Partners in College Success

What it reported doing in 2024

PiCS COLLEGE supports student population from college access to degree completion and first jobs. Support includes financial, academic, professional, and personal education. PiCS College is our success program. A student's need for support doesn't end with college commitment. Once admitted to college, first-generation, low income (FGLI) students face a number of factors that threaten their ability to remain in school - such as food insecurity, the need to take on full- or part-time work, academic failure, and doubts of belonging. Furthermore, selecting majors and career tracks are extremely difficult without professional role models in their lives. Because many students are reluctant to ask, we employ proactive support to assist in solving academic, financial, and personal issues so students can persist to degree completion. We hold professional mentorship through annual events, 1v1 help with resumes, cover letters, and interviewing, and together develop plans to secure paid internships and ultimately career employment upon graduation. All efforts help ensure that students graduate from college career-ready. Currently, a team of 45 mentors support 140 students throughout their college years through four industry-specific career groups: Health Science, Tech, Business, and Education/Social Service. 95% of the students attend universities in Southern California. Since they will reside permanently with their immigrant families who live in San Diego, it is critical that we ensure that these students complete their degree, and secure stable career employment. After high school graduation rising, college freshmen participate in our Freshman Success camp and receive a trusted mentor who provides proactive support. We hold virtual sessions during the school year, reunion events at every school break, mock interviews, networking mixers, and connect students to professional mentorship and internship opportunities, particularly in STEM fields. Securing continued funding for college is also prioritized. All efforts help ensure that students graduate from college career-ready. Signature annual events include: the Career Summit Series over winter break, LinkedIn and Job Hunt workshops at three different spring breaks, and our Summer Reunion in July. College doesn't teach kids how to get jobs, or the personal finance literacy to navigate to financial independence. FGLI students are particularly vulnerable, no one guides them in job search and financial wisdom. We integrate professional development and financial literacy into all levels of programming. PiCS College provides on-site corporate experiences, resume and cover letter creation, practice interview sessions, LinkedIn profile building expertise, networking skills, job and internship search workshops, ultimately landing career employment. Nationwide, billions are spent every year educating FGLI students about college and exposing them to STEM curriculum. As a country we've made great progress, as this population is applying to college in record numbers. However, the statistics rarely mentioned are the alarmingly high drop-out rates from both college and STEM majors. Fewer than one in ten FGLI students graduate within 6 years, the standard used for degree completion. Furthermore, as high as 70% of FGLI students who start college with a STEM major switch out of the sciences, or drop out of college altogether. The number one population most at-risk to drop out of college are FGLI who start out as a STEM majors. This is a trend is known as "the leaky STEM pipeline." In contrast, over the last 6 years PiCS College has graduated 91% of its college students, nearly 70% with degrees in science. Working with the FGLI in East County over the last 8 years, we have learned that the three things needed for a FGLI student's success are: information, role models and guidance. PiCS provides all three.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
• Program expense ratio: 97.2%; rating input score 97

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -7.4%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.59; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 14.6% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 0% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 34th percentile among comparable filings