College Visions

COVID-19: How the Pandemic Impacts Low-income College Students

Abrupt campus closures have brought national attention to the plight of low-income college students. For many CV students, financial aid provides not only tuition support but also food and housing. CV is working to provide for the emotional, academic, and basic needs of RI youth. This spring and in the coming years, young people and their families may need extra help to stay focused on college and the longterm benefits that I degree can bring to individuals, families, and communities. CV is committed to providing that help!

For more information on the state of low-income college students, please check out the articles below:

College Made Them Feel Equal. The Virus Exposed How Unequal Their Lives Are.

The Coronavirus Class Divide: Space and Privacy

No Emergency Aid for DACA Students

The Real Lesson of the College Closures

Pandemic Has Forced Graduating Seniors to Reconsider College Choices

Advising Undocumented Students in Rhode Island for College Access

Our mission at College Visions is to empower low-income and first-generation college-bound students to realize the promise of higher education by providing advising and resources to promote college enrollment, persistence, and graduation. College Visions advances equal access to educational opportunities in historically under-served communities.

At College Visions, we believe our work is an embodiment of our core values:
– Empathetic, compassionate, and transformative relationships drive strong organizations.
– Equity creates strong communities.
– In our community we honor the voice, agency, and identities of all.
– Success means reaching our goals through hard work, failure and growth.

We live and operate through these values daily within our two core programs, the College Access Program (CAP) and the Kolajo Paul Afolabi College Success Program (CSP).

The College Access Program provides the intensive, individualized advising that closes the gap between college aspirations and college enrollment for first-generation, low-income students. Students are provided with one-on-one admissions advising, college knowledge workshops, campus visits, family engagement opportunities, access to technology, financial aid coaching.

The College Success Program provides our college students and graduates of CAP with continued support through college. Students are provided with one-on-one coaching, college success workshops, connection with on-campus resources, transfer coaching, financial aid renewal assistance, and access to our emergency grant fund.

Both of our programs are free to our students and are supplemented with providing social-emotional support for our students. At College Visions, we understand that the journey to and through college can be met with many different challenges, as well as the great successes, especially for first-generation low-income students. We are proud to be a resource for our students, help them navigate through different challenges, and celebrate their accomplishments.

Tina Meetran
College Access Program Director
College Visions

CLICK HERE to download the guide: Advising Undocumented Students in Rhode Island for College Access, 2019-2020