Putting Costly Schools in More Blacks' Reach

Avis C. Robinson, head of the Washington Metropolitan Scholars Program, talks with Michael J. Pakenham, headmaster of Gonzaga College High School. (James A. Parcell -- The Washington Post)

Avis C. Robinson is trying to change the way leading colleges and universities view African American applicants from the Washington region -- and how the students view the schools.

Robinson created the Washington Metropolitan Scholars Program in 2003 to draw more black students to elite universities and help them pay for it.

In the past, many black high school seniors in the area would not apply to expensive colleges because they didn't think they could afford it, Robinson said.

And many of the country's elite universities recruited students from certain high schools. Robinson's program is changing all that; last year, a record 32 students in the program applied to Cornell and 17 were accepted, a 53 percent admittance rate, double the university's typical rate, school officials said.

"I do the recruitment for the colleges and make the kids think outside the box," said Robinson, a former teacher who works at the Environmental Protection Agency and uses her spare time to raise money for the program and run it.

Robinson, whose husband, Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, is a trustee of the program, has asked every high school in the region to nominate 10 high-achieving African American students -- some nominate fewer -- for the chance of being named All-Met Scholars.

She has, in turn, partnered with nearly 40 colleges and universities, who look at the applicants, decide whom to admit and design financial aid packages for them.

The program steps in with money Robinson has raised to fill in the financial gaps for the neediest.

Last year, the program identified more than 300 outstanding applicants and awarded four-year scholarships to 13 seniors. It also helped scores of others go to elite colleges.

This year, approximately 500 students are in the program.

"The program works because I'm not discriminating," she said. "I'm helping everybody get into college. And I'm getting money for the kids who most need it."