"If you've got the courage to aspire and the determination to do well in school, we want you here at a UC campus, and we've got resources to help you and your family manage the cost." "We want students to know that it's not where you go to high school or where you come from that determines whether you go to UC - it's the wealth of your ambitions and achievements," said UC systemwide Provost Aimée Dorr. Yet students in historically underserved communities often don't realize they can afford or get into a four-year college, especially a highly selective university like UC, according to Yvette Gullatt, UC assistant vice provost of education partnerships. Igniting ambitionĪlmost half of UC students come from low-income families or are among the first generation in their families to go to college, a rate that far exceeds other top-tier research universities. "The main thing I hope students will see is that Cal is not too far away as a dream," he said. Over the last few years, we've been shifting toward looking beyond high school to higher education."įranco has an interesting first-hand perspective: As one of nine children of immigrants with limited schooling, he - along with four of his siblings - went on to earn a degree from UC Berkeley. "For quite a few of our families, the goal had been graduating from high school. "We've really been trying to build a college-going culture here, and that takes time," said Franco. UC Berkeley operates a number of programs at the Richmond High campus that offer students academic and advisory support, and the success of that partnership is evident in the rising number of students prepared for college, Franco said. Today, 21 percent of seniors and 45 percent of freshman are on track for college, up from 7 percent of seniors and 29 percent of freshman in 2005. Despite those challenges, the school has seen a significant increase in recent years in the percentage of students who are eligible for college when they graduate. Richmond High serves large numbers of students from low-income families, and many are English language learners.
It says the university is interested in them." "When somebody takes the time out of their busy schedule to come here, that says a lot. "This is something special for us," said Julio Franco, principal of Richmond High School. On Wednesday, newly appointed UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks will speak to 150 juniors and seniors at an Achieve UC rally. The aim: Inspire young people to see themselves as college material - and back it up with practical support to help them realize those ambitions. The event, called Achieve UC, will reach more than 10,000 students in schools with lower than average college-going rates. The University of California wants you: That is the message thousands of high school students will hear in the coming weeks as chancellors and senior leaders from all 10 campuses visit schools in low-income communities around the state.
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