Background of POY
Overview
The Power of YOU provides graduates of Minneapolis or Saint Paul public high schools, who are residents of either city, the chance to attend college tuition-free. The program is a collaborative effort among Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC), Saint Paul College and Metropolitan State University. The Power of YOU covers the cost of tuition and fees for two years or 72 credits at all three institutions through state and federal grants and private scholarships.
The Power of YOU, working with school districts and community-based organizations, provides outreach to middle school and high school students. The program provides intensive counseling and advising to help participants persist and be successful in their studies.
Students who complete their first two years at any of the Power of YOU institutions may be eligible for a merit-based scholarships at Metropolitan State University to continue their education. The Power of YOU will support as many eligible students as possible based on financial need and funds available for the program.
Why was the Power of YOU created?
Based on reports by the Itasca Project and the Citizens League, it is clear that too many people in our community will not have the education and skills necessary to successfully compete in the workforce. By 2010, two-thirds of all jobs will require education and skills beyond high school. The Power of YOU provides a framework for sustaining our region’s educated workforce that includes investment, outreach and opportunity for students in the urban core.
Students of color in the Twin Cities participate in post-secondary education at an alarmingly low rate, and represent 70 percent of students enrolled in the Minneapolis and Saint Paul public schools. Only three percent of Minnesota’s African American and American Indian ninth graders, and five percent of Latino ninth graders, are projected to complete a bachelor’s degree before they are 25 years old.
By eliminating real or perceived financial barriers to college, the Power of YOU program is encouraging more students in the urban core to take the necessary coursework to become college-ready, and to complete a college degree.
Is the Power of YOU reaching its intended audience?
More than 75 percent of the participants are students of color and many are the first in their family to attend college. Power of YOU students come from public high schools, charter schools and alternative schools from throughout the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The median family income of Power of YOU students is less than $30,000 – paralleling the federal TRIO program low-income definition of $30,000 for a family of four.
Profile
Fall 2006 Power of YOU program participant facts:
(This data reflects Power of YOU students enrolled at MCTC and Saint Paul College)
- All eligible high school graduates who completed the Power of YOU application process were able to enroll tuition-free as full-time college students
- In Fall 2006, 354 students met program eligibility requirements and enrolled in college through the Power of YOU—234 at MCTC and 120 at Saint Paul College. This is nearly a 60 percent increase in the number of Minneapolis and Saint Paul public high school graduates enrolled at both colleges last year
- Power of YOU students, on average, enrolled for 13 credits for Fall Semester
- 76 percent are students of color
- 42 percent are male; 58 percent are female
- 58 percent of the students are eligible for full Pell Grant awards and 42 percent received private scholarships
- The top three majors selected by Power of YOU students are Liberal Arts, Nursing and Business Management
