In Search of Standouts Who May Not Stand Out Enough

I'm not familiar with this program, but applaud it based on what I've read in this article:

Last fall, Mr. London was one of 6,300 students in five cities who competed for a Posse scholarship. The students who were picked received full scholarships to one of 23 colleges and universities working with the foundation; other participating institutions are Pomona College, Bryn Mawr College and Brandeis University.

For the participating colleges and universities, the Posse program offers a way to bring in students — especially minority students — to diversity their campuses. While Posse Foundation executives said the program did not search exclusively for minority students, it does recruit from urban schools, which tend to have far more nonwhite students.

----------------------

In Search of Standouts Who May Not Stand Out Enough

By JONATHAN D. GLATER

Published: May 24, 2006

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/24/education/24posse.html?ei=5088&en=c0485706d977387c&ex=1306123200&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

Every Tuesday after classes this year, Mosi London has been riding the subway downtown from his high school on East Houston Street and then walking to Wall Street. There, in an office suite, he and 11 other New York high school students have spent two hours a week on academic exercises, ranging from team-building games to writing assignments to public speaking. They have been training for college.

In the fall, Mr. London, who is 17 and grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant, will attend Lafayette College in Pennsylvania on a full scholarship. He was identified by the nonprofit Posse Foundation, whose executives looked beyond standardized test scores to select him and 304 other students nationwide as likely to excel at a selective college — but also as likely to be overlooked by admissions officials. Mr. London is not a star athlete or musician and does not have stellar SAT scores; he is simply a New York City student with good grades, pride and potential.

"We are expected to be leaders," Mr. London said one recent afternoon after a Posse training session.

Last fall, Mr. London was one of 6,300 students in five cities who competed for a Posse scholarship. The students who were picked received full scholarships to one of 23 colleges and universities working with the foundation; other participating institutions are Pomona College, Bryn Mawr College and Brandeis University...