by Ivan Kim
College is no longer an option due to its absurdly rising price. Even if students choose to go to college, they experience high stress levels just to graduate with at least $34,000 in loans.
Massachusetts may be considered the best-ranked state for education, but when looking at distinct parts of Massachusetts, such as Springfield, Worcester, Lawrence, and Lowell, the achievement gap we see today cannot be accepted.
With all the inequality society has been facing, I can confidently say that all students of this generation are not doomed. If you ask why, my answer is Early College.
As an Early College graduate from Lowell High School and a current Early College Policy Fellow with the Massachusetts Alliance for Early College, I’ve had first-hand experience with this amazing opportunity.
Access to Early College needs to be expanded to close educational attainment gaps, support students in reaching their dream careers, and increase long-term economic benefits for students, and their communities.
Some common themes include lack of support, feeling unprepared, or difficulty affording it. This gap is also prevalent in a large variety of different races, which include Black, Latino, and Southeast Asian groups.
To tackle the issue of educational attainment gaps, Early College is a leading force. Even in the midst of a pandemic, Early College remained strong and set thousands of students up for success in college. In a study conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education on the class of 2019, 2020, and 2021, 69% of Early College students enrolled in college within six months of graduating, whereas 54% of their peers enrolled. In the same study, 41% of those Early College students persisted in college for two years, whereas only 24% of their peers remained.
Early College is sending more students to college and immensely increasing college success with a high-quality program that provides college classes for high school students. From my personal experience, I graduated high school more than prepared for college. Time management, organization, and study habits aided in my ability to balance my academics, my job, and time with friends and family. These are just a few skills I learned because of Early College. Early College helped me get through my first semester with flying colors and I know the same is true for many Early College graduates.
As of now, only 1% of low-income students are enrolled in Early College throughout Massachusetts. To close the educational gap in Massachusetts, awareness and expansion of Early College are the driving forces we need.
“Why am I in school?” It is a question everyone asks themselves when it’s time to apply for college.
At least 20% of students are entering college undecided. In addition, one-third of undergraduates change their majors at least once.
Again, it is another problem that Early College can solve.
To maximize Early College’s impact, pathways are designed into high school curriculums to provide “guided academic pathways” and “connection to careers.” Additionally, these pathways help high-school students have a sense of direction and take classes related to what they want to do.
The optimal Early College experience involves college and career exploration from their freshman and sophomore years, where they go on to career development in their junior and senior year, earning credits toward their future degree.
Unfortunately, two-fifths of Early College designations have not been able to provide pathways available to students, and I was one of those students. Therefore, as we await more funding for Early College, all programs have a variety of introductory-level classes that could potentially help high school students in the direction they want to take after graduating. Even without a pathway, I left high school certain of a career I wanted to pursue. Early College helped me satisfy introductory-level classes in addition to the general education requirements which helped me dive right into my degree at the start of college.
As I mentioned earlier, Early College is completely free to students. Researchers from the American Institutes for Research have determined that Early College programs cost approximately $3,800 per student over four years. However, thousands of students are not aware that this opportunity was made for them. Early College is an investment to help students acquire the high-quality education they deserve. To tackle the issue of poverty and disparities within our communities, Early College fights back by shaping the lives of underrepresented students resulting in the rise of economic prosperity.
Early College needs to be expanded to close educational attainment gaps, support students in reaching their dream careers, and increase long-term economic benefits for students, and their communities. So far, thousands of students have had their lives revolutionized by Early College, but there are hundreds of thousands more who are not getting this opportunity or do not know about it.
My name is Ivan Kim, and I am a Cambodian American Lowell High School Early College Graduate. I began my Early College experience with Middlesex Community College in 2021, earning a year’s worth of credits. After graduating high school in 2023, I entered UMass Lowell as a sophomore majoring in chemistry with hopes of becoming a doctor. Even with ambitious goals, I could not leave the K-12 system as it was. I wanted every student in Lowell to have the opportunity to experience what I had. I realized underrepresented students all over Massachusetts were struggling to receive the high-quality education that Early College offered. From my personal experience, I know Early College is the solution to the educational gap, so I am fighting for Early College to be further expanded across our state. By raising public awareness and encouraging students to take advantage of this program, you can help Early College be more than just a pillar of education.
