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Mission Graduates' College Connect Program	Mission Graduates' College Connect Program 3040 16th Street San Francisco, CA, 94103 P: 415-864-5205 F: 415-864-0916 http://www.missiongraduates.org/blog/

Populations Served

High school students
Academically high-performing
First generation to attend college
Students/families with limited financial resources
Underrepresented minorities
Undocumented students

Services Offered

Academic enrichment/tutoring
College admissions guidance and counseling
College campus visits
College success and retention support
Experiential Learning
Financial aid counseling
Leadership development
Mentoring
Parent/family services
SAT/ACT and other test prep
Scholarships & last dollar grants

Contact

Catherine Marroquin
College Connect Lead Counselor
catherine@missiongraduates.org

Program Description
College Connect is an intensive family-based college counseling program that works exclusively with low-income, first generation college-bound students. We recruit students in their junior year of high school and commit to working with them through college graduation. Students receive assistance with identifying scholarships, writing their personal statement, applying for summer enrichment programs and college fly-in programs, creating their school list, SAT prep, reviewing their financial aid awards, and visiting college campuses. College Connect also works with parents to educate them about the college application process, college terms, and the financial aid process.

To be eligible, a student must be a current junior in high school, have a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA without PE, be on-track to complete A-G requirements, qualify for free/reduced lunch program, be first generation to attend 4-year college in the U.S., and live or go to school in San Francisco's Mission District. There are 15 slots available every year.

Organization History
Mission Graduates (formerly St. John's) is a nonprofit organization that increases the number of K-12 students in San Francisco's Mission District who are prepared for and complete a college education.

Mission Graduates (MG) traces its origin to the 1960s when a tutorial program for under-performing neighborhood children was founded by congregational members of the Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist in San Francisco’s Mission District. In 1972 the program was formally incorporated as St. John’s Educational Thresholds Center (St. John’s), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Over the years, St. John’s expanded its original tutorial program and developed new programs to meet the changing needs of children and teens in the Mission District. Three years ago, St. John’s undertook an examination of our community’s current and future needs, assessing how our programs can best respond to these needs. Our focus has always been on encouraging a child’s academic achievement and potential, and we once again recommitted ourselves to this mission. However, we also recognized that college access, and ultimately college graduation, is the “end game” for all of our youth development work. In June, 2008, we officially changed our agency name to Mission Graduates to more accurately reflect this core mission.

Partners and Supporters
College Access Foundation
Glow Foundation
Hispanic Scholarship Fund
John O'Connell High School
Kimball Foundation
Margoes Foundation
Mission High School
Sam Mazza Foundation
San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and Families