New Graduates Putting Students on College Track

Nicole Hurd, an assistant dean at U-Va. who attended one meeting, knew college students who wanted to spend a year or two in a public service program such as Teach For America or the Peace Corps before heading to graduate school. It seemed a perfect match. "They have credibility," Hurd said. "They can say, 'If I can do this, you can do this, too.' "

Hurd sold the foundation on the idea. In 2005-06, U-Va. placed guides in 14 schools. The number of students in those schools who went on to college increased an average of 15 percent, she said. This year, the program expanded to 22 high schools and three community colleges. Guides earn a modest salary and serve one or two years.

Gains have been highest in the state's poorest areas. In Patrick County, on the North Carolina border, the portion of college-bound seniors jumped from 61 percent to 86 percent.

Unlike students at affluent schools where SAT test preparation classes and college visits are typical, students in rural areas such as Patrick County or in inner-city schools often are not exposed to the college-going culture. The guides are trying to change that. They said they see signs of progress when younger students hear that a senior is going to college and decide it's time to talk about their own future.

"Seniors set the mold. What does every freshman want to be? A senior," said Tiffany Meertins, whose work as a guide last year inspired her to drop law school plans and return to U-Va. for a master's degree in education.

Some guides have gone to Northern Virginia, including Edison High in Fairfax County and T.C. Williams High in Alexandria. There, they often work with students from immigrant families.

Ross said most of the students she's known want to go to college but need a sounding board. One girl she advised wrote a lackluster essay about her desire to become a doctor to "help people." As Ross talked with her, the girl realized she was motivated by her own struggle with juvenile diabetes. She rewrote the essay.

One afternoon this month, Ross helped students practice for the SAT at Rappahannock High. Adam Gessner wandered into the room, reached into a basket stocked with candy and popped an Atomic Fireball into his mouth.

"They said no, didn't they?" Gessner said nervously. He was waiting to hear whether he had gotten into Indiana University of Pennsylvania and had called the university that day from the guide office. The university returned the call while he was in class but still didn't have an answer, the advisers told him.

No matter how that turns out, Gessner will be packing for college in August -- something his parents never did. He applied to Clarion University of Pennsylvania and wrote an essay even though one wasn't required. The school rejected him at first because of a low SAT score. But after hours of study sessions with Ross and another adviser from a community group, he retook the test and boosted his score more than 300 points. Clarion decided to give him a chance.