Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 11, 1 November 2004 — College counseling aid [ARTICLE]

College counseling aid

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has awarded a $450,000 grant to the program "500 Hawaiians to College," whieh, as its name implies, plans to help 500 Native Hawaiian youths enroll in college over the next five years. The award leaves College Connections Hawai'i, the nonprofit group administering the program, $300,000 more to raise. Statistics show that few Native Hawaiians make it to college. For example, while Hawaiians represent a quarter of the students in the state's puhlie school system, they make up just eight percent of the student body at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. "Native Hawaiian students are often not given the supportive environment they need to succeed," OHA Trustee Colette Machado said. "This is an attempt by the OHA board to provide Hawaiians a foundation they ean use to get to college." Since its inception in 1998, College Connections has provided disadvantaged students with programs similar to "500 Hawaiians to College" in order to encourage them to further their education. This program will focus on preparing Hawaiian students in grades 8-12 for college by affording them

with academic and financial-aid eounseling, along with tutoring for the SATs. The program will prepare students for four-year undergraduate, master and doctorial degrees.