Poor, minority students get push towards college

By Sara Hottman, Staff Writer, Robersonian.com, November 20, 2009

LUMBERTON, NC — At one time, barely 30 percent of South Robeson High School seniors went to college after graduation.

This year, 77 percent are at least making an effort to move on to a two- or four-year institution, with the help of the College Foundation of North Carolina, which works to guide poor, minority students on the path to college.

“Here at South Robeson, there were kids that had the potential, had the grades, they just didn’t know the opportunities out there that awaited them,” said Angel Young, college advisor with the National College Advising Corps at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Of South Robeson’s 130 seniors, 100 signed up to submit applications during the school’s College Application Day on Thursday. The event was in the library, with 30 desktop computers and 15 laptops logged on to CFNC.org, and breaks for prizes of hats and T-shirts from state colleges.

The state-affiliated program has held College Application Week annually since 2006. During the week, which started Monday and ends today, high schools throughout the state are encouraged to hold days when coordinators go to a school and help kids apply for college using the foundation’s online system.

South Robeson High School and Lumberton High School were the only schools in Robeson County to participate in the College Foundation program this year, according to its list of schools that officially registered with the foundation.

The College Foundation program is for all students, but targets areas with a high population of poor minority students who would be the first generation to go to college.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, college attendance rates have evident racial divisions: 31 percent of white high school graduates earned bachelor’s degrees or higher by 2006, the most recent numbers available; 18.6 percent of black graduates did and 12.4 percent of Hispanic graduates did.

At South Robeson High School, “we’re dealing with a population of about half Native American and half African-American,” Young said. About 97 percent of the students are on free or reduced lunches.

She said that students in schools with those demographics often doesn’t consider college as an option.

“We’re trying to change that culture,” she said. “You can never have too many options at this point.”

Deshawn Leggett, 18, said he’s looking at North Carolina State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, or Johnson C. Smith University so he can become a computer engineer.

“I want to go to college to better myself in education,” he said. “I grew up interested in computers, learning to fix them and stuff. My dad showed me how.”

Leggett has been building his extracurricular resume as a three-sport athlete — basketball, track and cross country — and is trying to earn scholarships to pay for college.

The College Foundation online system contains applications for all 110 colleges in North Carolina, including two- and four-year, public and private institutions. Once a student fills out personal information in the first application, that information transfers to subsequent applications; the only new information that a student needs to fill in are the short answer and essay portions.

Joseph McEachin, 17, was one of the first South Robeson students at the event. In an hour and a half, he was nearly finished with his second application.

McEachin wants to be a veterinarian with his own practice.

“There’s so much to know and so little time,” he said. “I want to know as much as possible.”

Before Thursday, McEachin had already applied to seven schools. He said the CFNC.org process conveniently transferred information that otherwise he’d have to input repeatedly, but “it takes a while.”

“The hardest part is the essay,” he said. “You have to really think about what you’re going to say, because first impressions are everything.”

With his eye on North Carolina State University’s zoology program, McEachin is “doing his best” to keep his grades up and look for scholarships.

The organization also has information on how to pay for college with scholarships and loans.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Robeson County’s high school graduation rate is 63 percent, compared with 74.8 percent nationwide.

Nationally, 44.1 percent of graduates from public schools attend four-year colleges, and 28.2 percent attend two-year institutions. The numbers are from 2004, the most recent available.

The College Foundation program has grown from 15 schools and 900 students participating in 2006, to 293 high schools and 19,000 students participating in 2008, according to the foundation’s records.

This year, 342 North Carolina high schools participated.

LaRhonda Jones, 18, is eying the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and wants to be a criminal lawyer.

“I’ve talked to counselors and looked at how real attorneys act,” she said. “I took business law and other classes that prepare me, so that when I go to college, I know what to do and how to work.”

Last year, more than 50 percent of South Robeson’s graduating class went to a four-year university, Young said.

“If you set expectations high, students will rise to those expectations,” Young said. “Often, they rise above them.”