Education First

Mission

Education First is dedicated to providing need-based college scholarships and coaching to exceptional seniors attending high schools with historically low percentages of college applicants. Instead of focusing on students who have been high achieving throughout high school, we look for a combination of strength of character, a commitment to learning, and a vision for their future. Our aim is to invest in individuals who will positively affect their communities.

Description

Founded in 1995, Education First provides college scholarships and coaching to students who are often the first in their families to go to college. We are unique in that we don't target the students with the top GPAs. Other scholarships do that. Rather, we purposely select students in the "academic middle" who have the skills to be successful in college but may not have a perfect report card. In Seattle, we partner with Chief Sealth, Cleveland, and Rainier Beach high schools.

We are an entirely volunteer run organization, so every dollar donated directly goes to fund the scholarships. This year we were able to raise our scholarship amount by 10% to $5,500 per student and we hope to continue that in the future.