Priming city kids for selective colleges
Today's story by higher ed reporter Steve Kiehl looks at the work being done to recruit Baltimore students to Hopkins and University of Maryland and the challenges presented. Despite Hopkins' offer of free tuition to any city student who can gain admission, just 13 freshmen from Baltimore enrolled this year. Finances prevent many city kids from striving to get into such pricey schools as Hopkins, but when money is no longer the object, what's the problem?
As the story explains, preparation is one issue. Familiarity is another. Why apply to a school that no one you know has attended? Hakeem Godwin, a senior at Forest Park, told Steve that many of his classmates are "afraid" to apply to Maryland.
From expanding A.P. classes to paying for all kids to take the PSATs and SATs to having university reps on hand at the annual high school fair, city schools are doing a lot to set students' sights on college. Yet clearly, much more needs to be done to change the stigma that they don't belong at the state's selective institutions.
Baltimoresun.com's 
Comments
It is quite interesting how there is only mention of university admissions counts versus university graduation numbers or expectations. If Hopkins doesn't support room/board, books, etc., the limited level of financial aid , without loans based on need puts JHU out of reach. Let's look at the true bottom line, in all matters, graduation and actual costs. Getting in is not the point. Getting out with a degree is the point.
Posted by: Michelle | December 21, 2008 9:11 AM
the questions we need to ask are why aren't our studentss prepared and why don't they graduate from college? Instead of giving them everything and making it sooo easy for them in high school, why don't we put the learning back on them, hold them accountable for knowing the ACTUAL content (not the BCPSS watered-down version) and prepare them properly. Nothing frustrates me more than when a student, who is one of the best in a city school, doesnt compare to a student with the same grades in another school. We make excuses for our students all the time-bad test-taker, not good in math, had a teacher that was not the best, parents didn't care-they get to college and those excuses do not work anymore. What have we really taught them?
Posted by: concerned teacher | December 21, 2008 2:17 PM
If we can turn the student around to believe that it is possible to be a good student and strive for success then we will see more of the City Schools students apply for colleges. Too often the culture of our city requires our students to play the fool so as not to appear too smart. Living in a dangerous world is hard enough to be singled out in that world is even worse.
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