The Penn Competitors

Achievement First is a growing network of non-profit, high-performing, college-preparatory, K to 12 public charter schools in Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island. The mission of Achievement First is to deliver on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all of America's children. We believe that all children, regardless of race or economic status, can succeed if they have access to a great education. Achievement First schools provide all of our students with the academic and character skills they need to graduate from top colleges, to succeed in a competitive world and to serve as the next generation of leaders in our communities.

Bard College is a four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences with a 150-year history of academic excellence. From a 540-acre parklike campus in the Hudson River Valley, the College offers the bachelor of arts degree with concentrations in nearly 50 academic programs in four divisions: Arts; Languages and Literature; Science, Mathematics, and Computing; and Social Studies. Bard also offers dual-degree options, including a five-year B.A./B.S. degree in economics and finance and the undergraduate program at the Bard College Conservatory of Music, in which students earn both a bachelor’s degree in music and a B.A. in another field in the liberal arts or sciences. Over the past 30 years, Bard has broadened its scope beyond undergraduate academics. The College now operates high school programs and graduate programs, and has expanded to encompass a network of regional, national, and global satellites. Bard has built such programs as the Bard Prison Initiative, which grants college degrees to New York State inmates, and the Bard High School Early Colleges, where students earn a high school diploma and an A.A. in four years. Bard’s philosophy sets a standard for both scholarly achievement and engagement in civic and global affairs on campus, while also taking the College's mission to the wider world.

Sarah Lawrence is a coeducational liberal arts college, offering undergraduate as well as graduate degrees. Located just north of New York City on a wooded campus, the College is nationally renowned for its rigorous academic and creative standards. These are fostered by small seminar classes and individual student-faculty tutorials made possible by a very low student-to-faculty ratio of 10-to-1. It is a lively community of students, scholars, and artists offering outstanding programs in the humanities, the natural sciences and mathematics, history and the social sciences, and the creative and performing arts. The College welcomes as students men and women who display evidence of intellectual curiosity and stamina, concern for others, and the potential for personal growth. We are particularly committed to having our faculty, administration and student body reflect the social, racial and economic diversity that characterizes our society. We believe that education is enhanced by a diverse community, by the vitality of an ongoing dialogue among people with different experiences and beliefs.