Thanks to the support of our generous donor community,  over $7M was raised from 137 donors, enabling 1,404 students to participate in Arch Scholars Programs. This suite of free-standing but overlapping programs are designed to welcome, engage, and support students who are among the first in their families to attend college, those who attended high schools with little or no AP/IB preparation, and those with financial need.

Created to support talented students arriving at Northwestern with less overall preparation than their peers, Arch Scholars aims to bridge any gap in learning, experience, and guidance. The Bridge Programs and Bio&ChemExcel are course-based programs, while NU Bioscientist and the Posner Fellowship are research-based programs. All experiences provide academic preparation, peer mentorship, and a community of students, staff, and faculty to support Arch Scholars throughout their time at Northwestern University.

Meet Sydney Matrisciano ’22: The Bridge program for incoming students gave the Mississippi native skills to counteract any doubts he had about his academic career.

Meet Rwan Ibrahim ’22: The Bio&ChemEXCEL program has given Ibrahim the confidence to succeed at Northwestern and pursue her dream of becoming a doctor.

Meet Nigel Anderson ’19: The NU Bioscientist program helped to launch Anderson into the world of scientific research—and onto a path toward medical school.

Meet Brian Hannah ’20: After honing his research and presentation skills in the Posner Fellowship Program, Hannah is looking ahead to a career in business.