Philadelphia is preparing to go to college with the help of Mayor Michael Nutter — who recently announced plans to create a college office on the first floor of City Hall.
As part of Nutter’s PhillyGoes2College Initiative, the college office will focus on providing prospective college students with necessary resources — including SAT preparation and financial aid advising. By guiding students through the entire admissions process, the goal is to increase college acceptance rates among Philadelphia high schoolers.
Since 2000, Nutter has worked to increase the number of college graduates from within the city and has publically acknowledged that obstacles stand in the way of a college education, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The focus on getting more Philadelphia students to apply to college draws attention to the fact that Penn only matriculates around 1% of the local high school students who go on to college, according to Nutter’s Chief of Education Lori Shorr.
Combating a lack of available information the college office hopes to better educate students regarding the steps necessary to apply to college, which will hopefully lead to more local college acceptances, including to Penn.
On campus, the Netter Center for Community Partnerships runs programs that assist three high schools and tries to address the needs of their students.
Other programs form partnerships between the University and Philadelphia middle schools in order to promote learning and civic development.
Reverend Joe Nock, a member of the Netter Center’s Community Advisory Board and pastor of the Second Antioch Baptist Church, said the office focuses on what he feels are long-term issues.
In his interactions with Philadelphia’s public school students and Penn, Nock found that the students were generally challenged once reaching college.
The college office is a key component to improving higher education admissions, but Penn could also focus on supporting local students as early on as middle school, Nock said.
“I believe that the initial impact will be minimal while the long range impact could prove to be very positive,” he wrote in an e-mail.
Nock, who grew up in Philadelphia, also said immediate action is necessary to accomplish long term change.
The Netter Center is already involved with several middle schools, but Nock thinks more can be done on a citywide scale.
Shorr emphasized that the resources of the mayor’s college office will make the process of applying to college more accessible to qualified students.
Many Philadelphia high school students who are ready to go to college face barriers such as limited financial resources and little exposure to college information, she explained.
Regarding Penn’s involvement with the college office, Shorr recommends “getting into high schools and letting them know Penn is here.”
She said she hopes the new initiative will increase the matriculation of Philadelphia high school students into colleges.
While publicizing the college office is still under development, Shorr said local high schools will be informed of the program in a “mainly grassroots” way.
Over the past few years, Shorr and Nutter have seen a rise in academic achievement in the district and are hoping to continue to promote education through the PhillyGoes2College plan.
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