High school students applying for college are often excited, nervous, and full of questions: What school is best for me? Will I get in? How am I going to pay? What if I’m homesick when I get there?
Last month, the Undergraduate Office of Admissions hosted a weeklong program offered by College Horizons, a New Mexico-based nonprofit, that tackles such questions and prepares Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students for the college application process.
The College Horizons program brought 133 rising juniors and seniors to campus from June 26 to July 1. It was funded through a partnership with the Small Town and Rural Students College Network, aka STARS, reflecting Dartmouth’s commitment to ensuring undergraduate education is accessible and affordable.
The visit was a new experience for many of the students, who came from 56 Native nations in 23 states. All told:
- 24% had never attended a college fair
- 27% will be the first generation in their family to attend college
- And 73% had never before stayed overnight on a college campus.
Throughout the week, the students met with admissions officers from around the country, researched schools that might be a good fit, learned about financial aid, and drafted admissions essays. At the same time, they got a taste of campus life—bunking in dorms, eating in the dining hall, and overcoming initial jitters to make new friends.
College Horizons Executive Director Carmen Lopez ’97, a citizen of the Navajo Nation and member of the Native American Visiting Committee, says she loves seeing the students’ transformations.
Many arrive feeling a little shy, but being surrounded by other students with shared hopes for the future, and similar fears and concerns, assures them they are “not alone in this process,” says Lopez, who received a 2026 Social Justice Award for Ongoing Commitment.
And while College Horizons is just the beginning, the students gain a new sense of confidence about the application process, she says. “I’m really grateful to Dartmouth for hosting, and to our colleagues within the Admissions Office. This was a tremendous program that will change lives for our students in years to come.”
Along with college admissions officers and College Horizons staff, high school counselors and tribal educators also participated in the program. Together, they serve as “a kind of living college guidebook,” says Lopez. “We might be coming from over 60 different colleges, but we come together with one mindset and goal: to talk about higher ed pathways.”
At a college fair in Collis, the high school students had the chance to interact with dozens of college representatives, and during the week, each received one-on-one guidance, which Lopez calls “the key part of college advising.”
“Despite a lot of the apps and technological advances we have that are supposed to make things easier, that 16-year-old still needs a trusted adviser or school counselor to sit down with, to talk things through,” she says. “The work of the faculty is to really listen to the students, to develop a relationship with them, to hear what students are conveying, and then to help them explore and find potential matches.”
Their conversations ranged from students’ academic and extracurricular interests to other preferences, such as how far from home they want to be and what kind of community they are looking for.
Steven Abbott, associate director of admissions, says that while many schools would love to have Native and Indigenous students at their institutions, there may be few resources or community opportunities for those students once they arrive.
“For some students, that’s perfectly fine, and for others it can be a really difficult, felt absence,” says Abbott, who has been working with College Horizons since 2005, and representing Dartmouth at the programs since 2012. “So, the program really tries to get them thinking about what kind of community they want, what kind of resources they might need.”
As the host institution, Dartmouth was able to highlight the Indigenous Fly-In Program, Native American Program, and Department of Native American and Indigenous Studies. Adria Brown ’15, director of the NAP, led the welcome ceremony and blessing, and Native and Indigenous undergraduates spoke at information sessions and panels and dropped by during meals to chat.
Dartmouth was a founding partner college with College Horizons and had previously hosted the program in 2002 and 2014.
Over the years, more than 1,500 Native American and Indigenous students have graduated from Dartmouth.
“There’s such an amazing group of students that really wants to see that community continue to grow and just be as resplendent as it really is, and it was great to see that come to life,” Abbott says.
Since it began in 1998, more than 4,000 College Horizons participants have attended 700 colleges and universities, with about 30% matriculating to a partner college. Dartmouth has continued its close relationship with the nonprofit over the years; to date, 120 students have come through the program and graduated from Dartmouth, with another 28 enrolled as of last fall.
“Our institutions need students that come from College Horizons to help educate and be that type of peer in the classroom” whose different perspectives other students need to hear, Lopez says. “I’m proud that Dartmouth is leading and creating the pathways for underrepresented students to be able to access higher education.”
After returning home, students weigh in on their experiences.
“This isn’t just an academic program,” wrote Kendri Kinlacheeny, a Navajo student from New Mexico. “It’s a place of reconnection with our people, coming together to fight and build a foundation of future Indigenous scholars, using the knowledge that comes from our home, community, and rez.”
For Olivia Vann, a Cherokee student from Washington, “College Horizons was the first space where I felt like I had the resources to be truly seen, supported, and proud to be bringing my unique identity as an Indigenous person into my future spaces.”