American Honors (AH) is a selective honors program offered in partnership with Community College (currently hosted at Community College of Philadelphia, Kilgore College, Jackson College, Pierce College, Community College of Spokane, Ivy Tech Community College, Mercer County Community College, and Union County College).
- AH helps enhance transfer opportunities for community college students by providing transfer pathways to top universities.
- AH offers students honors-level courses and personalized advising and support for transfer into a top university.
- Our partnership includes working with them to identify courses and develop specific academic pathways from the campuses, so that students maximize transfer credit and are on the path to completing their BA/BS in two years.
As a Platinum College Partner, the University of Rochester is dedicated to supporting our Chicago Scholars with financial support, strong academic advising, and leadership opportunities from the time Scholars enroll until they graduate from college. We commit to the following:
- Meet 100% of demonstrated financial need through graduation for Scholars
- Sponsor a campus visit prior to the Scholar confirming enrollment
- Include Scholars in first-year orientation program
- Provide an on-campus liaison for Scholars
- Involve Scholars in leadership opportunities
College Horizons is a pre-college program for Native American high school sophomores and juniors. Each summer, students work with college admissions officers, college counselors, essay specialists, and other educators in a five-day “crash course” on the college application process. The University of Rochester has been privileged to host the program in 2011 as part of our partnership and look forward to hosting again in the future. We send Admissions representatives each year to be a part of the program off campus.
The individualized program helps students:
- Select suitable colleges to research and apply to.
- Complete winning applications, résumés, and memorable essays.
- Get test-taking strategies, information, and resources on the ACT and SAT.
- Navigate the financial aid/scholarship process, complete a preliminary FAFSA, and learn about the Gates Millennium Scholarship Fund.
- Develop relationships with Admissions representatives by attending our college fair, informational sessions, and one-on-one or small group class time.
- Receive tips and strategies on the application process and get advice on how to succeed in college as a Native student.
- Learn what turns an applicant into an admitted student.
Founded in 2000, the Hope Fund secures and coordinates scholarships from US colleges for talented and driven Palestinian youth, predominantly from refugee camps in the Arab world for which a higher education would otherwise be unattainable. We endeavor to enrich the lives of young people, creating hope out of despair while fostering familiarity and understanding between the two different cultures.
The Hope Fund has already assisted 17 students in completing their undergraduate degrees, all with excellent grades. Their outstanding work has helped us bring in more students to study in the US and has expanded the work of the Hope Fund as its reputation continues to grow each year. Currently, the Hope Fund is hosting 41 students in partnership with 30 colleges in the United States.
There are more than three-and-a-half million Palestinian refugees throughout the Middle East, many of them living in extreme poverty. Higher education remains a dream for the children of these refugees. While UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) provides a limited number of schools, these facilities do not come close to accommodating the needs of this population. In Lebanon, for instance, there are only nine high schools to serve close to half a million people spread out throughout twelve camps. In Syria, the UN provides only a small number of elementary schools. In the West Bank and Gaza, the schools are overcrowded and impoverished, and often are closed for months at a time.
HOBY’s mission is to inspire and develop a global community of youth into a life dedicated to leadership, service, and innovation. HOBY programs are conducted annually throughout the United States, serving local and international high school students. The programs provide unique leadership training, service-learning opportunities, and motivational experiences for youth selected by their schools to participate.
The IMPACT Program began in 2006 as a way to boost college persistence for YES Prep graduates from Houston, TX. Since 2006, 84% of IMPACT Scholars have graduated from or are currently enrolled in their original IMPACT Partner or Affiliate institution. As a university partner, the University of Rochester commits to:
- Attend the yearly IMPACT summer institute. The program serves as both an introduction to University of Rochester and as a mechanism for identifying/recruiting possible applicants.
- Send a team of admissions staff and/or alumni to Houston for an information session and/or individual interviews for YES Prep students
- Dedicate 3–5 spaces for YES Prep students to participate in the Multicultural Visitation Program and absorb all costs related to the trip.
- Offer a campus visit to all admitted students that have not visit campus and have been designated as “UR IMPACT Scholars.”
- Provide academic and emotional support to all enrolled Yes Prep students to ensure persistence and graduation.
To find out how you can become a designated IMPACT scholar please contact your college counseling staff at your YES Prep campus. For general information regarding the program, please visit YES Prep.
The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program is a $500 million, 10-year initiative to educate and prepare young people, particularly from Africa, to lead change and make a positive social impact in their communities. Rochester has partnered with the MCFS program through ALA and seeks to ensure that highly-qualified Africans from the most disadvantaged backgrounds on the continent have the opportunity to continue their education at top-tier universities around the world. Partner institutions make generous contributions to the overall costs of these students. In exchange, the partner universities benefit from annual enrollment of a cohort of the best and brightest young leaders of Africa to impact the classroom and campus life.
The National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools (NCSSS) was established in 1988 to provide a forum for specialized secondary schools focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines to exchange information and program ideas.
Celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2013, the Consortium now includes approximately 100 member schools (high schools), many “ranked” as the best in the country, along with 55 affiliate members (colleges, universities, summer programs, foundations, and corporations) located in 32 states that share the goals of transforming mathematics, science, and technology education.
As part of our partnership with the National Hispanic Institute, we host the Lorenzo De Zavala (LDZ) Youth Legislative Session on our campus every year. This conference focuses on the organization and management of power as a foundational tool of leadership. This flagship program of the NHI offers students the opportunity to envision themselves as part of the future leadership of a 21st-century Latino community. LDZ participants are considered for a scholarship if they apply to the University of Rochester.
