By Kyla Calvert
More than 88 percent of last year’s first-time freshman returned to San Diego State University this fall. The percentage of first-time freshman coming back for a second year has risen each of the last three years.
The three-year-old Early Start program is one reason why. It’s meant to give students who have traditionally struggled to succeed in college a leg up. It started in 2009 as a program for students needing English remediation and expanded this summer to include those who needed remedial math courses.
Josefina Garcia gradated from Hoover High School in City Heights last spring and took an Early Start class this summer and said it eased her transition to the college workload.
“I kind of got used to studying this time for this class, so when I got started in the fall semester I already knew that I needed time to study outside of class more than inside of class,” she said.