Editorial shorts: Off to college, thanks to Admission Possible

Last update: August 17, 2008 - 7:30 AM

Admission Possible keeps living up to its name. The college admissions-prep program for low-income high school students just graduated another 566 students from 17 Twin Cities high schools -- 99 percent of whom were admitted to college.

That brings the tally through the program's eight years of existence to 1,741 participants. Almost all of them were admitted to college. Once there, they persisted toward a degree and graduated in nearly identical percentages to their more affluent peers.

Admission Possible isn't cheap, which is why it isn't larger. Funded with private contributions and an AmeriCorps grant, it serves kids often considered "at risk," 95 percent of them students of color, all with family incomes averaging less than $25,000 a year. The program offers after-school classes, four hours per week, to counsel students about college, prepare them for college entrance exams and guide them through the college and financial aid application process.

The cost: about $1,500 per student. Compared with the long-term cost of unfulfilled human potential, however, that's a bargain. Admission Possible ought to grow.

From Beijing to London

This week came a reminder from the Olympics wrestling mats that champions are made, not born. On Wednesday, the Cinderella story of Jake Deitchler, the Anoka High School wrestler who made the U.S. Greco-Roman team, came to an unsatisfying end -- at least for now. Deitchler, 18, went to Beijing with high hopes for a medal. Through sheer determination, he'd knocked off some of the world's best wrestlers to earn a U.S. Olympic berth, becoming one of the youngest athletes ever to make the team. But in China, he lost to wrestlers who went on to win the silver and bronze medals.

Half a world a way, you could feel Deitchler's disappointment. You could also see the seeds sown for future triumphs. "When you work really hard and give your all, and you lose, it hurts,'' Deitchler told the Star Tribune's Rachel Blount. "It will motivate me to work harder than a lot of people and find a way to be the best.''

Wrestling legend Dan Gable, who was inspired to even greater wrestling glory by one devastating loss, couldn't have put it better. Defeat, though unwelcome, is a great teacher and motivator. Deitchler has the right attitude. He's young, he'll work even harder and come this fall, he'll gain terrific experience when he joins the Gophers. Getting to Beijing was a triumph, but it was just a warm-up. Jake, see you in London in 2012.

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