Latino students from four Westchester high schools – Fox Lane, Ossining, Sleepy Hollow and White Plains – recently gathered with family members at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown to celebrate their success in being accepted to college after working with Latino U College Access.
It’s a White Plains-based nonprofit that has been helping academically talented, low-income students earn acceptance and scholarships at some of the best colleges in the country, including Harvard, Princeton and Columbia.
“I wasn’t familiar with the whole application process and I needed help,” said Darwin Arias, a senior at Ossining High School. Arias will be attending Columbia this fall on a full four-year scholarship.
Sabrina Morales, a senior at Fox Lane High School in Bedford, received a partial scholarship to Harvard University. “Without Latino U and my volunteer college coaches, I never would have had the courage to apply to the Ivy League schools,” she said.
Latino U College Access points to statistics documenting its success: 98 percent of the students helped remain on track to graduate, 93 percent are enrolled in four-year universities; 62 percent attend private four-year universities.
High school guidance counselors nominate students to be aided by Latino U College Access. They need to have at least a 3.4 grade point average, have taken advanced placement and honors courses and meet income criteria.
