This program is of particular interest during the recession because of the high costs that can be associated with SAT courses and college advising. It connects Tufts students, who have applied to college and generally been successful on their SATs, with those who are in need and may not be able to afford tutoring. The Tufts Let's Get Ready group is not affiliated organizations other than the Somerville schools, but it is part of a national network of 52 programs across the country.
More about Let's Get Ready here: http://www.letsgetready.org/
I also just added an organization very similar to this one, called Kids to College. I guess it could almost be seen as a precursor to Let's Get Ready. What this group does is it has small groups of Tufts volunteers go around to the 6th grade classrooms of three local schools, and talk to the kids about the importance of going to college. They talk about high school preparation, financial aid, and college-level classes and activities. They do this all in a very positive, kid-friendly way, and even organize a Tufts campus visiting day for the kids in the spring. Really, I think their main goals are to get the kids to want to go to college, to realize it's a real possibility for them, and to motivate them to do well in school accordingly. I think it's great that we have both this group and Let's Get Ready on the map now because there could definitely be a potential link between the two that both groups could benefit from.
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