Struggling to get into graduate schools can be difficult, but the Lake has a program that can help students out, the McNair Program.

The McNair Program prepares and helps students get into graduate school by providing one-on-one advising workshops. The program helps students build strong application packets and résumes.

It also includes working with the students to provide personal developmental skills to help them get into graduate school and succeed in undergraduate research, which allows students in the program to gain extra attention when their résume is reviewed.

The McNair Program provides a stipend in hopes the student will focus all their attention to the project and avoid distractions from any extra jobs. The program covers tuition and book fees. If needed, the McNair Program is able to provide room and board during the summer when the research takes place.

To qualify for the program, students must be the first generation in their family to attend college. In addition, the student’s family income must be approved by the government in order to qualify.

Additional qualifications include that students can be from a group such as Hispanic, Latino, African-American, Native-American or Alaskan Native, have a 3.0 GPA and be classified as a sophomore or junior.

When students complete the research portion, they attend McNair conferences and present their research to McNair scholars, which add to the student’s academic résume. Depending on the amount of participation, students eligible are funded to visit graduate school campuses.

“Students are welcome to stop by and learn more about the graduate program. The McNair office is located in Main 235 and students can call Ext. 2696 if there are any further questions,” said Marianne Kestenbaum, McNair project specialist.