Accept the Challenge Program

Since 1986, Accept the Challenge (ATC), an educational access program that is unique to Merrimack College, has assisted hundreds of deserving Lawrence High School (MA) ESL (English as a Second Language) students to realize their full potential as intellectuals and growing adults - over 90% of those students have gone on to college.

Accept the Challenge Students

Some ATC students want to become doctors, or passionate writers, but most would like to be the first in their family to earn a college degree. Many of these families live below the poverty line where parents have to work two or three jobs, and even the student needs to work 30 to 40 hours a week as well.

Students are accepted into the ATC program as freshmen and sophomore ESL students attending Lawrence High School. As high school students, the participants attend classes after school two to four days per week at a site in Lawrence, and five weeks of class in the summer while living on Merrimack’s campus. Typically, this collegiate experience is the student’s first encounter with higher education.

New students to ATC concentrate heavily on English language skills; while “veterans” learn about local history, American literature and politics, and more. Merrimack College students are paired up with the ATC students to mentor, tutor, and assist them with homework, goal-setting activities, and problem-solving techniques.

In addition to academic challenges, ATC students accomplish community service hours in the triple digits and begin to realize how their specific cultural background can inspire their neighbors- an entire community.

ATC students who choose to apply and are accepted into Merrimack after graduating from the ATC program are guaranteed full tuition, as well as room and board scholarships. ATC graduates can be found in a variety of important fields including law, finance, healthcare, engineering, teaching, and many more professions that directly affect people’s lives.