NEW YORK—Founded in 1989, The Posse Foundation finds youth that are “overlooked by traditional college selection processes,” and gives them the funds for a four-year degree. It also groups students into multicultural, supportive teams—or “posses.”
On Thursday 140 posse scholars received their awards. They were selected from more than 3,000 students in over 300 New York City schools and 100 organizations. Tsihai Hanson of the Posse Foundation explained how the organization finds students that may not be admitted to colleges through the traditional application process.
“We look not only at academic achievements, but also at the motivation to succeed,” explained Hanson. Colleges usually take students in the top 10 percent of their class from preparatory and private schools, and they may not reach students in some urban areas or look in depth at their personal achievements or community involvement as Posse does.
“Because we look at them holistically, we get to see more about the student than colleges see in the traditional application process,” said Hanson.
Posse awarded $80 million nationally to 560 students. Participating schools include Babson College, Brandeis University, Colby College, DePauw University, Dickinson College, Franklin & Marshall College, Lafayette College, Lawrence University, Middlebury College, Trinity College, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Southern California, Vanderbilt University, and Wheaton College.
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