Access College Foundation

Founded in 1988 by Frank Batten and Joshua P. Darden, Jr., the Access College Foundation helps high school students in South Hampton Roads fulfill their dreams of going to college. Access Advisors work in each of the region’s public high schools to encourage and guide students and their parents through the maze of paperwork and deadlines to pay for college.

The Access College Foundation is committed to the betterment of our students and to providing them with the tools necessary to be successful in their educational endeavors. In order to promote the excellence of the education of our youth, we use a three-pronged approach: 

• Our Early College Awareness Program gives students a head start by providing public middle school students from low-income families the tools and information necessary to begin their journey earlier toward higher education.
• Our on-site advisors in each of the 29 South Hampton Roads public high schools help guide students through the complicated pipeline of college applications and financial aid toward the goal of college enrollment and success. 
• Our Access College Success Program extends the Access program’s advisory services to Access Scholars attending the universities where there are the most concentrated number of Access students, including: Norfolk State University, Old Dominion University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia State University and Virginia Wesleyan College.

Since its inception, Access has assisted over 35,000 students and their families in taking college entrance examinations, submitting applications for admission, applying for financial aid and scholarship opportunities and enrolling in college.  In the process, over $270 million in financial aid and scholarships from federal, state, college and private sources has been amassed for these students and over $5 million has been distributed to students through the Access Last Dollar Scholarships.  These scholarships cover the cost of college not funded through financial aid packages.  For every dollar spent on advisory services, our advisors leverage more than $17 in financial aid and scholarships for our students.

For more information about the ACCESS College Foundation, please call (757) 962-6113 or visit www.accesscollege.org.