Center for Student Opportunity

Bethesda, Maryland

Our Mission

Thereâ€™s something special about being the firstâ€¦especially being among the first in your family to attend and graduate from college. Thatâ€™s where Center for Student Opportunity (CSO) comes in. CSO is a national nonprofit based in Bethesda, Md. that works to empower first-generation college students on the path to and through college. We define â€œfirst-generation college studentâ€ as anyone whose parents or guardians have not completed a four-year college degree.We know that for students who donâ€™t have a family history of higher education, being the first to go to college requires support and encouragement sometimes not found at home, in school, or in the community.

Who We Are

Since our inception in 2005, CSO has created tools and resources to help first-generation college students and their supportersâ€”parents, counselors, and mentorsâ€”on the road to and through college. In 2013, after winning the College Knowledge Challengeâ€”a grant competition sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundationâ€”CSO launched I'm First! (ImFirst.org), an online campaign celebrating first-generation college students and web application designed to help aspiring first-generation college students research and plan for college. In addition to operating ImFirst.org, CSO publishes the I'm First! Guide to College and maintains partnerships with colleges and universities across the country to strengthen and build awareness of their campus efforts supporting first-generation college students.