{"id":1808,"date":"2025-04-04T15:38:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T20:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/m-cubed\/?p=1808"},"modified":"2025-04-30T11:07:13","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T16:07:13","slug":"the-smart-way-to-start-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/m-cubed\/news\/the-smart-way-to-start-college\/","title":{"rendered":"The Smart Way to Start College"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Locating classrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding the cafeteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calculating travel times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meeting new friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Milwaukee Public Schools seniors heading to college, doing these things on campus sooner rather than later can enhance and improve their education experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MPS students planning to attend Milwaukee Area Technical College<\/strong><\/a> or the University of Wisconsin\u2013Milwaukee<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>can connect with their new colleges before starting fall classes in an orientation program called Smart Start. The program is an initiative of the M-Cubed partnership<\/strong><\/a> among MPS, MATC, and 51ÁÔÆæ, which helps clear pathways for students moving on to higher education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work starts while students are still in high school with application and registration support. Smart Start students work with a success coach who prepares them for a smooth first day of school and helps them build beneficial life and study habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Success coaches maintain a relationship with Smart Start students throughout the first semester to ensure students feel comfortable on campus and persist to their second semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students can participate in summer and fall semesters. By completing a series of activities, they can be eligible to earn up to $500 in scholarships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smart Start, now in its third year, is working. At 51ÁÔÆæ, the retention rate from Fall 2024 to Spring 2025 was 91.3% for Smart Start students, compared to 79.9% for all MPS students. At MATC, 65.6% of Smart Start students stayed in school, compared to 58% for all MPS students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, the number of MPS graduates participating in Smart Start has significantly increased. In Summer 2024, 581 MPS graduates engaged in the program, with 298 (188 at MATC and 110 at 51ÁÔÆæ) completing the requirements to earn scholarships. In Summer 2023, 190 students participated in the program\u201497 at MATC and 93 at 51ÁÔÆæ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MPS, MATC, and 51ÁÔÆæ faculty, staff, and parents should encourage 2025 MPS graduates considering MATC or 51ÁÔÆæ next fall to sign up for Smart Start<\/strong><\/a>. Students who register will receive follow-up from MATC and 51ÁÔÆæ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out more about Smart Start at<\/em><\/strong> https:\/\/uwm.edu\/m-cubed\/programs\/smartstart\/ <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Locating classrooms. Finding the cafeteria. Calculating travel times. Meeting new friends. For Milwaukee Public Schools seniors heading to college, doing these things on campus sooner rather than later can enhance and improve their education experience. MPS students planning to attend Milwaukee Area Technical College or the University of Wisconsin\u2013Milwaukee can connect with their new colleges<\/p>\nRead more<\/a>","protected":false},"author":33600,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Smart Way to Start College - M cubed - MATC, 51ÁÔÆæ, MPS Collaboration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/m-cubed\/news\/the-smart-way-to-start-college\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Smart Way to Start College\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Locating classrooms. Finding the cafeteria. Calculating travel times. Meeting new friends. For Milwaukee Public Schools seniors heading to college, doing these things on campus sooner rather than later can enhance and improve their education experience. 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