Opportunity knocks.

GOING ON A COLLEGE TOUR IS often out of the question for students from low-income families. To encourage enrollment in higher education, administrators from Opportunities for Learning, a public charter school system in California, are taking 21 students on a tour of nine historically black colleges and universities.

"We were looking for schools with a rich tradition that would catch the student's eye," explains Bill Toomey, director of instruction, adding that students are aware of the institutions from shows on Black Entertainment Television and MTV. Administrators organized the trip after examining the low numbers of minority students attending college, both statewide and in their own system. To be considered for the trip, students had to meet GPA requirements and submit an essay. Essay responses focused on being the first in a family to graduate from high school, to being the first to attend college, to the desire to motivate younger siblings. Toomey hopes this will become an annual trip. OFL is considering a tour of just California IHEs, "to give the students more realistic options," he says.