Despite the heated debate over affirmative action in admissions, many educators worry more about minority students after they get in. Minorities are twice as likely to drop out as whites, often due to a mix of academic and social issues. To head off problems, many schools host precollege prep sessions. Colgate’s five-week program has become a model because the school, which is 4 percent black, boasts the country’s highest black graduation rate (93 percent, compared with 89 percent for whites).
Colgate officials credit the program’s success to intense academics and the chance to jump-start supportive friendships. This summer 30 students are living in Gate House, an ivy-covered brownstone building in the center of campus. On a typical day, they might study philosophy, writing and math. Students are paired with graduates who discuss how they overcame isolation. At one session, Colgate grad Kyle Alexander, a 22-year-old Detroit native, recalled how he was scolded at orientation by a white student for being “too opinionative.” “He told me since black students were only guests here, I should simply stay quiet,” Alexander says. “If it wasn’t for that first summer, I know I would have transferred.”
The program has its critics. Last fall, English professor Phillip Richards, who is black, argued in The Chronicle of Higher Education that Colgate shouldn’t admit low-income blacks who need the extra help. After an uproar, school officials affirmed their commitment to diversity. A bigger threat could come from affirmative-action opponents, who say they may sue to stop these programs if they’re not open to all races. But the debate hasn’t stopped Johnson from giving Colgate his all. On a recent afternoon, he watched a sunset over the Chenango Valley. “I know I’ll do well here,” he says. “Those who don’t think so can just wait until the grades come out.”
