Early Awareness Programs Help Students Reach College
The National Association of Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) and The Education Resources Institute (TERI) announce a new Web site to assist early awareness program administrators.
Washington, D.C. (May 8, 2002) - The best time to have a positive impact on children is when they are young. That's why the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) and The Education Resources Institute (TERI) have launched a new Web site to assist counselors, community leaders, and financial aid and admissions professionals with an interest in helping youth and their parents understand the benefits of going to college. "The ABCs of Early Awareness: A Resource Guide and Toolkit for Helping Students Achieve a Higher Education" is available to the public at http://www.nasfaa.org/ABCs.asp.
Early awareness programs can impact and change the lives of students who may not otherwise consider college an option. When college is not part of young students' mindsets, they arrive at their junior or senior year of high school only to find that they have not met college admissions requirements, or they feel unable to afford an education beyond high school - they don't know that financial assistance is available.
Fortunately, there has been an awakening to these issues in recent years, and an increasing number of schools and organizations have initiated activities to promote early awareness. "The ABC's of Early Awareness," located on the NASFAA Web site, provides step-by-step instructions to help program organizers:
- Identify the right program for the target age group,
- Plan activities,
- Address budget constraints,
- Implement the program, and
- Evaluate the program's success.
The site also includes information and links to:
- NASFAA's "Financial Aid Night"
http://www.nasfaa.org/subhomes/financialaidnight/FAnight.asp Web page, a complete slide presentation and script for presenting financial aid programs and application procedures;
- TERI's College Access Resources, including the Higher Education Access Resources
http://www.teri.org/hearsrch.htm (HEAR) database with more than 175 programs that promote college attendance among first-generation and low-income students;
- A guide to planning a "Carnival of Learning" event, a motivational activity for students in the elementary grades; and
- An extensive bibliography of Web- and print-based early awareness resources.
NASFAA and TERI have collaborated on a number of early awareness activities since the late 1980s. "The ABCs" was created by financial aid and admissions professionals, primary and secondary school administrators, and representatives from community-based organizations.
| For more information, contact: |
Mindy Kaplan Eline, NASFAA |
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(202) 785-0453, Ext. 116 |
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elinemk@nasfaa.org |
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