Overview

The SEO Scholars Program is a year-round, out-of-school, academically rigorous program that prepares motivated urban public high school students to earn admission and succeed at competitive colleges and universities. Numerous studies confirm that rigorous academics are the single most important factor for low-income and minority students in gaining college admission and earning a degree. However, U.S. Department of Education research shows that “A” work in low-income schools equals “C” work in affluent schools.


Who We Serve

SEO recruits motivated students from low-income public high schools.  In 2011, there were more than 650 viable applications for 123 slots for the incoming 9th grade class in New York.  Overall, the Scholars Program served 334 high school students and 206 college students during the 2010-11 program year.  Those students attend 101 New York City public high schools and 90 colleges nationwide.  The Scholars Program also launched in San Francisco in Fall 2011 with its first class of 9th graders!

 
The Program

The Scholars Program adds the equivalent of 60 school days to the public school calendar each year, totaling more than 700 additional classroom hours by 12th grade.  Beginning in 9th grade, Scholars attend SEO’s Saturday Academy, a 9:00am-4:30pm "sixth day" of school, three times a month.  Students also attend intensive weekly after-school courses, full-day sessions during school breaks and a three-week summer term. Scholars dedicate 80% of their time at SEO to academics, with the remaining 20% spent on enrichment and leadership activities.

 

Students in the program acquire:

 

·          sharpened critical reading and writing skills

·          increased vocabulary and grammar competence

·          advanced math proficiency

·          travel abroad and leadership experiences

·          college knowledge and guidance

·          mentors during junior and senior year


While attending college, Scholars continue to receive mentoring and tailored workshops focused on managing coursework, earning top grades, financial and budgeting strategies, and effective planning for careers.  Click here to learn about the College Scholars Program.

Results
In 2009 and 2010, SEO 12th graders eliminated the academic achievement gap with their peers nationally.  These results are base on comparing the SAT scores of SEO 12th graders with 12th grade students in the U.S. that have similar high school GPAs.  In addition, the Scholars Program eliminated the gap between Black SEO high school seniors and their White counterparts at every GPA level.  Click here to view charts and learn more.

All of the 69 high school seniors in the Class of 2011 were accepted to four-year colleges.  Seventy-three percent were accepted to colleges in the top two tiers of competitiveness in Barron's Profiles of American Colleges.  These schools include Dartmouth College, Cornell University, Mount Holyoke College, University of Michigan, Wheaton College and Skidmore College.

The Class of 2011 Scholars earned more than $1.7 million in scholarships and awards for their first year of college.  Two SEO Scholars were winners of  the New York Times Scholarship.  Six Scholars were awarded full-four-year tuition scholarships through the Posse Foundation.  One Scholar received the Ron Brown Scholarship, which awards students $10,000 per year for four years.  One Scholar was a Questbridge College Match Scholarship winner.

The average cumulative GPA of SEO College Scholars participating in the program is 3.12 as of the fall 2010 semester.  For the high school class of 2007, 89% of students report that they are graduating from college on time.  In 2011, SEO assisted its College Scholars in securing 108 summer internships in a wide variety of areas.