College Forward assists first-generation college-bound high-schoolers

My partner and I attended a fundraiser this month for the organization, College Forward. Since 2003, this regional effort has helped high school students attend college as first-generation college students. In AISD, the program is available in Travis, Reagan, LBJ and Crockett high schools.

The program is effective largely because of the one-on-one support provided by coaches who assist students in accessing financial aid resources and going through the testing and application processes for college. We met a Crockett HS senior who was a finalist for a Gates scholarship, which would give her a tuition and housing grant for all four years of college at Baylor. We are rooting for her! And so is her coach, a recent college grad who is working at College Forward as part of an Americorps program. We commend her, too!

To qualify, students who would represent the first generation in their family to attend college, who have financial need and who rank in the top 60% of their class can apply to the College Forward program as juniors in high school. Beyond Austin, College Forward is also available at Del Valle HS, Georgetown HS, Hays and Lehman HS, Manor HS, Connally HS and Stony Point HS.

Check them out at www.collegeforward.org