Creative Commons License

A Hartford Public High School graduate wears a blue cap and gown and greets a professor at their graduation ceremony in Hartford on June 12, 2025. Credit: Pedro Zayas / Hartford Public Schools

This article is part of CT Mirror’s Spanish-language news coverage developed in partnership with Identidad Latina Multimedia.

Lea este artículo en español.

This story has been updated.

When no one in your family has gone to college, applying to a higher education institution and choosing a career can feel confusing and intimidating. 

Some students also struggle with additional barriers, like those that come from low-income families and might not know how they’ll pay for going to college or university. In Hartford, for example, 76% of students are from low-income families, according to data from the School and State Finance Project.

But many places, including Hartford, have mentors, programs and organizations dedicated to helping high school students navigate the path toward becoming first-generation college students.

Here are some of the resources students can talk to their school guidance counselors about or reach out to directly for more information.

Are there resources targeted to first-generation students?

Some national resources exist for first-generation students across the U.S. These include:

  • Rise First has an online platform with a curated resource center for first generation students. It has a specific directory for Connecticut first gen students.

Other national resources include The Dream.US, which is targeted at DREAMers, but offers some scholarships specifically geared toward helping first-generation DREAMers. The Dream.US offers scholarship opportunities based on the state you live in, a guide to apply to them and a list of partner colleges.

What about resources closer to home?

Hartford has a strong network of organizations that support high school students in every step, from financial college access to career mentorship to parental guides and more.

Hartford Promise is a college scholarship and mentoring program for Hartford Public School students. There are a couple of requirements, such as maintaining a certain GPA and school attendance, to become a Promise Scholar and be eligible for scholarships. Every new Hartford Promise Scholar is now eligible for up to $100,000 over four years toward any accredited four-year college. Hartford Promise also has a list of colleges that provide a scholarship match to Promise Scholars who are admitted to their school.

Hartford Public School’s College and Career Readiness Programs offer a range of resources, including a list of school counselors, essay writing tips, financial aid resources and more.

For Hartford youth starting their college preparedness plans before middle school, Hartford Youth Scholars offers support from middle school through the college years for youth. To apply, the student first needs to be nominated by a teacher, mentor, parent/guardian or through self-nomination.

The Legacy Foundation of Hartford provides an academic enhancement program for students and families who enroll in their Legacy Saturday Academy. It offers academic support and college coaching to the admitted scholars at University of Hartford campus. There is no GPA requirement nor cost to enroll.

ECMC, which has an office in Hartford, works to lower student loan default rates, sponsor college access and success initiatives, and financial literacy programs. You can set Zoom and phone appointments to discuss any college or financial aid-related questions or concerns, including FAFSA assistance. Students can register to receive personalized emails and texts. 

ReadyCT designs and delivers work-based learning experiences in line with career opportunities across the state like work-site tours, resume reviews and paid internships. Hartford students can apply to Student 5.0, a free mentorship career launch program for high school graduates.

There are also resources available for parents as well. Hartford Parent University offers learning sessions where parents can learn how to support their child’s college readiness.

And the state of Connecticut’s higher education website shares general programs and resources to help students pick a school, pay for it and more.

Is there specific support for immigrant families?

CT Students for a Dream supports families with mixed immigration statuses. They have junior and senior high school calendar plans to get to college, a list of private colleges that accept undocumented students as domestic students and not international students, contact information for the college access program coordinator, a parent guide to understand the college process in Spanish, and a video on how to apply to FAFSA and Common App for Undocumented Students. The organization accompanies students to financial aid office meetings in case there are questions about tax filings or parental immigration status.

Make the Road, an immigrant advocacy organization, hosts biweekly virtual parent meetings, where they discuss education campaigns and explain educational systems including the path to college.

ECMC has a guide in English and in Spanish of resources to help get through the process of accessing and succeeding in college as an undocumented student among other guides.

Do any colleges offer pre-college programs? 

University of Connecticut offers college access programs such as the Collegiate Awareness Preparation program and the Upward Bound Program. They prepare Connecticut students from underserved communities in grades 9-12 and at the post-secondary level with tutoring, mentoring, financial advising, and even mental and physical health activities. UConn also is home to the First Gen Families portal as a landing point for first-generation students.

And UConn’s Early College Experience is an enrollment program that allows high school students to take UConn courses at their high schools for both high school and college credit. 

Connecticut State Community Colleges, including the Hartford campus, have the Early College and Dual Enrollment program, which allows high school students to take classes online, or even at their own high school. Credits earned may count towards both the high school diploma and college degree.

Trinity College has the HMTCA-Trinity Partnership. This is an early college experience that partners Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy with Trinity College. HMTCA is an interdistrict magnet school. From its start in 2011, the partnership created opportunities for students and faculty at Trinity and the academy to build connections through Trinity mentors, summer writing programs and opportunities to take college courses.

Mariana Navarrete Villegas is a Community Engagement Reporter for The Connecticut Mirror, covering Hartford. She recently graduated from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism with a master’s degree in Bilingual Journalism. Previously, she was the Community Engagement and Video Assistant at Epicenter-NYC and a Podcast Intern at The Take, Al Jazeera English’s daily news podcast. As a reporter, she has covered stories from New York to Florida, California, Panama, and Mexico, focusing on labor rights, immigration, and community care. She also hosts 'La Chismesita,' a community radio show in New York that archives oral histories through conversations with women community leaders. Originally from Mexico, Mariana spent her teenage years in Panama. She holds a B.A. in Global Studies with a minor in Psychology from Saint Leo University, where she interned at the International Rescue Committee.