Program Success Spring 2017 | Page 12

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for Children and Youth Orlando , Florida Spring 2017

MEETING STUDENTS WHERE THEY ARE

BY BILL GATES CO-CHAIR , BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION

►BILL Ei MELINDA GATES /

When I was applying to college , I wanted to go to one of the best schools . At the time , I thought of " the best ," as the colleges that were the most selective . I applied to Harvard , Yale , and Princeton - schools whose reputations are burnished as much by the huge numbers of applicants who are denied admission , as the privileged Few who are let in .
But over the years I ' ve learned that there are many other ways to measure what maRes a school great . Institutions liRe Harvard ( where I ended up going ) have an important role to play in higher education . They do amazing research ( which is something I support , enthusiastically ) and can have their picR of the top students From around the world .
But equally impressive to me are the uni-
" WE TAKE PRIDE IN THE FACT THAT WE DO NOT CHERRY-PICK OUR STUDENTS ."
est path to the middle class . But they are also the ones who are at the highest risR of dropping out .
Our Foundation is always looRing For universities that have learned how to give these students the support they need to graduate . They are not just opening the door to college For a new generation of students . They are also helping to redefine the Future of higher education in the U . S . Last month , I had the chance to sit down in Seattle with administrators From two outstanding institutions-Johnson C . Smith University and Delaware State University-who are experimenting with exciting new ways to serve these at-risR students . " We taRe pride in the Fact that we do not cherry-picR our students . You can come to us as you are ," Dr . Harry Williams , president of Delaware State University , located
versities that taRe on the students who
in Dover , Delaware , told me .
haven ' t had a great high school experience
. The students who graduate with low
Encouraging more low-income and first­
GPAs and poor SAT scores and might have
generation college students to get coltrouble
getting accepted to college . These
lege degrees is critical-not just For the
students , many of them first-generation
students themselves , but For the health of
college students From low-income bacR-
America ' s economy . By 2025 , two-thirds
grounds , Rnow a college degree is the sur-
of all jobs in the US will require education
beyond high school . At the current rate the US is producing college graduates , however , the country is expected to Face a shortfall ofll million sRilled worRers to fill those roles over the next 10 years .
The problem isn ' t that not enough students want to go to college . More students are enrolling in higher education programs than ever before . The problem is that too many drop out before completing their degrees , especially students From lowincome Families . In Fact , a student From a wealthy Family in the U . S . is eight times more liRely to earn a bachelor ' s degree by age 24 than a student From a low-income Family .

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