Ford Kicks Off First Day of Student College Assistance Applications at Michele Clark High School

Ford Kicks Off First Day of Student College Assistance Applications at Michele Clark High School

State Representative La Shawn K. Ford, D-Chicago, and Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet

High School Principal Charles Anderson are encouraging high school seniors to get an early start on both college and financial aid applications. Rep. Ford and Principal Anderson will join the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) to launch College Changes Everything Month on October 1, 2019, during a press conference to announce millions of dollars of financial aid available for families in Illinois.

College Changes Everything month is sponsored by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) and its partners, College Changes Everything (CCE). CCE is a college access movement that recognizes that college can be a life-changing experience not only for students but also for families and communities, with significant impacts on their potential career prospects, future salary and changes in the levels of poverty, life expectancy, crime and obesity rates in their communities.

The CCE movement supports the Illinois goal of increasing the proportion of adults in Illinois with high-quality degrees and credentials to 60% by the year 2025. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) helps to make college affordable for students throughout Illinois by providing information on education and financial aid for students and their families.

Strategically, the FAFSA filing date was moved forward (October 1st) to provide students and families with an opportunity to make a more informed decision about their postsecondary options essentially beginning the college admissions season.

“Students need to be aware of the upcoming opportunity for college assistance beginning on the first day of October,” said Ford. “In addition to federal financial aid, Illinois also has Monetary Award Program (MAP) Grants and AIM HIGH funds available for students. As Chairman of the House Higher Education Appropriations Committee, I have worked hard with our committee and governor to increase MAP grants to $500,000,000 and AIM HIGH grants to $35,000,000 in Illinois.”

At Michele Clark, students are exposed to both college and career options so that every day academic decisions are rooted in future success. Charles Anderson, Principal of Michele Clark, joins Rep. Ford in promoting the important opportunities for future college students.

“We know that our students need to maximize all scholarships and grants so that their first educational investment starts with themselves,” said Anderson. “This gift aid decreases debt and increases access. As an Early College STEM School, our students take college courses for FREE via our City College Partner, Malcolm X College. This is just another access opportunity as our students start earning college credits without the college debt.”

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