The American Talent Initiative (ATI), a Bloomberg Philanthropies initiative led by the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program and Ithaka S+R, has pushed forward in its goal to enroll 50,000 more high-achieving, low- and moderate-income students at educational institutions by 2025.
Earlier this week, Emory University announced that it is among the newest wave of institutions to join ATI, pushing the number of member institutions to 100. Member schools now include 17 state flagship universities, every Ivy League institution and other private colleges.
“ATI is an organization whose mission and purpose, in terms of access and affordability, just aligns perfectly with the way that Emory approaches need-based aid,” said John Leach, assistant vice provost and director of university financial aid at Emory. “The common purpose that we share with ATI is something that has been a part of our DNA as an institution for quite a while.”
Launched in December 2016, ATI’s national effort includes enhancing recruitment of qualified high school graduates and transfer students from community colleges; increasing the number of Pell-eligible and first-generation students enrolled; and retaining and graduating lower-income students at similar rates as higher-income peers.
Along with Emory, the latest schools to join ATI since December include Muhlenberg College, Middlebury College, Occidental College, University of Chicago, Bryn Mawr College, Knox College, Pennsylvania State University, University of Iowa, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, Indiana University Bloomington, The College of Wooster, Hamilton College and St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
With 20 percent of students receiving Pell grants at Emory, a private research institution in Atlanta, the university meets the full demonstrated need for undergraduate students at its colleges through grants, work-study and subsidized loans.
The “Emory Advantage” – an 11-year program for students coming from families with an income below $50,000 – is meant to either reduce or fully eliminate student debt. Students in the program have their subsidized loan component replaced with grants, Leach said.
