Messina College, a small residential two-year institution just outside Boston, is graduating its first class after focusing on low-income, first-generation students. The college’s model combines small classes and labs on a 45-acre campus with close mentoring and generous financial aid designed to keep annual costs around $2,000 for tuition, room, and board. The institution’s leadership and partner messaging emphasize reducing uncertainty for students by offering structured mentorship rather than leaving “guessing” to students attempting to navigate college systems. In interviews, Father Erick Berrelleza, a Jesuit priest and founding dean, framed the approach as offering guidance comparable to older informal models but with explicit student support structures. For higher education professionals, Messina’s early cohort results will be watched as a test case for whether low-cost, high-contact advising can translate into measurable completion outcomes. As more institutions compete for first-generation and low-income students amid cost pressure, the early evidence from Messina College could inform replication decisions.