campus partner(s)

Drew University and Union Settlement Association

state(s)

NJ, NY

amount

$240,000

initiative

College-Community Connections: Partnerships

award date

02.2009

Grant Summary

$240,000 over 36 months to bring Union Settlement high school students into sustainable mentoring relationships with Drew undergraduate students during the school year, to offer a week-long summer residency (Summer College) on Drew's campus, and to support Union Settlement Association's Settlement College Readiness Program. Summer College is the centerpiece of the program. Featuring mini-courses, classes, and special seminars offered by Drew faculty, it will emphasize the realities of the college experience, including the benefits, challenges, pressures, and opportunities of being a college student and a college graduate. It will also include daily discussion sessions with current Drew students and information sessions about the college admissions and enrollment process. The goal of Summer College is to help students begin to develop some of the skills they will need to meet the rigors of college-level work, and to encourage them to think about the challenges of the transition from high school to college, and about the particular advantages of seeking a liberal arts education.