This digest describes the essential components of college preparation programs for urban and minority youth. The digest suggests that such programs must attend to the cultural norms of the community and their own political contexts in order to increase students' access to, enrollment in, and graduation from college. College preparation programs…

This digest reviews approaches that have been proven effective in preparing urban minority youth for college. Precollege programs that offer comprehensive approaches and combine a variety of services have the largest impact on college access for minority youth in low-income neighborhoods. The most effective programs are of substantial duration and…

Reviews the literature on the efforts of school-college collaboration to increase the number of minority group students who enter and graduate from college. Concludes that these relationships have been largely self-serving, benefiting school and college personnel much more than the targeted disadvantaged students. (FMW)