(PASSAIC, NJ) -- More Than Bootstraps (MTB), a New Jersey non-profit dedicated to helping low-income, first-generation students access and succeed in higher education, has announced a new partnership with Embrace Tutoring and Education Services.

More Than Bootstraps was selected for this partnership based on its success in addressing the challenges first-generation, low-income students face in getting to and succeeding in higher education. MTB’s partner district, the Passaic Public Schools, serves students underrepresented in higher education: low-income, Latinx, and first-generation.

Unlike many college access programs, MTB does not focus on test preparation or academic support. The educators who founded MTB know that academic issues are not the primary barrier first-generation students face in accessing or succeeding in higher education. Instead, MTB prioritizes self-efficacy and holistic support. Led by their college student mentors, MTB High School Fellows follow a curriculum that focuses on education about higher education and financial aid, communication with families, holistic student development, and the promotion of student well-being and agency.

However, with the announcement that Yale University has joined Dartmouth College, MIT, and Georgetown in requiring standardized test scores, MTB announces a new partnership with Embrace, offering MTB students access to free diagnostic tests and test support.

“We are excited to give back by working together with More Than Bootstraps in this endeavor. As a first-generation student myself, it is especially meaningful and gratifying and we look forward to seeing many students achieve academic success,“ said Anthony Weinkopff, founder of Embrace.

“We continue to believe that test preparation is not the best use of limited time and energy for many ambitious, prospective first-generation college students,” said Audrey Fisch, president of More Than Bootstraps. “However, we are enormously grateful to Embrace for both offering their resources to those of our students who wish to access test preparation and donating to our organization.”

Grants and donations to More Than Bootstraps fund the monthly stipends that allow the high school and college students in the program some time and space to devote to their professional development and college-going activities while still meeting their financial responsibilities. Interested donors are invited to visit the MTB website.

More Than Bootstraps is a nonprofit created by educators seeking to level the playing field and remove some of the substantial barriers that first-generation college students encounter in accessing and succeeding in higher education. More Than Bootstraps employs a near-peer mentoring model to create a community of success. College students from the community return to guide their younger peers in the community through the college search, application, and assimilation process. These leaders, working as a mentoring cohort, in turn strengthen their own college-going identities and improve their own chances of success in higher education.

Students are selected based on their desire to attend college and their commitment to the program rather than grade point average or test scores. All students in the MTB program receive stipends, laptop computers, and access to emergency resources to help them with the many non-tuition expenses of higher education.