When underprivileged high school students are tutored by Cornell students in the Let's Get Ready Program, their scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) jump by an average of 180 points, which can dramatically improve the quality of the colleges they can attend, according to Kenneth Gaye '10, program director of the Cornell branch of the national organization Let's Get Ready!

A child in Ithaca who is not economically disadvantaged has an 87 percent chance of graduating on time from Ithaca High School, according to the program's Web site. A child who is economically disadvantaged, on the other hand, has a 49 percent chance of doing the same. Perhaps even more disturbing, one-third of academically high-achieving students from low-income families never enroll in a four-year college, according to the National Center For Education Statistics.

"The [Let's Get Ready] club aims to adjust the achievement gap that exists within the low-income communities at Ithaca High School and other neighboring high schools," said Gaye, an economics major. That achievement gap occurs not because of lesser abilities, he says, but because disadvantaged students can't afford the tools to help them achieve.

An SAT tutor, for example, can cost up to $60 an hour, which many low-income families cannot afford. Let's Get Ready, however, provides SAT tutors to high school students at no cost.

For eight weeks in the spring semester, the club will provide about 20 student coaches in preparation for the SATs; about half tutor math for three hours on Mondays and half tutor reading comprehension and writing on Wednesdays.

High school students in the program also meet with Cornell admissions staff about college applications and financial aid. Many of the students end up getting admitted to Cornell, says Gaye.

And sometimes, the relationship between the coaches and high school students persists long after the SATs.

"There are teachers who actually become friends with their students, and so they keep in contact with them," said Gaye.

Let's Get Ready! is a program of the Cornell Public Service Center, Ithaca Youth Bureau, the Village at Ithaca and the national Let's Get Ready! organization. High school students are encouraged to apply through the Ithaca Youth Bureau.

Sarah Palmer '10 is a writer intern at the Cornell Chronicle.