About
Matriculate is a national nonprofit, based in New York City, that connects high-achieving high school students from low-income backgrounds with highly trained undergraduate advisors — completely virtually — to help them make the leap to the nation's top colleges. Since 2014, the organization has served more than 20,000 high school students and trained more than 4,700 undergraduate advisors.
Mission
"Matriculate's mission is to empower high-achieving high school students from low-income backgrounds to make the leap to our nation's top colleges."
What they do
Matriculate's model pairs high school students with college students who serve as trained advisors, entirely online:
- High School Fellows: high-achieving juniors and seniors from low-income backgrounds receive roughly 18 months of one-on-one virtual advising, following a 31-step curriculum covering building a college list, financial aid, and enrollment
- Advising Fellows: undergraduates at partner colleges and universities who are trained to provide virtual, near-peer college advising
- University partnerships: Matriculate works with selective universities — including Johns Hopkins, Princeton, Notre Dame, and Stanford as Signature Advising Partners — plus a broader network of partner institutions
The organization emphasizes five core values: a student-centered mindset, team support, diversity, equity and inclusion, continuous learning, and ownership.
Scale and impact
- More than 20,000 high school students served since 2014
- More than 4,700 undergraduate advisors trained
- A randomized controlled trial covering the high school classes of 2018-2020 found that "high-achieving, low- and moderate-income students who are virtually advised by college mentors at similar institutions with small caseloads see substantial improvements in quality of enrollment and matriculation"
- The study also found that if persistence gains translate to bachelor's degree completion, "the Matriculate model would be one of the most cost-effective strategies for improving BA attainment among low-income student populations"
Financials
According to ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, for the fiscal year ending June 2025 Matriculate Inc (EIN 35-2531989) reported total revenue of $1,913,898, total expenses of $6,974,646, and total assets of $9,512,052, with funding coming primarily from contributions and investment income. Matriculate is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose tax exemption was granted in February 2016; donations to the organization are tax deductible.