College Assistance Migrant Program
CAMP is designed to meet the academic, financial, and social needs of migrant and seasonal farm workers and their children in pursing higher education.
Financial Aid:
The program helps pay for the first 30 credit hours (one year) of undergraduate tuition at the Metropolitan State College of Denver. Other financial assistance includes paying for fees, health insurance and a monthly stipend of $150. Many students receive the Colorado Opportunity Fund, as well as federal grants and scholarships on top of the CAMP scholarship and each semester get anywhere from $500 to $5,000 back from the College. These students effectively get “paid” to go to school. This is an enormous help for many of the CAMP students.
Academic Assistance:
Beyond financial assistance, CAMP helps prospective students in every aspect of the application and admissions process, including completing all the necessary paperwork for Metro’s application and the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) Once students begin classes, the program meets weekly to discuss various topics that will help students succeed during their first year of college. Academic counseling and tutoring are provided by the program as well, and mandatory tutoring is required of students that fall below a minimum GPA during the semester.
Student Development:
CAMP also provides the opportunity to attend events that many of our students would not otherwise have the opportunity to attend. In the past this has included attending Colorado Rapids games, seeing productions such as "In the Heights" and "The Blue Man Group" and going to leadership conferences such as the CAMP Orientation Conference each August and the Leadership Immersion Conference each January. The program addresses the costs associated with these events as they are fundamentally important to the growth and development of our students. Growth at the college level and having the full college experience requires experiences such as these. Furthermore, research shows that the more involved studens are on campus, the higher the retention rate and the faster they graduate. We look at these events as an opportunity to build community with our students.
Social Needs:
Most students, especially the ones that come from distant locations like Grand Junction, Alamosa, Olathe or the San Luis Valley, really benefit from the new CAMP ‘family’ that they form here at Metro. Staff is always available to help the students with any problem they might have, or even just to be there to talk with them and encourage them in their years at Metro.
While the program provides its most intensive assistance during the students’ first year in college, the CAMP staff is available to assist students throughout their college experience.
What additional services does CAMP provide?
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Campus tours
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College orientation
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Housing orientation
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Career development
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Job search assistance
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Educational/Cultural field trips
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Leadership development
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Extracurricular activities: Yearly Student Leadership retreat, plays, movies, conferences and volunteer opportunities. (see pictures!)
If you think you might qualify, please go to the Contact Us form at the left to have us call or email you. For immediate assistance, you can also contact our recruiter, Evelyn Storms-Ruiz at 303-556-5689.
