Helping Low-Income Students Navigate College

Diogene Artiles, now a sophomore at Columbia University (NY), recalls gathering in a Manhattan auditorium his freshman year of high school with dozens of ninth graders. They clutched sealed envelopes containing the results of a test they had taken a few weeks earlier, administered by SEO Scholars, a college prep program that ushers low-income students to and through college. Most, who were recently accepted into the program and accustomed to stellar grades and accolades from teachers and parents, were excited, and even a little cocky.