The American Indian College Fund, with generous support from the Andrew Mellon Foundation, is publishing an invaluable tool for Native American high school students seeking higher education. Native Pathways: A College-Going Guidebook provides content related to how to get into college, choose a school, pay for it, and what to expect the first year in a way that speaks to Native cultures and experiences as students consider attending college.
When the news hit about the higher education admissions scandal dubbed Varsity Blues, in which wealthy parents perpetrated fraud to get their children into prestigious colleges and universities, we at the American Indian College Fund were not only disappointed, frankly, we were angry.
During Native American Heritage Month (November) there is a lot of talk about what defines a Native American. To those of us at the American Indian College Fund, Native people are aspiring college students, college students, and college graduates. These Natives everywhere are using or want to access a higher education to be strong, successful, and vital to their communities.
We know finals are a stressful time for college students—we’ve all been there! But we also know you CAN do it. To make Finals Week a little less stressful to its Native Pathways program participants, Student Coach Teresa Melendez lovingly packed care packages with highlighters, pens, snacks, and herbal tea for students.
The #CollegeBoundNative Campaign encourages high school seniors to apply for college. Native Americans are the least likely of any group to go to college. But college is essential to many careers, which require a certificate, associate or bachelor’s degree. The American Indian College Fund is setting out to change that statistic—and the future of Native students—through a campaign to get more Native high school seniors to apply for college.
Groundwater contamination, erosion, lack of access to healthy foods, and poor air quality are just some of the environmental concerns facing American Indian communities across the United States. Yet indigenous people have long held specialized knowledge that can lead to unique solutions to these challenges.
Only 1% of college students are Native American. The American Indian College Fund is helping to change that with its Native Pathways to College: Bridge Program, which will work with an estimated 300 high school students to increase their preparation for college.
American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) have the lowest higher education enrollment numbers and education attainment levels for people age 25 and older of any ethnic or racial group in the United States. Matthew Van Alstine Makomenaw, Ph.D., the College Pathways Administrator at the American Indian College Fund, will share ways to develop a college pipeline for AIAN students at the College Board National Forum 2016 on October 27 in Chicago, Illinois.
American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIAN) have the lowest higher education attainment rates for people age 25 and older in the United States. Several American Indian College Fund professionals shared their expertise for improving Native student academic success at the 47th National Indian Education Association Convention.
Recently we were asked about the factors that make for a top college for Native Americans students. It is a great question and it really depends on individual student needs and goals; however, that does not make for a great blog. So I will answer this with a top ten list of things that Native American students should consider when choosing a college.
