TeenSHARP, Inc.

Founded in 2009, TeenSHARP is a unique learning community for Black, Latino, and low-income students across the Delaware Valley region that uses top college admissions as a lever to change the landscape of leadership in America. 

Our vision is that, one day, those who occupy our nation's highly-skilled jobs and most influential positions will reflect the rich diversity of the nation itself. In service of that vision, we prepare scholars to attend, thrive at, and graduate (with little or no debt) from top colleges. At these schools, diverse scholars access the social capital, academic rigor, and intellectual development they deserve—and which they can leverage to become community-minded change-makers on the path to fulfilling their highest potential. 

Since 2009, TeenSHARP has grown from serving 10 students in a church basement to hundreds of teens with virtual programs. More than 400 students have graduated from TeenSHARP in 12 years, going on to study at schools such as Yale, MIT, Princeton, Cornell, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, Vanderbilt, Macalester, Pomona, Northeastern, and Swarthmore. The vast majority of TeenSHARP alumni complete college within four years (all do so within six) and graduate, on average, with $15,000 or less in student loan debt. 

We aim to serve another 2,025 students by 2025.