4-H Youth Futures—College Within Reach

4-H Youth Futures-College Within Reach is an innovative program that promotes college as an obtainable goal for high school-age youths who are not typically encouraged to attend college such as "first in family" and racial/ethnic minority students. The program is a collaborative effort of state, regional, and county Extension faculty and staff from the state's 1862 and 1890 land-grant universities. Drawing from research on best practices, Youth Futures includes intensive mentoring, college orientation, and student progress follow-up. Program evaluations suggest that Youth Futures is effective in encouraging underserved students to enroll in and persist in college.