North Star Academy, a public charter school network in Newark, has had startling success in college admissions for its enrollment of almost entirely low-income Black and Hispanic students: Among the 2024 graduating class, 90% of students are enrolled in a two or four-year college, with over $5 million earned in grants and scholarships. In fact, North Star recently found out that 11 high school seniors were awarded the prestigious QuestBridge scholarships, which give winners a full ride to any college of their choice.

How does North Star make this happen, given that just 49% of traditional Newark district school students achieve that milestone? For answers, NJ Education Report turned to Eric Osorio, one of six College Counselors at the network’s Lincoln Park High School, to help us understand North Star’s successful college admissions and completion program (especially considering increasing numbers of multilingual learners who enter high school without fluency in English) and how this model can be replicated in other districts.

North Star, part of the Uncommon Schools network that educates 20,000 students in 52 schools in Newark, Camden, New York City, Boston, and Rochester, prides itself on its college counseling model, which has the same ratio of students to counselors that one might see at elite private schools. Osorio explains that he and his team begin meeting with students in their junior year, starting with a family meeting where he gauges parents’ understanding of the complex college application process in order to fill in gaps and get a sense of what they are looking for. With Spanish-speaking families, he translates all material; as someone of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent, he is fluent in Spanish.“ For some families,” he says, “this is the first time they are working with someone who speaks their language and can make what seems so complicated a transparent process.” 

These meetings continue as needed. Meanwhile, high school juniors meet with their counselors once a week for college training seminars; seniors meet three times a week.

One of North Star’s strategies to maximize college acceptance is to take advantage of Early Decision programs. Historically these programs were only available to students in the highest income percentile but. Uncommon leaders have found, by working closely with students and parents, low family income is not a drawback: Currently 50% of North Star graduates are admitted to college through the Early Decision process. Patrick Rametti, the senior director of college access and success at Uncommon Schools, writes, “our graduates who enroll at colleges via early decision attend schools with higher graduation rates and receive more generous financial aid packages than those who didn’t apply early or applied early but did not get in.” The offers are non-binding if they are not affordable but, with appeals from college counselors, it is rare that North Star students don’t enroll in these schools.

This is important: Osorio says financial considerations cause the most confusion and hesitation but, through the network’s “College Customized Roadmap,” families can learn which schools have a history of providing generous scholarships. For instance, Boston College’s costs are 100% needs-based. “We teach students how you can figure out which colleges where financial need is met,” he explains.

It is not all about money. In addition to financial factors, college counselors rely on three other ”Fit Factors” —academics, cultural, and social— to help students zero in on the most compatible schools. During their junior and senior years, students engage in much counselor-facilitated reflection, both one-on-one and in groups, to learn what kind of student they are and what they are looking for in higher education. “Am I the type of student who would thrive with 20,000 peers or do I want a small school like Lincoln Park?” Osorio offers by way of example.  “Do I want to get out of New Jersey? If so, how many hours away make me comfortable?” This kind of self-knowledge guides the process and, with North Star Academy’s various platforms, students are able to home in on their priorities. 

When students need more intense assistance, counselors meet with them one-on-one, whether that is in August when school starts, after school hours, during lunch, and during school breaks. Much attention is paid to the personal statement and supplemental essays; since the spring of 2022, North Star juniors and seniors have worked with professional writing coaches (traditionally accessible only to high-income students) who help students brainstorm and strategize.

What about majors? “They’re 17!” Osorio laughs. While sometimes students are certain what they want to study, most will end up deciding a year or two into their college programs.

For students who are not fluent in English, North Star counselors have compiled a list of colleges and universities that welcome students who are still learning English. For instance, Kean University has a program called SUPERA, a structured and integrated program that allows students to take courses in Spanish for their first years, and Farleigh Dickinson has a Latino Promise Program with similar features.

For models of new English learners successfully navigating the college admissions process, North Star provided short videos of two students, Janelly Gualpa and Evelyn Yanez, who are  2024 North Star Academy graduates currently thriving at Kean.

Here, Evelyn says (in Spanish with English subtitles), “I am very proud of myself for going to Kean because Kean was the first university I wanted to go to….I improved my English because when you go to a community that only speaks English, your focus and brain become used to it. I recommend North Star because even though they don’t have bilingual classes it helps you to be in this community and even the other students help you with this.”

Janelly’s mother says in this second video, “For me it is a source of pride that she didn’t know English, she didn’t know anything, and North Star helped her a lot…My daughter was accepted at several universities and she chose Kean and I know she will excel there as well. I would recommend to Hispanic people above all not to think just because it is a school where only English is spoken they can’t learn there.” 

Yet North Star Academy’s postsecondary strategy doesn’t end with an admissions letter:  An alumni team makes sure they get “not just to but also through,” visiting students on campus, offering emotional, academic, and even financial support. 

These services are not driven by dollars: According to the New Jersey Department of Education database, North Star has just $15,543 available per year per student compared to Newark Public Schools’ $24,776.  (The network raises funds to supplement the cost of college counseling services.)

“We have the opportunity to work with them for two years,” notes Osorio, “helping them find the things they value, pushing them out of their comfort zone,  exposing them to new information, and really digging in. What’s the right fit? How do I break down the financial package? Who should I get recommendations from?  How do I tell my story? By building those strong relationships, students know we are there for them, that they can trust us, that we’re partners in this process and they can be confident in the decisions they’re making. Our team never gets complacent and we’re always looking for new ways to find opportunities that all students deserve but don’t always get.”