The ABC Program (A Better Chance) began at Mount Holyoke College in 1965 with funds from the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, and was designed to improve educational opportunities for talented girls with few resources. It was modeled on a similar program held for boys at Dartmouth College. Originally, it ran for eight weeks during the summer to provide a transition from public to private school. In 1973 it evolved into a year-long program in which girls lived in a Mount Holyoke-donated house, and attended South Hadley High School. It closed its doors in 1982 due to insufficient funding.