Low-income students are historically underrepresented in higher education, we can see in Washington that 43% of non-low-income students go to higher education while only 21% of low-income students complete the same tract. These students have been overlooked, underrepresented, and unsupported in their educational journeys. Income status should not decide whether a student goes on to higher education. 

Northwest Education Access strives to give additional resources and support to help low-income students thrive in higher education. Their mission goal is to “…provide comprehensive and individualized support to help low-income young people…build their own path to higher education and beyond”. This organization started in 2002 as a way to help homeless youth earn their GEDs and go to college. Then they continued to grow and in 2011 began their branches and mission goals and they continue to update their programs and serve more communities in the Puget Sound area. 

NW Education Access serves students who experience housing insecurity and students who are in low-income households. 

They offer programs in mentorship to connect and give personalized assistance to these students. The main mentorship is education advocates who support students step by step on their way to and through higher education. These programs remove barriers to these supports, create personalized goals, and offer one-on-one mentorship to have connection, trust, and accountability on their journey. They also provide campus and community networks, student networks, and their personal access network to help with tutoring and career exploration. 

This organization posts thorough information about their programs, statistics about how those programs have worked and their outreach impact, and gives all other important information on the page leading to a thorough and decisive page concerning their organization.