One knock on charter schools is the lack of diversity — filled with either all minority and low-income students, or mostly affluent students. Some charter schools see a benefit to pulling students from both sides of the tracks.
President and First Lady Obama met with more than a hundred college and university presidents and leaders from business and nonprofits to talk about helping low-income students finish college. One solution starts well before college, with high school guidance counselors.
For George Alvarez, the decision to apply to Johns Hopkins was a "happy accident." Most low-income, high-achieving high school students don't apply to any selective colleges.