High school is not always easy for students but for ABC students, who learn and live together, it's a little more difficult than usual. 

"We can like to argue and bicker. We do have differences but usually, we do have a lot of fun," said ABC student Jeanette Ward. 

Students in the Fayetteville-Manlius A Better Chance program are hand-picked from schools in New York City because of their high performance. 

"A Better Chance is a program that helps students of color to apply to prestigious private and public high schools or middle schools," said Ward.

Students live in Central New York for the duration of their high school career and are assigned host families who they say have become family. 

"I really have grown close to my host family. Like, they're my family. There is no host in front of it, it's like this is my family," said Senior ABC student Briana Amador. 

Host families say they've watched them grow to learn more than just education. Students say, and families confirm, they've learned resilience and confidence.

"She's definitely grown, she's definitely ready to go back to college. I'm not ready to say goodbye to her. It's going to be really emotional, she's my baby girl," said host mom AnnMarie Otis.