Hmong College Prep Academy was recently approved by The Posse Foundation to be a member of the nonprofit’s prestigious Posse Program High School Network.

Located in New York, the Posse Foundation is a national organization that prepares a group of talented students to be future leaders. The Foundation also partners with 67 of the country’s top colleges, including University of Notre Dame, Northwestern University and Dartmouth College, to provide full-tuition scholarships, mentoring and other support to students who complete their training.

Minnesota-based Macalester College was recently selected as the first member of the newly launched Posse Program Twin Cities Chapter. Carlton College and St. Olaf College are also national program members.

“We are thrilled HCPA has been selected as a designated student nominator for the Posse Program,” stated HCPA College and Scholarship Manager Toni Marie O’Daniel. “Being accepted allows us to nominate five to ten seniors to apply to the program. Once nominated, each student goes through a rigorous evaluation process designed to identify young leaders who might be missed by traditional admission procedures. Foundation staff and administrators from partnering colleges and universities then select a group of 10 students for each institution.”

O’Daniel further described the Posse Foundation’s college acceptance process, “If the student makes it to the final round and is selected by a participating Minnesota college, for example Macalester, they would then be able to attend tuition free. If a student makes it to the final round and is not picked by a local college, the other 66 schools can then recruit that student to their school.”

The Posse Program has a very strong track record of academic success. Historically, 96% of students who complete the program go on to graduate. O’Daniel feels HCPA’s college prep curriculum provides its students with the background needed to succeed in life after high school.

“One of the things that HCPA focuses on in the junior year is an extensive interview curriculum where our students learn how to interview for jobs, summer programs, college and scholarships. This curriculum culminates with all juniors competing against each other, with the top students being interviewed by administration in front of the entire upper school. I feel this curriculum gives our students the experience needed to succeed in the Posse Program’s application process since it heavily focuses on leadership and interview skills. HCPA students have GRIT and perseverance which shows greatly in their college applications. In addition, the school’s diversity and Twin Cities location make our school the right fit for the program.”

Hmong College Prep Academy is located at 1515 Brewster Street in St. Paul, southeast of the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. For more information about the school, interested parties can call 651-209-8002 or online at www.hcpak12.org. The school is enrolling students for the 2021-2022 school year. Space is extremely limited.