UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON DREAM PROJECT

                                                                                       

What is the Dream Project?

The Dream Project is a student-initiated high school outreach program that operates as a University of Washington course, partnering UW students with first-generation and low-income high school students to help them achieve the dream of attending college. The program's dual-focus approach strives not only to help these high school students, but also to teach UW students about important social issues through a unique, hands-on experience. Learn more about the Dream Project

May 1, 2008

Dream Project presents second annual "Live the Dream" scholarships

On Thursday, May 1st, 2008 the Dream Project awarded its 2nd annual “Live the Dream” Scholarships to nine Dream Project participants who will be attending the University of Washington in the fall. Regent Connie Proctor, and King County Councilmember Larry Gossett were among the community leaders in attendance. The evening followed the theme of “Our Inherited Dream” to honor those who had come before us, and to celebrate those who will lead in the years to come. The highlight of the night was the presentation of our nine scholarships as well as a plaque for each high school to commemorate the awardees. Two students shared their stories with the audience and one of our high school counselors shared her perspective. It was a night of emotion and great pride for our wonderful students. Congratulations to our scholarship winners!

January 21, 2008

Restoring salmon habitat on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

Members of the Dream Team made the MLK Day holiday a "day on" instead of a day off by helping to restore salmon habitat along the Cedar River. Over 35 volunteers planted 400 trees on a restoration site alongside the river. A King County ecologist was on hand to teach the Dream Project members about the importance of our restoration efforts, and everyone had a lot of fun getting a little dirty. Click on the picture at right for more.

January 14 – 16, 2008

Dream Project FAFSA Nights at high schools

The Dream Project hosted multiple "FAFSA Night" financial aid workshops at each of our six high schools during the second week of January. Dream Scholars who attended received the help of Kay Lewis, the Director of the Office of Student Financial Aid at the UW, other Financial Aid Advisors, and Dream Team Members. Nearly fifty students and their parents attended, most of whom walked out of the workshops with submitted FAFSA forms and a newly found confidence in being able to pay for college! In addition, the workshops gave parents a great opportunity to learn more about the financial aid process and work with their children to get all of their questions answered.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Dream Project and GMSA host first Scholarship Workshop Weekend

The Dream Project partnered with the Gates Millennium Scholars Association of UW to host the first annual Scholarship Weekend on January 5th, 2008, at the University of Washington campus. Thirty-five students from 12 different Seattle-area high schools attended, making this workshop a great success. Sam Lim, the Dream Project's foremost "scholarship guru," provided an in-depth presentation about how to find and apply for the best scholarships, and a computer lab in Mary Gates Hall was open for the students to work on applications with mentors and writing tutors from both the Dream Team and the GMSA. Over the course of the workshop, the diverse group of students who attended made considerable progress on scholarship essays and applications.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Dream Project featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education

The Chronicle of Higher Education, the major source of news for academia, featured the Dream Project in the December 14th issue of its weekly magazine. To read the article, please visit the Chronicle website:

Saturday and Sunday, November 3 and 4, 2007

Second Admissions Workshop Weekend a huge success

During the first weekend of November, over 100 high school seniors came to the UW to work on college applications and to research scholarships. The high schoolers worked with more than 40 UW Dream Project students and a dozen graduate writing tutors to brainstorm, write, and edit their personal statements. With many colleges and universities turning to a "holistic review" style of admissions, students are able to tell more about themselves and show who they are as individuals, beyond grades and test scores. One-on-one attention allowed the high schoolers to confidently put their best foot forward with their all applications. Many of the students attended both days and walked away with completed applications and personal statements.

To read more about the University of Washington's freshman review process, see the Admissions website: http://admit.washington.edu/Requirements/Freshman/Review.

Past News about the Dream Project...