Jump Start the Journey…

at the 2008 Massachusetts School Counselors Association (MASCA) Conference on April 11 from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

The Massachusetts Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (MASFAA) Early Awareness and Outreach Committee will be presenting a panel discussion based on our event, THE JOURNEY TO COLLEGE BEGINS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL. The session is designed to encourage partnerships between Middle Schools and Colleges to create Early College Planning programs. Administrators of existing programs will describe what they do and offer advice on how to get started. The session will include a case study so participants can design their own program that day.

MASCA members who have not yet registered for the conference can do so at http://www.masca.org/. Exhibitors are also encouraged to attend this session.

Friday, April 11 2008

10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Register for this great event at http://www.masca.org/.

Hope to see you there!

Gaps Persist Despite over $50 Billion in Federal Financial Aid.

Federal loans, grants, and work-study aid each year have encouraged rapid growth in college attendance, but the gaps between economic and racial groups remain as wide as they were in 1970. (The College Board, Financial Aid Is Not Enough, 1998)

• Are you supporting low income middle school students and their parents to make college their goal?
• Learn about different models of college and middle school collaboration.

Low-income high school graduates are less likely to go to a postsecondary institution than their middle and upper-income peers. Nearly all eighth graders say they want to go to college. While almost all high-income students meet their expectations, only two-thirds of low-income students see their expectations come true. (U.S. Department of Education, 1997).