Founded in 2005 by a group of concerned parents, admissions professionals, and nonprofit practitioners, Center for Student Opportunity seeks to fill the need for greater college counseling and preparation resources for first-generation and other historically underserved college-bound students.

Studying the landscape of college access to first-generation college, low-income, rural and minority college-bound students, the principals discovered that while there are numerous local programs that effectively serve these students, few of these organizations have the resources to expand their reach and fewer still, have the network to access many of the colleges and universities that have targeted these students for admission.

With this in mind, the principals founded Center for Student Opportunity as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit clearinghouse organization profiling leading colleges and universities across the US with the express purpose of expanding and promoting opportunities for college-bound first-generation college and underserved students.