SEO Scholars North Carolina
Everything you need to get to and through college.
Our History
What began in 1963 as a small New York City mentoring program is now a free, rigorous, eight-year academic program for motivated public high school students to get to and through college in North Carolina.
In 2022, SEO Scholars partnered with shift_ed in Guildford County to expand to North Carolina students and since then, our reach has expanded to neighboring communities. SEO Scholars North Carolina advances our mission of closing academic and early career opportunity gaps by providing motivated public high school students with a challenging and engaging hybrid, supplemental academic program.
How it works
SEO Scholars North Carolina is a hybrid program with online learning that includes both live and self-paced instruction in the areas of ELA, math, and more. In-person community days throughout the year and Friday Academies in the summer give students the opportunity to build face-to-face connections with their peers and instructors.
By providing students with online year-round supplemental academic classes, mentorship, experiential learning opportunities, and career exposure during high school, we help Scholars gain admissions to, and graduate from, a competitive four-year college, earning a Bachelor’s degree. While in college, our North Carolina Scholars also receive support and services to help them with the transition to and through college.
“This summer, I’ll be joining Trillium Trading as a Knowledge Base Intern, contributing to projects that enhance corporate content and professional development. Practice interviews with my SEO mentors and support from my school’s career center were instrumental in helping me secure this opportunity.”
Gertrude Appiah-Ackah SEO Scholars ‘24, Williams College, Economics
“SEO’s help in networking with my peers and connecting with professors and advisors made all the difference in landing my internship. I’m thrilled that this summer I’ll be working at the Mayo Clinic as a Student Nurse Intern, working with nurse preceptors in the emergency department!”
Jennifer Tsang SEO Scholars ‘22, St. Olaf College, Nursing
“When I first came across the FIELD Fellowship, I thought there was no way I’d be one of only twelve chosen. But SEO taught me not to be afraid of ambitious opportunities, and now I’m excited to prove what’s possible when you take that leap.”
Anthony Buchfuhrer SEO Scholars ‘23, University of Chicago, Environment, Geography, and Urbanization
It won’t be easy,
but it will be worth it
Starting in the ninth grade, you’ll take classes online after school, a few times in-person through community days and over the summer. It’s a big commitment, but ask any Scholar — the hard work pays off when you’re admitted to a top college or university, usually with a significant scholarship.
What you get
You’ll dive right into our comprehensive curriculum, mentorship, and individualized guidance designed to ensure you’re admitted to a competitive college — and have the best experience there.
After-school instruction and tutoring
Weekly after school programming that includes tutoring support, community building, and learning.
Saturday Academy
SEO Scholars will meet in person several Saturdays and on campus with their SEO student advisors and their cohort for a full day of community-building.
Summer Academy
Our five-week hybrid summer academy features classes Monday through Friday. One week in the summer will feature an in-person community-building program with the SEO student advisors.
SAT strategy course
Saturday Academy continues through 11th grade, concluding in an SAT strategy course in the spring.
Mentoring
You’ll work one-on-one with highly-skilled volunteer mentors throughout the 11th grade. Interested in becoming a mentor to a SEO Scholar? Visit our Mentor page
Summer Enrichment Programs (EPs)
During the summer before 12th grade, you’ll participate in EPs that promote leadership and independence — including travel abroad, experiential programs, college courses, and professional internships.
College applications and financial aid
With the guidance of our college admissions team, you’ll visit campuses, meet with admissions officers, and receive personalized essay writing assistance. You’ll also get one-on-one counseling and support in applying for scholarships and financial aid so you can attend the best school you’re accepted to, regardless of family income level.
To learn more about the high school Scholars curriculum, check out our Curriculum page.
SEO College Scholars
Highly trained College Persistence Advisors (CPAs) provide you with meaningful support throughout your college career. The impact is powerful, with an 85% college graduation rate.
Learn more about the College portion
Qualifications
Students must:
• Be in the ninth grade
• Submit an official report card
• Include three written responses to writing prompts
• Submit a teacher recommendation
• Show proof of income
Join our mailing list
Meet our Team
The Rise Fund, TPG
Frequently Asked Questions
Looking for more information? Check out our FAQ for deeper answers to the most common questions.
SEO Scholars visits high schools across the city in the fall. Email nycadmissions@seo-usa.org to find out when we’ll be visiting your school. You can also check in with your guidance counselor to find out if there are any presentations scheduled or older Scholars at your school you can speak with.
At SEO, there’s no one way to be a Scholar — it looks different for every individual, and we value the unique perspective each Scholar brings to our community. Our Scholars share a love of learning, they have big goals for themselves, and they know that the kind of success they strive for means committing to their future starting in ninth grade.
