The University of Chicago Office of Civic Engagement's free college and career readiness programs prepare Chicago public high school students to gain admission to, pay for, and thrive in college and excel in future careers. The programs provide support to nearly 300 students annually and two of those programs—Collegiate Scholars and Space Explorers—are now accepting applications.
Through February 7, students can apply to either or both programs, and, if accepted, receive a wide range of multi-year supports and opportunities.
Collegiate Scholars Program
The University of Chicago Collegiate Scholars Program (CSP) is a free, three-year enrichment program that prepares talented Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students from diverse backgrounds for admission and success at highly selective colleges. CSP was established in 2003 after the UChicago Consortium on School Research found that highly qualified CPS high school students were underreaching in their college applications.
The year-round program provides students with the opportunity to become immersed in a highly selective college environment through summer college-level courses taught by UChicago faculty and advanced graduate students, enrichment activities and academic workshops throughout the academic year, local and national college tours, and opportunities to connect with like-minded students pursuing similar post-high school goals.
“The Collegiate Scholars Program put the idea of going for the big shot school in our heads early on and that really helped students that come from similar backgrounds to mine feel more confident in their decisions, because we’re often put in positions where we wouldn’t [go for those schools] because we think we’re not capable,” Fatima Perez—a CSP and Eric Solorio Academy High School Class of ’23 graduate who lived in the city’s West Lawn neighborhood and is now a first-generation college student on a full scholarship at Yale University, said. “CSP really made me feel more comfortable and confident in that regard.”
Current 9th grade CPS students are encouraged to apply to the Collegiate Scholars Program here. Priority will be given to low-income or first-generation college students.
Space Explorers Program
The Space Explorers Program is a free multi-year science enrichment program offered by the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics (KICP) in partnership with the Office of Civic Engagement. The program gives Chicago public high school students the opportunity to meet and work with astronomers and physicists; interact with University faculty, staff, students, and labs; spend an overnight residential week on campus; engage with college-level math, science, and computer science course work; take part in field trips and lab tours; and develop skills for high school, college, and beyond.
In addition, the Office of Civic Engagement provides participants with free college and career readiness support through tutoring, college application advising, and college and career exploration workshops throughout the year.
“Growing up in Little Village, college feels like a big step,” Ruben Nieto, a 2022 Space Explorers program and Rauner College Prep graduate who is now a first-generation college student at UChicago, said. “But with all [Space Explorers’] workshops and college readiness classes and stuff, you start to stop seeing college as something unattainable but as something that is really possible if you put in the work.”
Intrinsically motivated CPS ninth- through 11th-grade students with a demonstrated interest in and commitment to STEM-related coursework and activities are encouraged to apply here.
