Start Preparing For College Today
What Minds Matter Does
Minds Matter is a three year program that begins in students’ sophomore year of high school. Minds Matter offers its students a combination of individualized mentor support and academic instruction that provides students with the resources, information and guidance they need to gain admission to, enroll in, and graduate from their best-fit four-year colleges, including:
- Academic Preparation & Test Prep: More than 300 hours of in-class instruction in ACT preparation and writing and critical thinking skills. Our students increase their ACT scores by 42 percentile rank points on average. This prepares students to become great candidates for college so that they can gain admission to their right-fit colleges and earn scholarships to cover the cost of college.
- Mentoring: Weekly mentoring with two dedicated mentors from sophomore year of high school through graduation, designed to help students build critical academic, personal, and professional skills so they are prepared to go to college and earn a degree.
- College Immersion Programs: Fully-funded attendance at prestigious university summer programs across the nation. Universities students attend include: Harvard, UCLA, Brown University, Johns Hopkins University, and more.
- College Admissions Advising: Our personalized, holistic approach to college admissions ensures our students aim high and know what's needed to gain admission to the college of their dreams, with the guidance of our college advising experts as well as guest visits from college admissions officers from universities around the country.
Meet Our Students
Tosheania, Class of 2019
High School: Euclid High School
College: Brown University
Minds Matter Summer Program: Tosh spent two weeks living on campus at Brown University, an Ivy League university, studying how structural racism affects the health outcomes of black communities
Course of Study and Career: Tosh is majoring in neuroscience and environmental studies and plans to go on to medical school to become a doctor.
Mario - Colorado College
In Minds Matter, Mario attended Harvard University to study current research in brain and neuroscience associated with mindfulness and its outcomes among youth. Mario is a recent graduate of Cleveland School of Science and Medicine at John Hay.
Daniel - University of Pennsylvania
A graduate of Cleveland School of Science and Medicine, Daniel attended the University of Pennsylvania as a Questbridge scholar with the full cost of tuition covered. He currently works in the nonprofit education space.
Our Students
Students Admitted To Barron’s Most, Highly, Or Very Competitive Schools
Minimum Student GPA
Students accepted to a four-year college/university
Substantial Improvement in ACT Scores
Our students represent sophomores, juniors and seniors from 15 high schools in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, inner-ring suburbs, and private institutions.
Minds Matter students are hard-working and dedicated to their futures.
Our students spend three years completing rigorous academic coursework, receiving mentoring from young professionals, attending college summer programs at leading universities and receiving expert guidance on the college admissions process.
In order to complete the program, students must attend Minds Matter’s sessions every Saturday during the school year. Each student session lasts five hours. Given the program’s intensity, Minds Matter only admits students who are high-achievers and have a strong determination to attend college.
Our typical student:
- is academically motivated
- has a household income below $25K
- displays maturity and a strong work ethic
- is willing to commit every Saturday for three years to rigorous college preparation