This spring, All-In Milwaukee welcomed 215 incoming first-year scholars into its growing network of scholars and alumni. Selected from a highly competitive application pool, these scholars reflect the ambition and potential of students across Milwaukee who are committed to persisting through college and preparing for meaningful careers in the city.
This cohort represents 42 Milwaukee-area high schools, with an average GPA of 3.68 and 86% identifying as first-generation college students. Together, these numbers highlight both the academic strength and broad representation of the incoming Class of 2026, underscoring All-In Milwaukee’s continued reach across the city, as well as its commitment to supporting students from a wide range of educational backgrounds.
That reach is reflected in the 2025-26 application cycle, which drew over 600 applications, demonstrating the continued need among Milwaukee students for support in pathways to college and professional success. From this pool, scholars were selected based on academic readiness, commitment to college completion and alignment with the program’s mission.
New Scholar Orientation
On May 12, All-In Milwaukee officially welcomed its eighth — and largest — cohort since the organization’s founding in 2019. This remarkable group of scholars will go on to attend UW–Madison, UW–Milwaukee, Marquette University, UW–Whitewater, Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) and Carroll University.
Hosted at Marquette’s O’Brien Hall, New Scholar Orientation offered scholars an opportunity to begin building connections with advisors, staff, peers and university partners while learning more about the support and opportunities that will shape their college journeys.
“The energy and excitement in the room were palpable,” said Grace Carlson, All-In Milwaukee program manager and organizer of New Scholar Orientation. “It’s inspiring to meet this new cohort and welcome them into our community.”
Thank you to our Baird Gives Back volunteers for supporting our team and helping ensure New Scholar Orientation ran as smoothly as possible. Since 2023, Baird has supported this important first touchpoint for our first-year scholars, with many of their volunteers being All-In Milwaukee alumni who have gone on to build full-time careers at Baird.
What's to Come for Our First-Years
With these first connections established, scholars now begin a four-year curriculum designed to provide consistent, intentional support across the full college experience. This structure aligns academic, financial, social-emotional wellness and career readiness development year over year, helping scholars build the right skills at the right time as they progress toward graduation.
To ensure our scholars head into their first semester of college on the right foot, summer becomes foundational in getting them on track toward those four key focus areas. Between now and until Summer Institutes in August, scholars will participate in Summer Transition Meetings with their All-In Milwaukee scholar advisor. Scholars will work to understand their financial aid packages, identify academic habits and campus resources that support their success, begin developing a relationship with their advisor, discuss individual needs for a smooth college transition and begin exploring their intended majors and career interests. Additionally, with support from Northwestern Mutual, scholars who need them will receive laptops to help set them up for collegiate success. Collectively, these efforts lay the groundwork for a successful transition before scholars arrive on campus this fall.
Once on campus, scholars will further expand on these efforts, focusing on strengthening habits for college success, building self-awareness and beginning early career exploration through advising, campus engagement and access to key resources that support both academic achievement and personal growth.
Each year of the program is designed to layer skills, experiences and expectations helping scholars grow in confidence and capability as they move through college. The Class of 2026 now joins a growing network of scholars and alumni who are navigating similar journeys and creating lasting impact across Milwaukee.
