Listed above are the access programs in Franklin County. Please choose one of the links to learn more.

Columbus Urban League's Achievement Matters College Access Program
Visit our website at www.cul.org

Serving Columbus for 90 years, the Columbus Urban League is the premier Civil Rights Organization in Central Ohio.  Over the past two years, the Columbus Urban League has become one of the largest Urban League affiliates in the country.  We are committed to remaining focused on our mission: To enable African Americans and disadvantaged persons to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights.     

Mission Statement:  To provide early awareness about the benefits of college and to equip disadvantaged high school students with the skills and tools to successfully complete high school and pursue postsecondary education.

I KNOW I CAN - Columbus Public School District
Visit our website at www.iknowican.org.

With the creation of I KNOW I CAN in January 1988, Columbus was at the forefront of communities in realizing that continued prosperity depends upon students pursuing higher education.  I KNOW I CAN has one focused goal: to help Columbus City School students enter and succeed in college.  

I KNOW I CAN is one of the largest and most successful college access programs nationwide and the only one in Columbus. It serves an area of critical need in our community. Through college admissions and financial aid advising, need-based grants, and retention programming, I KNOW I CAN reaches out to Columbus City School students who may not have otherwise had the opportunity to pursue a post-secondary degree.

I KNOW I CAN utilizes the following three-fold approach to achieve its founding goal:

TO ADVISE students and their parents how to apply to college and access financial aid from federal, state and institutional sources; and

TO FUND students with Last Dollar grant assistance and leverage additional financial assistance. (The maximum grant is $1,200, and grants are available for five years.); and

TO RETAIN students once in college with support services to help ensure degree completion. Using minimum number of paid employees as well as more than 150 professional and technically trained volunteers, I KNOW I CAN has:

• Served more than 55,000 students through college admissions and financial aid counseling;
• Awarded nearly 20,000 Last Dollar grants, totaling approximately $20 million (these grants are in addition to federal, state and institutional aid, family contributions, student earnings, college work study, and/or student loans);
• Accessed more than $275 million for students from other financial aid sources;
• Leveraged an average of $14 for every dollar it invests;
• Built an endowment fund that is housed at The Columbus Foundation. The interest from the fund will solely be used to provide Last Dollar Grants to generations of Columbus City School graduates, sustaining the I KNOW I CAN program for many years to come.

For more information on I KNOW I CAN, contact:

Ms. Katina Fullen
Executive Director
I KNOW I CAN
3798 East Broad Street
Columbus, Ohio 43213
Phone: (614) 233-9510 x 120

Fax: (614) 233-9512
kfullen@iknowican.org

College Access Program Map