focus on
higher education

A college degree is by no means the only road to a productive and successful life, but it is both critical and proven, especially for young people who have grown up in marginalized environments. For us, that’s a call to action.

We launched the U.S.-based Dell Scholars Program in 2004, with the goal of supporting low-income, high-potential scholars through college graduation. Since then, we’ve worked closely with nearly 2,000 scholars. In 2010, we launched a sister program, Dell Young Leaders, in South Africa.

The key to both programs is a holistic approach that views scholarships as more than checks and students as more than GPAs. In addition to financial support and academic counseling, we provide scholars and their families with access to a diverse range of services, including crisis counseling, legal and financial consultation, health and wellness services, and more. In South Africa, we’ve adapted these supports to address the more intensive needs of students going through the transition from life in townships to life at top-tier universities.

The Dell Scholars Program has made significant breakthroughs in the U.S. As of the end of 2010, our six-year graduation rate (78 percent) for low-income students outpaces the national rate by 300 percent. Some 95 percent of our 2009 freshman class persisted to their sophomore year, a critical leading indicator for successful graduation. Eleven percent of our graduates are pursuing advanced and professional degrees. Our 350-plus graduates carry an average debt load equal to only 28 percent of what their peers have to shoulder. Our South Africa program is in its earliest phases: The initial cohort of 25 Dell Young Leaders enrolled at the University of Cape Town in 2010 and is expected to graduate in 2013. By 2015, the program is expected to include 400 scholars attending multiple institutions.

We’ve learned from our scholars in both countries that grit, tenacity and character are critical to success in higher education. From a foundation perspective, we’ve worked to distribute that lesson through formal channels. We’ve created and shared tools to predict success; coordinated with secondary and post-secondary institutions to increase the supports they offer; and participated in key conferences about college persistence. But when it comes to scale and impact, our scholars may well have the more critical role: Each graduate stands as a concrete example of success in communities where higher education and its rewards often seem totally out of reach. And in that, we see enormous power.

Oscar Sweeten-Lopez, Dell Scholars Program (United States)
Thashlin Govender*, Dell Young Leaders (South Africa)

*Govender joined the foundation in 2011.