A student sent Sara Urquidez, executive director of the Academic Success Program, two videos she won’t soon forget, despite seven years of work at the helm of the Dallas college counseling nonprofit for underprivileged students.
One video showed him submitting his application to the University of Chicago – and dancing the “Harlem Shake” in celebration. The other showed him jumping up and down while opening his acceptance letter months later.
Urquidez credits the UChicago Empower Initiative, a new set of scholarships, access programs and admissions practices introduced at the University of Chicago last year to make the school more attainable for underprivileged students. This year, the university is welcoming a record influx of students from underrepresented backgrounds, including first-generation students, students from low-income households, rural students and the children of firefighters and police.
Urquidez said none of her students would have been admitted to the University of Chicago several years ago. The vast majority – 94 percent – are first-generation college students or students from low-income families. This year, six of them were accepted.
“If you looked at any of our students that have been admitted,” she said, “none of them would be at a place like UChicago if not for this work. Period. The end. And it’s not because they’re not amazing students.”
A year after the initiative, the number of incoming first-generation students and students from low-income families jumped by 20 percent, and rural student enrollment increased by 56 percent.
The University of Chicago’s 2019-2020 class is also 10 percent African-American and 17 percent Latinx, numbers that continue to increase year to year.
