Achievement First charter network announces scholarship program to reduce 'undermatching'

The Achievement First charter school network, which includes 36 schools in three states, is launching a plan to offer scholarships to students accepted to but unable to attend more selective colleges due to cost, aiming to help low-income students of color attend institutions with higher black and Hispanic graduation rates, Chalkbeat reports.The effort is meant to reduce “undermatching” — which occurs when students are accepted into top-tier schools, but wind up going to less expensive colleges with lower academic standards — by providing about $3,000 to $7,500 in scholarship money per student per year.The organization's board has pledged $100,000 a year to fund 20 scholarships averaging $5,000 each. Initially, the scholarship money will be taken from funding received from the state of New York, but if the program proves successful, Achievement First hopes to raise scholarship money through donations. Undermatching also affects rural students, who are 10% more likely to undermatch than their urban peers. Rural students and districts struggle with a lack of financial resources, lack of reliable Internet connections, and the inability to attract good teachers.