Minds Matter Philadelphia

The mission of Minds Matter Philadelphia is to connect driven and determined students from low-income families to the people, preparation, and possibilities to succeed in college, create their future, and change the world.

We engage in this work because we believe that potential is universal but opportunity is not and that high achieving students from low-income families are often prevented from meeting their academic and professional potential-depriving the world of talent, leadership and innovation. Across this country:

• 46% of low income students enroll in college while more than 75% of their peers from affluent communities do
• 8% of high-achieving students from low-income families apply to appropriately challenging colleges and 53% do not apply to a single selective college
• 3% of students at the most competitive colleges are from low income families while high income students make up 72% of student bodies at top colleges
• 17% of low income students graduate from college in 4 years compared to more than 70% of students from middle or upper income households

In Philadelphia there is roughly 1 college counselor for every 400 enrolled students, nearly doubling the caseload size recommended by the American School Counselor Association recommendations of 1 counselor per 250 enrolled students. Because counselors are often responsible for large caseloads, college planning support (applications, essays, financial aid guidance) is frequently limited and Counselors struggle to balance general academic advising with college-specific advising due to high caseloads. In these staffing realities Students at schools with very high ratios do not receive structured college counseling beyond basic scheduling and testing information.

Minds Matter Philadelphia works to address this college access disparity by providing robust college entry and academic supports to highly motivated Philadelphia students whose families meet income thresholds. Minds Matter is a three-year mentoring program that begins in student’s Sophomore year and supports them through their High School Graduation.

Minds Matter offers its students a combination of individualized mentor support and group tutoring that provides students with the resources, information and guidance they need to gain admission to, enroll in and graduate from four-year colleges. Minds Matter does this work through 3 separate but complimentary program pillars:

• Structured Academic Support–Over the course of four years, Minds Matter provides over 160 hours of in-person tutoring in math, writing, critical thinking and standardized test preparation
• Mentoring–Minds Matter provides each student with two dedicated college-educated mentors that provide over 150 hours of in-class support to their mentee
• Fully Funded Summer Programs–Minds Matter allows students to attend two prestigious college summer programs at no cost to the family

With these supports 100% of Minds Matter Philadelphia students have been accepted to 4 years colleges, most with significant financial aid packages, since the organization’s founding in 2011. With the support of Minds Matter Philadelphia, the most recent graduating class, the class of 2025, accomplished the following:

• 114 college applications submitted with a 75% acceptance rate
• 100% of students admitted to and enrolled in a four-year college
• 92% enrolled in a U.S. News Top 100 college
• 100% of SAT test-takers and 92% of ACT test-takers exceeded the College & Career Readiness score benchmarks
• 46% of students earned third-party merit scholarships, totaling more than $100,000
• The average aid package for a Minds Matter Philadelphia student was $81,823, compared to the national average of $56,301
• Average annual cost for a Minds Matter Philadelphia student was just $4,953, versus the national average of $38,270