Overview

The Ventures Scholars Program invites guidance counselors, educators, and community-based organization providers to collaborate with the Ventures Scholars Program and help underrepresented and first-generation college bound students interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics-based career pathways.

The Program provides a variety of tools that help these students link to information, resources, and opportunities offered by member competitive colleges/universities, professional associations, and organizations nationwide. Registered students and their parents also receive timely college and career planning information from the Ventures Scholars Program.

If you are a counselor, educator, or provider, please take a few minutes to register with us and begin nominating students and receiving electronic information from the Ventures Scholars Program. If you are connected with a high school, you can also download a list of students at your high school who have been nominated to the pathway.

Click here to register with the Ventures Scholars Program. Once you have registered, you will be able to go into your account and nominate students to the Ventures Scholars Program pathway.

Click here if you are already registered and you would like to access your unique web account.

Click here to access information about our member undergraduate institutions nationwide.

Click here to access information about our member professional associations and organizations nationwide.

Click here to view the number of guidance counselors and providers, by state, who are registered with the Ventures Scholars Program.

• How Students are Nominated to Join the Ventures Scholars Program
• Free Resources for Ventures Scholars
• Feedback from Ventures Scholar and Parent of a Ventures Scholar

HOW STUDENTS ARE NOMINATED TO JOIN VENTURES SCHOLARS PROGRAM

MEETING ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS

The Ventures Scholars Program uses the College Board's PSAT and ACT's PLAN examinations to initially target underrepresented students. Targeted students are sent an invitation in February to join the Ventures Scholars Program and are asked complete an on-line registration form. Parent/guardian email addresses are collected as part of the online registration process.

In the spring, close to 9,000 public and private high schools receive a list of the students who have been nominated to join the Ventures Scholars Program. Counselors, educators, and providers are asked to encourage nominated students to complete and periodically update the online registration form.

Counselors and providers are also asked to register with the Ventures Scholars Program so they can receive timely information from member institutions and associations as well as register additional students to the Ventures Scholars Program pathway.

To become Ventures Scholars, high school students need to meet the following qualifications:

• Students need to maintain a 3.0 grade point average or better.
• Students need to identify themselves as members of an underrepresented group (African American/Black, American Indian/Native American, and Hispanic/Latino/a) or as first-generation college-bound students*.
• Students need to express an interest in a math- or science-based career.
  
  (* A first-generation college-bound student is a student whose parents/guardians had no education beyond high school. Race and ethnicity are not factors. )
  
• Students need to meet at least one of the following standardized test qualifications:
  
  --PSAT Qualifications: score a minimum of 50 on the math and critical reasoning sections.
  --SAT Qualifications: score a minimum of 550 on the math and verbal sections.
  --PLAN Qualifications: score a minimum of 18 on the math, science, English, and reading sections.
  --ACT Qualifications: score a minimum of 19 on the math, science, English, and reading sections.

Once you register with the Program, you can begin nominating students to the pathway. Please use the online application.

FEEDBACK

Feedback from a Ventures Scholar:

"I am an African-American student. I am part of your Ventures Scholars Program since my sophomore year, and I have been following your advice and using your resources from the beginning of my college search.

The timeline of events has been almost biblical, and we followed it from the very beginning of our time with this group. For a family without the most experience in searching for colleges, we found it very convenient to be able to go to Ventures and find out what to do next. The help you all have offered has been essential to how far I have made it now. So you know, I applied to (member institution) early decision and was accepted, my financial package pays for my entire education. Once again, I'd like to thank Ventures for all the help you have given, and I will be sure to recommend this to anyone who seriously wants to get into college and needs the guidance to do it."

Feedback from a Parent

" Just a note from a parent to share the wonderful news of where one of YOUR Venture Scholars is headed this fall. My son has been a scholar in your program since his sophomore year He was accepted at (member institution), awarded a full 4yr scholarship, admitted to their Honors College, AND accepted into their class of 2014 medical school.

I am sure that his selection as a Venture Scholar on his college applications did not go unnoticed or unappreciated in the college application process. In fact it was through a medical conference that the Venture Scholar e-newsletter informed him of that he had the opportunity to attend an conference for pre-meds and meet face-t- face with admission officials, to gather not only information on an abundance of pre-med programs (summer, research etc.), but to receive guidance and suggestions from the same people looking over applications, and little did he know to leave a lasting impression with them.