Picking a college can be tough, but building the skills needed to get into a top school can be even harder. Hoping to get an early start on the college race, some students at Dwyer Middle School are getting by with a little help from their friends.

Eighth-graders in Kerry Sawdon's class participate in a program called AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. The program is designed to help bolster the skills needed to get into and succeed in college.

AVID students help each other out through bi-weekly tutorials and get some extra assistance from college students who drop by Dwyer on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

During a tutorial, Sawdon's classroom was like a hive full of students buzzing with questions. The eighth-graders broke off into groups to study different subjects, like math, biology or physical science.

"They're all learning new stuff, everyday, and they end up helping each other," said Brian Zitt, a student at Cal State Long Beach who works with the class.

"It's a pretty good little system they got," he continued.

Students wanting math help sat in a row to join forces on an algebra problem that was written in front of them on a white board. Typically, the students brainstorm over puzzling homework assignments.

"If we can't figure out a problem we bring it here," 14-year-old Carina Green said.

Others in the class had science questions ranging from arteries to electrons.

"I'm figuring out, with my two friends right here, what's the stuff inside an atom," 13-year-old Anzac Houchen said.

Students said their grades have improved since they joined AVID.

"I went from a 2.4 [GPA] to a 3.5," 14-year-old Dana Hassan said.

"I took this class and then I started getting 4.0s," 14-year-old Brittany Saichek said.

When not honing their study habits in tutorial, AVID students research and visit colleges and welcome guests who tell the students about their careers.

The class has already visited UC Irvine and plans to take a trip to Cal State Long Beach, Sawdon said. Guests the class has hosted include a psychologist, fitness expert and magazine editor.

At Dwyer, AVID class is currently only for eighth-graders, though plans are in the works to expand into the seventh grade, Principal Duane Cox said.