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SmartyScholars

We provide free college test prep services to talented, low income students from Baltimore-area high schools so that they can gain admission into top 20 colleges with comprehensive financial aid packages.

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Sponsor a SmartyScholar

A donation of $2,500 would provide one Scholar with 5 months of test prep. Sponsor a scholar and one of our scholars will write you a hand-written thank you note.

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News and Events

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Trivia Night

Thanks to those who came to Trivia Night on April 11. It was a huge success. We auctioned off 20 of the 30 items, sold 107 tickets, raised nearly $6,000 for the SmartyScholars fund!

Stay tuned for our next event in early fall of 2019!

The Impact

There is no shortage of high achieving, low-income students in Baltimore, but structural barriers, such as college admissions testing, often keep these students from applying and achieving admission to elite schools. It is often only the elite schools that are able to offer need-blind admissions and comprehensive financial aid packages.

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Data from Pell grant recipients has shown that that high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds graduate at much higher rates when they attend resource rich, more selective universities.

See the data...

Only 3% of students at the nation’s top colleges come from families in the bottom 25% income bracket.
60 percent of the wealthiest students complete their studies and graduate, but only about 16 percent of low-income college students graduate, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. However, low income students at elite colleges (which tend to have already higher graduation rates) graduate at almost the same rate as affluent students and end up earning almost as much on average as affluent students who attend the same college.
There are 29 colleges with graduation rates over 90% for Black and Latina students. Here are the top ten: Brown University, Pomona College, Harvard University, University of Notre Dame, Skidmore College, Scripps College, Davidson College, Emory University, Stanford University, Wesleyan University.
Low-income students who attend selective colleges are less likely to have debt than those who attend low-tier colleges. Typical lower-income students (from a family earning $50,000 or less) face an annual bill of $6,000 at top private colleges.
Elite colleges, as compared to less selective institutions, offer low income students peer mentoring, transition programs, and supportive advising at a higher rate.

After my SmartyScholars program, I improved by 150 points on my SAT score, and yesterday I was accepted into Johns Hopkins University with a full ride scholarship. Mauricio Rodriguez

Total Value of Scholarships Awarded to 2018 Cohort

SmartyScholars 2018 Cohort Acceptances:

*Full-ride acceptance

Brown University*
Johns Hopkins University* (2)
University of Maryland, College Park Honors College* (2)
New York University
Lehigh University*
Rutgers University
Virginia Tech
UMBC (2)
Penn State
NC State
Williams College
Amherst College

Howard University
Delaware State University
North Carolina A&T State University
University of Southern California
Howard University
Goucher College
Emerson College
The New School
Washington and Jefferson College
Wagner College
Lincoln College

Who we are

SmartyScholars is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to cultivating a meritocratic society by identifying bright but disadvantaged students and investing in their prospects for success. Started by Streamline Tutors, a test-prep company in Baltimore, the SmartyScholars team is made up of education professionals with proven outcomes. Our tutoring methods and our skill-based test prep software reliably deliver 190+ points of improvement on the SAT and 5+ points of improvement on the ACT. We are dedicated to making transformative instruction available to as many students as possible.

What we do

Click a headline below to read more about the work we do

SmartyScholars Scholarship

Students with strong GPAs, high intellectual aptitude, and demonstrated need can apply for the SmartyScholars Scholarship. Scholarship recipients will receive 5-months of intensive 1-on-1 tutoring with a test prep specialist, a $2,500 value, at zero cost to their families.
If you’d like to apply for the scholarship, please fill out the application here.

School Partnership

The school partnership is intended for schools that have 50% or more students on free or reduced price school meals.

Internship Program

The SmartyScholars internship is a 10-week summer program. Twenty Scholars from each of our partner schools attend the internship twice a week, where they receive one-on-one tutoring hours and skill-building sessions on SmartyPrep, our gamified test prep software.

SmartyPrep Challenges

All students at partnership schools have access to the SmartyPrep app, which provides a holistic path towards reading, grammar, and math mastery. Teachers at partner schools have access to SmartyPrep and are able to leverage the technology during class or in after school programs. Weekly SmartyPrep challenges run school-wide, which motivate student participation with gift cards. Scholars who complete the internship program act as peer tutors for the rest of the student body during Challenges.

Primer Course

The school partnership also includes “primer courses,” which provide 50+ students 5 hours of test tips and instruction in a classroom setting the week before an official exam. Primer courses have consistently produced a 50+ point lift on the SAT after 5 hours of instruction.
If you are interested in becoming a partner school, please fill out the this form and we will reach out shortly.

Stats and Outcomes

Number of Scholars we’ve worked with: 15
Average score increase: 190+ points on the SAT, 5+ points on the ACT
Colleges our Scholars have gained admission to: Georgetown, University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins
Scholarship money received by Scholars: $10,000