Prep for Prep

Prep for Prep is arguably the nation's most successful program to identify and prepare exceptional students of color for achievement at rigorous independent schools and, ultimately, for leadership roles in our society. Now in its fourth decade, the Prep Community includes over 4,500 students and alumni. Prep students come from low- to moderate-income households across New York City's five boroughs. Our comprehensive approach begins with an aggressive, citywide Talent Search in which nearly 6,000 nominated youngsters compete annually for approximately 200 places. Roughly 125 fifth graders are admitted to Prep for Prep (day school placement) and 75 seventh-graders to PREP 9 (boarding school placement). The selected students complete a rigorous 14-month preparatory program spanning two summer sessions and the intervening school year. Following the second summer, students who successfully complete the Preparatory Component earn places at more than 50 leading New York City independent day schools and the Northeast's top boarding schools. Prep continues its depth of involvement with monthly counseling meetings, weekly social and cultural activities, college guidance, and a variety of leadership development and professional advancement opportunities through high school graduation. Our undergraduates and college graduates have access to a range of services through Undergraduate Affairs, Leadership Development Opportunities (i.e., internships and career-related networking), and Alumni Affairs.

• 92% of Prep's 2,694 college graduates have earned their degrees from Ivy League universities and institutions characterized as "most competitive" or "highly competitive" by Barron's 2016 Profiles of American Colleges; nearly 40% have graduated from Ivy League schools. More Prep alums have attended Harvard than any other school.