College Application Week offers tips for students

To acknowledge and highlight the importance of high school students being prepared to apply to colleges, Governor Mark Dayton has proclaimed the week of November 12 -16, 2012, as the second annual College Application Week.

In order for Minnesota to continue to be a leader in education and economic development, experts and business leaders agree on the need to significantly increase the number of students pursuing and completing a certificate program, associate's degree, or a bachelor's degree.

During the week, schools across Minnesota will raise awareness for the importance for post-secondary education and the avenues available to make continuing education a reality for every student. Last year, the week resulted in triple the number of applications submitted by Minnesota students, from 5,000 to more than 15,000. With over 100 schools participating this year, an even greater number of students are expected to be reached, with more applications being submitted.

“Today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce. There is nothing more important for Minnesota’s economic future or quality of life than making sure we create and sustain a highly educated workforce,” said Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius. “Our goal is for every high school student to take the first step toward a brighter future by applying to college, and College Application Week is a key effort in our work to meet that goal.”

College Application Week is designed to promote an effort on behalf of high schools and postsecondary institutions to collaborate on a concentrated effort to engage and inform students across the state about the college application process. One of the primary goals of this initiative at the high school level is to increase the number of all students completing a college application, especially first-generation college goers.

School sites will be coordinating and dedicating time during the regular school day this week to have seniors complete a college application with the assistance of trained school staff and volunteers. Some post-secondary institutions are also waiving their application fees this week for qualifying students, and many post-secondary institutions have a fee-waiver policy for low-income students.

“We cannot afford to have even one Minnesota student or family believe a post-secondary education is out of reach,” said Larry Pogemiller, Director of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. “College Application Week helps raise awareness that postsecondary education is possible, regardless of family income or circumstances.”

Resources for College Application Week:

A variety of resources have been organized for high school sites. Many can be adapted to fit your site’s individual needs.

http://www.mncollegeaccess.org/CollegeApplicationWeek.html

Office of Higher Education has provided a webpage where all online Minnesota college applications can be accessed and information will be provided about the fee waiver processes.

http://www.getreadyforcollege.org/gPg.cfm?pageID=1972&1534-D83A_1933715A=5cbc92d14dad5fb6f296541e4f44c9c1cb7e1ac9

Volunteers

You can access the list of volunteers through this link:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhAjjiBVpy_7dF9BellVcnhkeGFkVUtiZksxVHRObUE&hl=en_US#gid=0

Tags: news, updates, education, college