“We have hundreds of kids that wouldn’t have gone to college, wouldn’t have reached their fullest potential without [MCAC],” says Bob Zwiers, a teacher at Holland High School.
For the 2023-2024 school year, the Michigan College Advising Corps (MCAC)—a college outreach program—placed 17 recent University of Michigan graduates as full-time, paid college advisers at 17 under-resourced high schools across the state, serving more than 2,200 students.
The program’s mission is clear: inform students of their options for post-secondary education, actively engage families as they navigate the college application and financial aid processes, and inspire communities to continue fortifying their college-bound ethos.
This work is needed now more than ever.
“Fewer students are going to college. It’s not a good thing for the economy or the state,” says Celina Flegal, LSA ‘15, a former MCAC adviser and current admissions and enrollment coordinator & international admissions recruiter at Grand Rapids Community College.
Flegal is not exaggerating. Today, the state’s Sixty by 30 goal—that 60% of working-age adults will have a college degree or skill certificate by 2030—is not attainable. Michigan ranks 41st in college enrollment, with only 53% of high school graduates attending college, down from 66% just 10 years ago, mirroring a nationwide trend. Meanwhile, the workforce needs college-educated workers more than ever. According to the Detroit Regional Chamber and the U.S. Department of Education, by 2027, 70% of jobs will require education beyond high school. To help navigate complex college applications and secure scholarships and financial aid, schools and families rely on their MCAC adviser.
What is MCAC?
In 2009, the Michigan College Advising Corps began as a direct-service program at the Center for Educational Outreach. In 2010, it launched in eight schools with eight advisers. Since its inception, more than 115 advisers have served more than 25,000 students.
Part of AmeriCorps, MCAC advisers make a one- to two-year commitment to work at underserved schools across the state—from Ypsilanti to Southfield, Southwest Detroit to Pontiac, Flint to Battle Creek, Grand Rapids to Jackson—often as the only college or guidance counselor in the building. In addition to a mandatory four-week training on the U-M Ann Arbor campus prior to the start of the school year, advisors have weekly remote training sessions, professional development, and an opportunity to attend national conferences with fellow outreach professionals. Upon completing 1,700 hours of service—one year as an adviser—they also receive a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $7,395 to help pay for college, graduate school, vocational training, or to repay student loans.
By operating on a near-peer model, advisers share their recent experiences as college students with high school students who may not come from a community with a strong college-going culture, encouraging students to consider the myriad educational options available after high school.
“One of the core elements of the college advising corps program that makes this program unique is that our advisers are tasked with developing and executing an individualized post-secondary plan with each high school senior enrolled at their high school site placement. This provides an opportunity for our college advising team to provide the necessary information and access to these pathways while also centering the student’s and family’s voice throughout the process,” describes Michael Turner, CEO’s associate director of K-12 partnerships and MCAC program director.
Adviser Impact
“There didn’t seem to be much conversation or focus around what happened after high school,” recalls former adviser Alexa Lynch, and current project manager for U-M’s Intend to Attend, when she arrived at Lansing’s J.W. Sexton High School in 2015.
During her second year as an adviser, every member of Sexton’s senior class applied to college, which, she recounts, “hadn’t really been a thing at Sexton before.” The class also received nearly $2 million in institutional aid scholarships.
Lynch describes much of her work as “demystifying” the preconceptions around what college was. “A lot of students only viewed college as a four-year [option]…sharing knowledge about community college, vocational, tech and trade [schools], in addition to four-year colleges, [and] financial support,” occupied much of the initial conversations between advisers and students.
The near-peer model has additional benefits, says Amber Williams, LSA ‘10, MSW ’16, PhD candidate School of Education, who worked as an MCAC adviser at Benton Harbor High School from 2010-2012, a school that she says was “committed to black student college access.”
As a recent U-M grad with a background similar to many Benton Harbor students, “I was able to communicate in an [authentic] way, beyond the material, tangible things, the real benefits of college. And I can share that from a place of experience, leadership, connecting with others, and having a variety of experiences that add to my life. That felt like the real message: ‘Who do you want to be?’”
“I was able to communicate in an [authentic] way, beyond the material, tangible things, the real benefits of college.
Within the school setting, MCAC advisers complement professional counseling staff, serving as students’ advocates, mentors and liaisons. Advisers facilitate programming throughout the year to guide students through college-going processes—such as college applications, FAFSA submission, and scholarships—and one-on-one meetings with students and families to ensure that post-secondary decisions are made with all parties in mind.
“A student can go into your office and fill out forms to appease you, but if you take the time to get to know them and cultivate a genuine relationship, they’ll come to you for help and [you’ll] be someone the students can turn to,” says Greta Kruse, LSA ‘22, who was an adviser at J.W. Sexton High School from 2022-2024.
Success Rates
The model is clearly working. At MCAC schools, 92% of students met with an advisor, 81% submitted at least one college application, and 59% completed their FAFSA, far outpacing national College Advising Corps averages (32%, 27%, and 13%, respectively). Each of these successes represents a student who may not have considered college as an option but now has the guidance and resources to pursue it. Since 2017, students at MCAC schools have earned approximately 10,000 college acceptances.
“The work we embarked upon was simple yet groundbreaking in Michigan. The recipe was simple—give counselors the support they need to help students plan for their future. Over the 14 years that the program has existed, U-M graduates have helped thousands of high school students go to college and pursue great careers,” says MCAC inaugural director Christopher Rutherford.