Florida Atlantic University runs Educate Tomorrow, a program focused on student who are homeless or foster children, and has dramatically improved their graduation rates. | Shutterstock

?What kept them from being successful in the classroom had nothing to do with the classroom? When Sara heard she was accepted to Florida Atlantic University in 2017, she was happy and excited, like so many high school seniors receiving acceptance letters. She wasn?t a bad student by any means, but wasn?t the valedictorian, either, so she was grateful for the opportunity. She planned to study criminal justice, and was thrilled about moving into the dorms. But unlike many of her fellow students, Sara wasn?t sure how any of her educational expenses?especially housing?would be covered, because she had to pay for it all herself. Sara (who asked that only her first name be used for this article, to protect her privacy) was in foster care until she was 16, when she was placed with a family in Pembroke Pines, Florida. When she applied for college, her foster parents said that if she didn?t continue to live at home, they wouldn?t support her financially. Sara made the choice to go to FAU, which was an hour away, and since she didn?t want to commute, she decided to be fully independent and live on her own.
Sara, now 21, is part of a growing population of students at community colleges and four-year universities facing housing insecurity and homelessness, which puts them at great risk of fail...