Program Overview
Helping students develop academic and life skills to enroll and succeed in college.
Breakthrough Atlanta provides a six-year, tuition-free, year-round program that provides a pathway to college for Atlanta’s middle and high school students. Our goals are to ensure our students are academically on track for high school and college, and develop the critical thinking skills and maturity to make wise choices about school and life.
HIGH SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAM
For Rising Seventh through Ninth Grade Students*
Students begin with Breakthrough during the summer before their 7th grade year. For three summers, students attend Breakthrough’s fun and challenging six-week Summer Program, which includes:
- English Language Arts, math, science and social studies classes to help students where they may be struggling, and to preview content for the upcoming school year
- Creative electives in areas such as photography, coding, public speaking, sports and more
During the school year, students attend Super Saturdays where they:
- Explore the non-academic skills they’ll need to achieve their college and career goals through interactive activities and field trip
- Examples of Super Saturday sessions include: personality and learning styles, personal values, goal setting, study habits, and more
The application period is now closed for the program starting in summer 2025. Students going into 7th, 8th, and 9th grades during the 2026-2027 school year are encouraged to check back in November 2025 when the new application cycle opens!
COLLEGE PREP PROGRAM
For Ninth through Twelfth Grade Students*
Breakthrough’s College Prep Program supports students and parents navigating the path to college. Our programming consists of:
- Small-group workshops with college recruiters from across the country
- Access to college fairs
- Financial aid counseling
- Discounted SAT/ACT test prep courses
- Individual college counseling
- Weekly scholarship opportunity bulletins
- Pre-college (summer) experiences
We do this with a goal of matching students with the right colleges for them and with enough scholarships and grants (versus loans) to get them to and through college.
*Prospective students may only apply to Breakthrough during their sixth, seventh, and eighth grade years. Students may transfer from other Breakthrough programs to Atlanta’s program. The student application period typically opens late Fall and runs through early Spring.
