mr. Heegaard reported on this recently in his quarterly "Investment Letter," which is sent to the members of the One Percent Club, a group of Minnesotans who give away one percent of their wealth each year. Read the letter.

Annual Reports
Learn more about College Possible's annual results and impact in its Fiscal Year 2010 Annual Report. Please email if you would like to read previous versions.

Financial Statements
Learn more about College Possible's financial position. Read the statement.