Community-based organizations and college access programs do noble and needed work. Such organizations help pick up where schools and families occasionally fall short, especially in the college preparation and guidance process. 

These efforts can be enhanced by Center for Student Opportunity and the College-Bound Coalition.

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CBOs and College Access Programs in the Coalition

For the direct service provider, CSO programs and resources can help support and advance the college access goals of your program and better connect you and your students with a national network of colleges and universities with programs and opportunities that serve the traditionally underserved.

Opportunities and resources for CBOs and college access programs include:

• CSO College Center, an online clearinghouse of college programs and admissions information serving first-generation and other historically underserved students, is a tool and wealth of information for students and counselors alike. Engage your students on the website to learn from a library of information, research college programs and opportunities, ask questions to CSO counselors, and register student résumés on ConnectNow to send to colleges. This is a free and privacy protected service.
  
  
• CSO is developing a Programs in Practice portal add-on to the College Center website in an effort to acknowledge and spotlight innovative and exemplary community-based efforts and college access programs for the interest of student, college, and program practitioner audiences.
  
  
• Relationship Building with colleges and universities. CSO works with a national network of colleges and universities that want to build relationships with access programs to strengthen their diversity outreach and recruitment efforts. 
  
  
• Volunteer services from professional college counselors. CSO’s Counseling Outreach program leverages the volunteer support of professional college counselors to do pro bono outreach work in their community. CSO serves as facilitators to research partnership sites for counselors and provide infrastructure and resources once placed. CSO places counselors with community-based organizations and under-resourced schools nationally.
  
  
• Program Development consulting support. Through the College-Bound Coalition, CSO is a wealth of information on leading models and best practices in college preparation and guidance.  Whether it is improving an existing program or starting from the ground-up, CSO can leverage its knowledge-base and relationships with leading programs nationally to assist in crafting a program that fits your needs and interests.
  
  
• Receive Coalition eNews, regular eNewsletters that feature spotlights on successful program models, disseminates advice on best practices, and updates Coalition members of new CSO programs and service opportunities.
  

Please contact info@csopportunity.org or call (301) 951-7101 ext. 214 with questions or inquiries.