Derrick Jacobs goofed off in high school. Vanessa Chandler had a violent freshman year. Holly Rodriguez got pregnant. Alex Salcedo, who was raised in the Dominican Republic and attended high school in St. Paul, didn’t have anyone in his life, including a father, to show him what he had to do to get into college.

For whatever reason, each of them had done enough during their high school years to get themselves pigeonholed into an unfortunate slot: not college material.

Yet here they are. On campus right now. Taking classes. Learning what it’s like to be college students. Figuring out what it takes — how much work is involved — to succeed at the next level.

They, and 150 others like them, are in a four-week stint in Minnesota State University’s College Access Program — where the kind of students who don’t typically make it to college come for a second chance with a program that is highly intrusive in their lives, and overwhelmingly supportive.

It began in 2006 with a few dozen students. It worked, and word spread. This year’s class is 154. Its retention rate is remarkable — of the 14 who started the program in 2006, 12 are still students at MSU. Twelve students who didn’t meet entrance requirements, 12 students who were unlikely to succeed, 12 students who, counselors said, should consider something else.

Most go on to successful academic careers and take part in student life activities. Several serve on the Student Senate, lead the Black Students Union and other groups.

At the four-week camp they receive daily academic support and tutoring. And when they get to college, that support continues. When they start college, they meet regularly with the same College Access Program advisers they met during their four-week stay.

Ubenti Tepi (whose first name means “the brightness of the day before the sun rises”) spent last year at Bloomington Kennedy High School. She was a good athlete and had lots of friends. But she didn’t apply herself in the classroom, and she hated homework. So it

didn’t get done. And she couldn’t catch up.

When she heard about the College Access Program, she knew immediately she wanted to come to Mankato. And since starting the program, she doesn’t regret her choice.

“The staff here are very knowledgeable about what we need,” she said.

She also likes the responsibility each student assumes when they agree to join.

“It makes you mature quickly,” she said. “No more mom making sure you do this, do that.”

That kind of growth, program leaders say, is one of the main goals behind the program.

Its operation is almost military-like. In fact, they call the four-week stay on campus the “academic boot camp.” All students are out of bed by 6 a.m. and heading out for a run by 6:30 a.m. The rest of the day is filled with college-level classes in geography, writing or life skills. There is time structured into their day to study, and hours set aside here and there for recreation.