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College Summit West Virginia is
a locally implemented organization based in Charleston that
works with academically mid-tier students who are qualified
and able to succeed in college, but who have not been
encouraged to seek admission into a college program. This
results-driven mission is to ensure that every student who
can make it in college makes it to college.
In order to meet their goals, College Summit implements
workshops in high schools and colleges throughout the state
for students. These workshops target students who need extra
guidance and assistance to make it to college. Thus, a
comprehensive curriculum that guides students through the
barriers preventing them from enrolling in college and
on-line tools that enable teachers and counselors to track
students through the college transition process have been
successful in increasing the college enrollment rate in West
Virginia.
To date, 79% of College Summit workshop participants,
mid-tier students with an average high school grade point
average of 2.85 have enrolled in college. This statistic far
surpasses the national rate of 46% for high school graduates
from the same income level. College Summit students stay in
college at a rate of 80%, have obtained millions of dollars
in scholarships, and attended the full range of institutions
that match their academic, financial, and social needs. One
student who attended a College Summit workshop in 2003 spoke
to the West Virginia House Education Committee about the
impact College Summit had on her life. She told the
Delegates that prior to attending a workshop she “had given
up on college,” and believed she “would be working at K-Mart
the rest of my life.” She then concluded that “It (College
Summit) was the best thing I’ve ever done. At my weekend at
College Summit, I learned everything I needed to know (to
get into college).”
To further enable students and strengthen education and
communities in West Virginia, the $5,000 community outreach
grant will be used as supplemental funding for College
Summit activities involving the following counties: Barbour,
Brooke, Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Grant, Hancock,
Harrison, Marion, Marshall, Mineral, Monongalia, Ohio,
Pleasants, Preston, Ritchie, Taylor, Tucker, Tyler, Wetzel,
and Wood.
For more information about College Summit, please contact
Randy Shillingburg, development director, at 304.346.1983. |
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