College Track at 25

“Deciding which college to attend is an important decision in the lives of our scholars, which involve various factors such as family expectations, financial aid packages, location, and more. For College Track New Orleans scholar Paris, the decision-making process became all the more complicated when 43 college acceptances flooded her inbox—and counting. What’s even more incredible is that her institutional financial aid and scholarship offers exceeded $2 million, with the most generous offer coming from Jacksonville State University at $128,000 for all four years… Paris began applying to colleges in August after polishing her personal statement during College Track’s weeklong College Prep Institute in June… After submitting 160 applications and carefully considering her options, Paris has committed to attending her dream school: Loyola University New Orleans.”

“College Track has a longstanding tradition of having seniors ring a bell and announce where they’ve been accepted, as all the other scholars and staff cheer them on. Started in College Track’s inaugural center in East Palo Alto (EPA) around 2002, the tradition began with a cowbell that students would ring while sitting on a chair that staff called “the throne.” Bernadette Butler, College Track’s former National Director of Individual Philanthropy who was EPA’s Academic Affairs Director at the time, says: ‘We really just wanted to make it clear to all the scholars what a special moment this was—the end of one stage of their journey and the beginning of a new and exciting one.’”