College Track

Program Description:

College Track is a national 10-year comprehensive college completion program equipping first-generation college students from under-resourced communities starting in the ninth grade in obtaining their bachelor’s degree and launching meaningful careers. College Track operates in 13 communities across California, Colorado, Louisiana, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.  

Throughout high school, College Track scholars participate in leadership activities, build college knowledge and readiness, and receive support in developing a clear postsecondary plan. Scholars receive individualized coaching and access to holistic support throughout their college journey that allows them to persist to the bachelor’s degree. The program continues to engage alumni as they transition to careers or graduate school. College Track has developed formal partnerships with 23 institutions to provide an affordable education and wraparound supports like mentoring, advising, and career counseling.  

Impact: 

Since 1997, College Track has supported 6,600 scholars and alumni. College Track scholars are more than twice as likely to graduate with a bachelor’s degree than first-generation college students overall and low-income first-generation students. 

College Track scholars continue to outperform national benchmarks on the path to and through college. Ninety-two percent of the Class of 2026 matriculated to a four-year institution, more than double the national average for under-resourced, first-generation students, and every scholar was accepted to a four-year college or university. First-year outcomes are strong as well: a 93 percent persistence rate and an 89 percent retention rate. 

That momentum carries through to degree completion. College Track scholars earn a bachelor’s degree at more than twice the national average for first-generation students, with a 53 percent six-year graduation rate for the 2020 cohort and an average time to degree of 4.72 years. Affordability remains central to that success: one in three scholars complete college with no debt at all. 

Population served:

First-generation college goers, while they are in high school, college, and early career.  

Learn more here.  

Page last updated in August 2026