In HISD, being ‘college-ready’ means knowing the financial aid process
I am proud of HISD’s efforts to get students college-ready. We’ve increased availability of rigorous AP classes, offer SAT tests on students’ own campuses and online SAT prep for free, and are continually expanding the EMERGE program that is sending underserved scholars to the nation’s top colleges and universities.
Getting students ready and into colleges is just part of our job, though, and so there’s a comprehensive program at HISD to help families figure out how to afford college. Our new FAFSA/TAFSA website is loaded with information about the federal forms for financial aid that are the basis for the awarding of billions of dollars in scholarships and grants. For Spanish-speakers, we’ve prepared a half-hour financial aid broadcast with our partners at Unimas 67 at 6:30 a.m. on Feb. 15, and Univision 45 is hosting a FAFSA/TAFSA phone bank to answer questions from 5-7 p.m. on Feb. 18.
The biggest push, though, is HISD FAFSA Day on Feb. 19, where each HISD high school will focus on financial aid and offer help for students and parents to complete the FAFSA and TAFSA.
Last year, our seniors received record scholarship and financial aid offers of $255 million, and with all these efforts, we’re hoping the Class of 2015 will be even more successful at both entering and affording college.
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