Nearly 80% of students in remedial courses in college had a high school GPA of ‘B’ or higher, according to Strong American Schools’ report, Diploma to Nowhere. This means that even the higher-performing public school students aren’t nearly as prepared as their counterparts in more affluent school districts for college. SEO Scholars concentrates on providing the academic enrichment that urban public school students need to be admitted to and graduate from competitive universities.
SEO Scholars is a free program! Everything we provide to our Scholars is free, including but not limited to academic classes, SAT prep, field trips, guest speaker sessions, Enrichment Programs (pre-college, study abroad, or internship), and more.
We’d love to connect with your school or community organization! To have SEO do an information presentation, have a team member from your school or community organization please email Rafael at rafael@shift-ed.org or call us at (336) 814-2233.
We concentrate on English Language Arts (Grammar, Critical Reading and Critical Writing) and Math. In the spring of junior year, all students attend free SAT Prep classes given by highly trained SAT prep instructors.
SEO Scholars recognize that success in college means preparing in high school. As a North Carolina SEO Scholar, you can expect the following schedule:
- After-school instruction: Most weeks of the month, Scholars will work online on their own after school.
- Online Saturday Academy: On three to four Saturdays per month during the academic year, Scholars will have a live online learning experience.
- Online Summer Academy: Our five-week hybrid summer academy features classes Monday through Friday. One week in the summer will feature an in-person community-building program with the SEO student advisors.
Scholars experience the most academic growth in the summers and return to school primed for the next grade. Since learning can slow during the summer, our program ensures you retain and grow your knowledge for the next school year. Summer is also a crucial time for building relationships with fellow Scholars and SEO team members, and provides meaningful college and career exposure opportunities as well.
Students can expect to complete an average of 10 hours of online supplemental learning per week.
- Bichronous: A fully online academic learning program that contains asynchronous and synchronous components.
- Asynchronous: learning that allows students to view instructional materials each week at any time they choose and does not include a live video lecture.
- Synchronous: Learning where students are required to log in and participate in an online class at a specific time each week with SEO instructors.
North Carolina Scholars experience afterschool learning online on weekdays and out-of-school learning on Saturdays and during the summer. All students participate in in-person community days throughout the year and a five-week online Summer Academy, which includes five days of in-person summer activities. Some of the colleges that host include: High Point University, Guilford College, Greensboro College, UNC- Greensboro, North Carolina A&T.
North Carolina applications open September 1 and close on December 8. As our application requires a teacher recommendation and financial documents, make sure to leave yourself plenty of time.
There is only one entry point into our program – ninth grade. Applications open in the fall of ninth grade year and our program and classes start in the Spring of ninth grade.
Financial eligibility is assessed on a case by case basis. While financials are evaluated alongside all parts of each students’ application, SEO Scholars have an average income of $40,000.
To apply to SEO Scholars you must submit an online application that includes:
- Parent/family information
- Three short, written responses
- Most recent ninth-grade report card or eighth grade transcript
- Family income information
We look for driven and eager students who are willing to put in the extra time and effort to succeed academically. In addition, we know that a college education can have the greatest long-term impact on lower income families. Therefore, we do not make admissions decisions based solely on income, but we do consider this factor in our deliberation process.
SEO Scholars is NOT a college access program, it’s a college success program. SEO Scholars MUST commit to the full eight years which includes high school and college participation. SEO Scholars differs from other programs in two major ways:
- In high school
- We provide an engaging and challenging college preparatory curriculum in addition to an array of other services, including SAT prep, college trips, college admissions advising, and scholarship and financial aid services. This academic programming makes a huge difference to our Scholars’ success on the SAT and in college admissions. Our Scholars also enter college ready to succeed.
- In college
- Scholars receive 1:1 ongoing support from a College Persistence Advisor through college graduation. This includes support with college adjustment, academic advising, and career advising, internships, etc. Career readiness workshops are provided during college vacations.
- Our outcomes demonstrate the success of this approach. 100% of SEO Scholars are admitted to college and 85% of SEO Scholars graduate, a rate higher than the national average for all college students (~60%) and dramatically higher than the average for students from similar backgrounds (20%).
No. We’re committed to getting students academically prepared for college, which makes them more likely to earn admission to competitive schools and to earn financial awards like scholarships and grants. The SEO Scholars program assists students in navigating the college admissions, scholarship, and financial aid processes with the goal that they’ll attend a good college without incurring large debts. In the end, however, the student’s effort and commitment is what will determine their admission to colleges as well as their scholarships and/or financial aid packages.
Highly-trained College Persistence Advisors (CPAs) — masters-level educated with a background in either social work or education — provide you with meaningful support throughout your college career. The impact is powerful, with an 85% college graduation rate.
