sunspot.net - education - Small-town school lures big-city students
St. Mary's College attracts Baltimoreans with its charm, its scholarships : "Admission to St. Mary's is competitive: Last year, the college received 2,275 applications for 420 slots.

However, unlike larger universities that eliminate possible candidates based solely on grades or SAT scores, St. Mary's looks at the whole application, Apter said. 'We're able to take a chance on students who may have thought they weren't good enough to attend,' he said.

To help students at the college adjust to life at St. Mary's during freshman year, the college has several programs to make them feel welcome. The college's Multicultural Achievement Program pairs freshmen with upperclassmen, and tutoring services are available for any student who needs them.

The extra measures have seemed to work. So far, none of the CollegeBound students have dropped out or flunked out, Jordan said, and the retention rate for minority students is no different from that for white students. Ninety percent of freshmen return for their sophomore year.

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