For Immediate Release: Feb. 15, 2011
Contact: Emily Jacobs or Anna Rockne  651.917.3525

ST. PAUL, Minn. – 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. Metro Visit Days are a key component for the 1,400 Twin Cities students participating in Admission Possible’s free after-school college success programming. For many students, it will be the first time they set foot on a college campus.

High school juniors and seniors in Admission Possible will visit the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Concordia University, Bethel University, the University of St. Thomas and St. Catherine University where they will participate in campus tours and panel discussions with current students – including Admission Possible alumni. These campus visits are an opportunity for students like Minneapolis Roosevelt High School senior Johana Cornejo-Cisneros to envision themselves thriving in college.

“Admission Possible has made it easier for me to understand the process of accessing college,” Cornejo-Cisneros said. “They have given me support which I otherwise wouldn't have received during this stressful process by helping me visit schools where I had memorable experiences.”

According to Admission Possible Program Director Bethany Baker, colleges want to recruit a more diverse student body at a time when the overall number of college-age students is decreasing. Baker also notes that colleges have difficulty in finding and reaching these students, many of whom are first generation college students. Admission Possible helps connect its students – 91 percent of whom are students of color – with colleges eager to recruit them.

“Admission Possible has been really successful in helping campuses identify diverse students through our program,” Baker said. “They’re reaching the many students we serve who are the first in their families to attend college, and who have worked hard through our two-year high school program to be well prepared to succeed in college.”

With 80 percent of high school program graduates persisting towards their college degree or already having completed it, Admission Possible is helping students prepare for a competitive workforce that increasingly demands a college degree. Metro Visit Days is part of roughly 30 campus visits Admission Possible will arrange this school year, partnering mostly with public and private colleges and universities in the Midwest. Admission Possible students also receive help with “fly-in” applications, where an institution covers transportation costs for an out-of-state student to attend a special visit.

ABOUT ADMISSION POSSIBLE
Admission Possible is a nonprofit organization founded in Minnesota in 2000 and making college admission and success possible for low-income students through and intensive curriculum of coaching and support. The program currently operates in two metro areas – the Twin Cities and Milwaukee, with the goal of working in as many as 10 cities by 2015. In 2010-11, Admission Possible is serving more than 1,600 low-income high school students through its core program, supporting 2,750 former high school program participants as they pursue a college degree and providing 3,000 freshmen and sophomores with college planning workshops. Since 2000, 98 percent of Admission Possible students have earned admission to college.

###