ScholarShot, Inc.

ScholarShot supports first-generation students in achieving career-ready certificates or degrees to strengthen the Texas workforce and improve institutional outcomes. 

Data from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) shows statewide that fewer than half (48%) of graduating high school students attempt any postsecondary credential and less than a quarter (22%) succeed. In today’s economy, some post-secondary credential is needed to reach a sustainable, non-poverty wage and 70% of today’s jobs require some postsecondary credential.

ScholarShot's research shows that we must do a better job in helping these students exit generational poverty with career-ready degrees to maximize their potential and build our much-needed Texas workforce.

ScholarShot was founded in 2009 by a group of concerned business professionals, educators, and community volunteers who noticed that many well-intentioned college advisement and "access" programs were failing at-risk students.

In 2010, we enrolled our first cohort of five students in our primary Scholar program. Over time, we refined our approach, and since 2016, we have enrolled approximately 50 new Scholars each year, graduating 35-40 annually. To date, we have graduated a total of 202 first-generation Scholars, who have entered the workforce with starting salaries ranging from $45,000 to $65,000.

We have used the data gathered from the Scholar program to develop best practices, which we share with colleges and universities through our University Report Card. Published annually since 2020, the Report Card evaluates and challenges how universities engage and support first-generation, low-income students. The evaluation criteria include Student Outcomes, Community Supports, Academic Engagement, Financial Management, and Intervention.

Every spring, ScholarShot meets with hundreds of North Texas high school seniors who are often unaware of the financial and academic challenges they will face at the universities they have been advised to attend.

In 2022, we launched the GapApp, a free mobile tool that helps Texas students find their best options after high school. Students without post-graduation plans are referred to three local community colleges where they can earn at least a vocational certificate. Students planning to attend college are shown their best school matches based on their financial and academic profiles.

To better prepare high school students, we have also introduced "Mapping Your Future," a comprehensive curriculum designed by education experts. This curriculum combines college and career exploration with financial literacy to help students gain a clearer understanding of their paths after high school.