Buffalo State College is pleased to announce the implementation of the Buffalo State Challenge, a unique partnership between the campus and two local high schools—McKinley High School and Oracle Charter School (pictured).

The challenge provides aspiring students guaranteed admission to Buffalo State and a four-year scholarship award for those who meet specific academic benchmarks by the time they graduate from high school.

The program aims to place students—who may not see attending college as a realistic goal—on the road to a college experience through mentoring relationships, community service and leadership development, and academic support services provided by Buffalo State’s pre-collegiate programs.

To participate and receive the $6,000 scholarship award (payable over four years), students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 85 or higher, and earn either a score of 1,000 or better on the critical reading and math sections of the SAT, or an ACT score of 21 or above. Both the participating student and their parent(s) or guardian(s) are required to sign a contract granting their consent and commitment to participate in the program.

Carmela Thompson, director of undergraduate admissions, notes that while the challenge helps recruitment at Buffalo State, the primary objective is to prepare students to attend any college.  “Anything we can do to improve the retention and college-going rate at these schools is something that we genuinely want to do because it helps the community,” Thompson said.

Hal Payne, vice president for student affairs, and Mark Petrie, associate vice president for enrollment management, finalized an agreement with James Williams, superintendent of Buffalo Public Schools, two years ago to implement a pilot program at McKinley High School—a natural fit given the already well-established relationship between the school and Buffalo State’s pre-collegiate programs. The collaboration with Oracle Charter School, which started in fall 2010, was facilitated through Buffalo State’s College and Community Partnerships Office. 

The challenge comes at a crucial time when approximately 50 percent of students in public urban high schools in the 50 largest U.S. cities currently do not graduate, according to Kenneth Robinson, program coordinator and admissions assistant at Buffalo State. Other featured components of the challenge include a five-part workshop series on goal development, college planning, regular visits to the school by a Buffalo State admissions representative, professional development opportunities for school staff, and student participation in campus and community cultural events.