Staying in Focus

While 50 percent of students who start college drop out, the numbers are even more discouraging for members of underrepresented minority groups. By their late 20s, more than one-third of white Americans have at least a bachelor's degree, but only 18 percent of African-Americans and 10 percent of Hispanic people have earned degrees^[1].

Colleges can help by building programs that keep students on track, by helping them feel less isolated, by providing academic and social support, by communicating higher expectations, and by familiarizing them with a college or university setting.

For example, the Meyerhoff Scholars program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, is dedicated to addressing the concerns that sometimes result in students' dropping out. A coveted undergraduate science program, with all expenses paid, the Meyerhoff Scholars program aims to guide minority students to degrees, especially in the fields of science, math, computer science and engineering. Not only do more than 90 percent of those in the program graduate, but 75 percent of those get their Ph.D.s.

The program, featured in The College Track series, addresses concerns about isolation; it encourages its students to support each other and reject negative stereotypes. It also offers role models and the guidance to keep students in college and working to their full potential.

A variety of other colleges offer mentoring programs for members of underrepresented minority groups. Check with colleges you are interested in to see if they offer such a program.

A few examples:

	Ohio University's LINKS is a peer-mentoring program for first-year African-American and Hispanic students. The goal is to match upper-level minority students with first-year minority students to help them make a successful academic and social transition to the university and the surrounding community.
	AHANA (African American, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American) students can find support at Boston College through the Benjamin E. Mays Mentoring Program. This student/faculty mentoring program, named for the educator who served as a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others, is designed to connect AHANA students with a faculty or professional staff member who can guide them through the college environment.
	The AALANA Mentor Program at SUNY College at Oneonta is a peer-mentorship program designed to assist first-year American, Latino, Asian, and Native American students with the transition to college life. Peer mentors are chosen and trained to help freshmen in acclimating to the campus setting.

An additional resource:

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) represents more than 350 colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the United States, Puerto Rico, Latin America and Spain.