Elite Prep Schools Seek Disadvantaged Kids

The line of parents and nervous middle-school students snaked down the hallway and out the door of the private school enrollment fair at a private school in the Presidio. Get traditionally disadvantaged kids into private schools offering the biggest advantages an elite education can offer. Last year, about 95 students from across the Bay Area participated in the Better Chance program, which guides them through the process of applying to the private schools they choose and then helps them navigate the cultural and socio-economic barriers they might face once they get there. Virtually all the participants get financial aid from the schools, which added up to about $2 million total in support for each year’s Bay Area class of students. Students also participated in mock interviews with Better Chance staff and alumni to get a feel of what the application process will be like. A diverse enrollment is an important part of the school and several of its current students came through A Better Chance, said Nahin Jorgge, associate director of admissions, as he manned the table at the fair.