Our Mission
Investing in students since 2005
COLLEGE IS REAL'S MISSION IS TO CHANGE THE COLLEGE-GOING CULTURE IN RICHMOND’S HIGH SCHOOLS IN ORDER TO UPLIFT THE COMMUNITY THROUGH HAVING MORE OF ITS STUDENTS, WHO ARE MOSTLY LOW-INCOME PEOPLE OF COLOR, ATTEND AND BE THE FIRST IN THEIR FAMILIES TO GRADUATE FROM COLLEGE
“We know that Zach and I aren’t going to have this platform forever, but it’s amazing to think of what a little bit of hope, or compassion, or even just an opportunity, can help somebody succeed. So, we’ve partnered with College Is Real to provide funding to start a program at Kennedy High School.”
– JULIE JOHNSTON ERTZ, TWO TIME FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP CHAMPION, ERTZ FAMILY FOUNDATION
THIS SHORT VIDEO TELLS THE CIR STORY
100%
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION
90-100%
FOUR-YEAR COLLEGE ACCEPTANCE AND ATTENDANCE
Colleges Attended
University of California: Berkeley, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Davis, Santa Cruz, Irvine, and Merced
California State Universities: San Luis Obispo, San Diego, East Bay, Northridge, Chico, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Sonoma, Humboldt, and Stanislaus
Private Universities: Stanford University, Brown University, University of San Francisco, Saint Mary's College of California, Holy Names University, Knox College, Wittenberg University, and Art Institute of San Francisco
Demographics of Students
CIR serves a diverse and broad range of students reflective of the community and schools. The racial mix of students is as follows: LatinX 70%; Asian 16%; Black/African American 9%; Pacific Islander 2%; White 2%; Native American 1%
"I’ve always cared about my education, but when I got to high school I didn’t know what steps I needed to take to make it to college. College Is Real made that path clear. They provided me with the resources and the guidance that has made everything up until this point possible.”
