Middle & High School Resources

• Want a good job?
• Want to make good money?
• Want a good start in life?

Go to college!

In America today, earning a two- or four-year college degree is critical to economic success and to providing the knowledge and skills needed for life. Getting into and succeeding in college requires time, effort and careful planning by both students and parents.

The Consortium can help you plan for, get into and pay for college – no matter your educational background or socio-economic level. Consortium services include:

• Inspiring young people to want to attend college
• Preparing them for the challenges of higher education
• Providing academic program and financial aid information
• Providing assistance in completing admissions and financial aid applications
• Assisting students and their families in interpreting their financial aid awards and providing guidance toward the most cost-effective options for financing a college education
• Advising and testing for academic placement and career goals
• Providing early support to help students successfully complete college

With federal and state funding, the Consortium provides in-school services to middle and high school students in Worcester, New Bedford, Springfield and Holyoke.

Consortium programs include:

Educational Talent Search (ETS), a federally funded TRIO program, serves 7th -12th grade youth in Worcester, New Bedford and Springfield. Youth who have the potential to succeed in college but who are educationally or economically disadvantaged are eligible to participate in ETS at no charge.

GEAR UP, funded through a contract with the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, provides services to middle and high school students in targeted schools in Worcester, New Bedford, Springfield and Holyoke. The GEAR UP program also provides professional development services to teachers and guidance counselors at schools in GEAR UP districts statewide. All services are provided free of charge.

CollegeAccess helps high school students learn about education/training options and how to access them. CollegeAccess is available in southeastern Mass. and Central Mass./southern Worcester County.  The project is provided in partnership with Seven Hills Behavioral Health and is supported in part through the Mass. Dept. of Higher Education's College Access Challenge Grant.

CSI Worcester is a college access program serving students from five Worcester public high schools.  Many of the participants are from economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds.  CSI provides both a career and college orientation focus for the participants.  A partnership model between local colleges, public high schols and businesses, it is funded in part by local contributions, the Greater Worcester Community Foundation and the United Way of Central Mass. 

For more information about these programs, contact Pamela Boisvert (pboisvert [at] cowc [dot] org), Consortium vice president.

To learn more about the Consortium and planning for college, visit Planning for College.