Sending a child to college is one of the surest ways to end the cycle of poverty within a family. The college graduate will make $1 million more over a lifetime, and his or her children will be nearly twice as likely to go to college themselves. College Summit is demonstrating that this solution is not only possible, but also sustainable and scalable. It works to ensure that every student who can make it in college makes it to college, thus increasing the college enrollment rate of low-income students.

Since 1993, College Summit has been nearly doubling the college enrollment rates of low-income students. These results have been achieved with nearly 10,000 students: 79% of College Summit students have enrolled in college--nearly double the national rate of 46% or high school graduates from the same income level; 80% of College Summit students stay in college--remarkable for almost any group of students, but especially those who weren’t even expected to enroll; and College Summit students have obtained over $40 million in college scholarships, attending the full range of schools that match their academic, financial, and social needs.

One of those students is Jahi Davis. Jahi grew up in the Raymond Rosen Housing Project in North Philadelphia. After initially doing well in school, in the 10th grade he became distracted and his grades dropped. Then, in the hospital after a serious car accident, he decided to turn his life around. He returned to school, raised his grades, and joined a youth program where he quickly became a leader. But with a cumulative 2.2 GPA and combined 850 SAT, Jahi was told by his counselor that he wasn't college material. Fortunately, Jahi's youth program recognized his leadership skills and nominated him for College Summit. With their support, Jahi was admitted to Temple University with a substantial scholarship and is now a social worker preparing for law school.

The impact of the College Summit model also provides the foundation to change the conversation in this country about who does and doesn’t go to college--and opens up a system whose doors have been long closed to many talented youth in the Washington, DC area and all over the nation.

College Summit Website