Being a WP Scholar

Preparation

Making the transition to college is difficult, especially for the students most unfamiliar with its demands. Navigating the applications, financial aid processes, and enrollment forms can be unwieldy. Once enrolled, college students are exposed to new academic challenges, teacher-student dynamics, and peer relationships. Wolverine Pathways prepares scholars for this new world. 

Our success coaching and individualized tutoring primes students for rigorous advanced coursework, which sets them up for early college success. All scholars receive at least one semester of SAT prep and are assigned professional writing mentors to help refine their admissions essays. Through our college prep curriculum and pre-college courses taught by U-M faculty, WP scholars practice the type of knowing, thinking, and doing expected in elite college settings. 

College admissions is the beginning; graduation is the goal. At WP, we prepare scholars for both.

Opportunity

At Wolverine Pathways, we know our scholars will go on to become industry leaders who will impact their communities. We invest in these young professionals by providing occupational mentorship, exposure, and training that sets the stage for their career aspirations. 

WP partners with organizations to facilitate career days where scholars explore new career fields and develop a career-focused approach to their high school and collegiate opportunities. Our Annual Professional Development Conference offers scholars advice on navigating the world of work and teaches them proven strategies for finding and securing an internship. Rising 12th graders participate in paid career internships that broaden their career visions and build bonds with industry professionals and mentors.  

These opportunities for career exploration are designed to help close the opportunity gap that currently exists for scholars from underserved communities.

Access

The journey to and through college is full of financial hurdles that often discourage students from under resourced communities from pursuing their college goals. College is expensive. Pre-college camps and courses are expensive. Test prep is expensive. Wolverine Pathways confronts these economic barriers by providing our college and career preparation at no cost.

Every residential camp, tutoring session, and summer course we offer is uniquely tailored for WP scholars and completely free. We provide laptops for any scholar who needs one. We sponsor WP scholars who attend select enrichment opportunities outside of our program catalog. In addition, all WP Scholars who successfully complete WP and are admitted to U-M Ann Arbor or U-M Dearborn receive a full, four-year tuition scholarship to the university (applied after all applicable federal and state financial aid).

Through our financial support, WP scholars from all economic backgrounds are free to explore and pursue college opportunities.

Community

When a student is admitted into Wolverine Pathways, they are introduced to an elaborate support network of scholars, mentors, and professionals. The scope, depth, and frequency of our college and career programming offers scholars meaningful interactions with these contacts, building a community that serves them in their college and career aspirations.

WP scholars develop connections with the U-M affiliates by regularly participating in graduate students and faculty led courses, workshops, and mentoring. Through residential summer camps and campus visits, scholars bond over their shared experiences and learn to rely on each other during difficult moments, both academic and personal. Through internships and career development programming, scholars receive personal coaching and work experience from career mentors who are invested in their long-term professional achievement. 

We believe in the strength of our academic curriculum and preparation, but we know these relationships will carry our students even after they graduate from WP.