Temple University has announced a major expansion in educational access for Philadelphia public middle school students, unveiling a pipeline program called Temple Future Scholars that traces its inspiration back to the pioneering Rutgers Future Scholars (RFS) initiative. By connecting low-income, first-generation seventh graders with mentoring, coursework guidance, and scholarship opportunities, Temple aims to replicate RFS’s success in ensuring that academic promise is not derailed by financial barriers.
Central to this model is a monthly Saturday program on Temple’s campus, where undergraduates mentor participants and help them build early connections to higher education. Summer months will feature four weeks of math and literacy instruction, as well as rigorous high school coursework through dual enrollment. Much like Rutgers Future Scholars, Temple Future Scholars emphasizes sustained engagement—students begin in seventh grade and continue to receive support through high school graduation.
Key features mirror the Rutgers approach: wraparound support, close partnerships with local K–12 schools, and guaranteed financial aid via Temple Promise, which covers remaining tuition for qualifying Philadelphia-area students.
Program leaders see this early, continuous intervention as critical to reversing low college-enrollment and retention rates among youth with unmet needs. With an initial cohort of 120 middle schoolers from seven public schools, Temple seeks to scale up to serve 1,200 students annually in grades 7–12—mirroring RFS’s citywide reach. By following Rutgers’ proven model of identifying, nurturing, and retaining academically promising students, Temple Future Scholars is poised to reshape Philadelphia’s educational landscape and pave a clearer path to college success.