The American Talent Initiative (ATI) brings top colleges and universities together with the philanthropy and research communities to expand access and opportunity for talented low- and moderate-income students.

Through their Accelerating Opportunity goals, each member institution is asked to make a strong and clear commitment to enrolling and supporting more low-income students.

What is at stake?

• Highly talented low and moderate-income students are much less likely to graduate with a college degree than their higher-income peers. When qualified high-achieving, lower-income students attend top colleges and universities, their probability of graduating increases significantly, as do potential life earnings and long-term opportunities.
• These students have earned the opportunity to enroll in institutions with the highest graduation rates and best track records for post-graduate success, but for a variety of reasons—a lack of information about their options, confusion about costs, and inadequate financial aid offers—many of them simply lack access.
• Our nation and our economy benefit from cultivating and supporting talented young people from every zip code and income level. Growing disparities in household income make equal opportunity for all talented Americans one of our nation's most important goals, and ATI seeks to be part of the solution.

What do we aim to accomplish?

• The American Talent Initiative was founded with a national goal of educating 50,000 more high-achieving, lower-income students by 2025 at the 355 colleges and universities with graduation rates above 70 percent. With historic declines in Pell enrollment from the pandemic, ATI decided to focus on its 140 members, understanding the 50,000 goal probably did not motivate the 200+ institutions that chose not to join ATI.
• In 2021, members set ambitious lower-income enrollment targets for each of their institutions through their Accelerating Opportunity goals.
• ATI members focus on enhancing and amplifying their own efforts to attract, enroll, and graduate lower-income students with the idea that, together, they can bring about a scale of national change that no single institution can accomplish alone.
  To maximize the initiative’s reach and impact in the years to come, ATI will support and equip its members with the latest research and proven strategies.

How will we accomplish our goals?

Taking lessons from the most successful high-fliers, ATI has adopted five core strategies to help its members achieve their goals, which are detailed in Five Strategies to Advance Progress, the 2023 ATI Annual Report.