7 Things High School Grads Must Do This Summer to Prepare for College

I’m thrilled that Popular Hispanics has decided to run a piece I wrote for high school graduates this summer, 7 Things High School Grads Must Do This Summer to Prepare for College.

Now that your child has graduated from high school what are their next steps towards a successful financial transition into college? Here are seven tips they should be working on this summer.

Check out the article by clicking here.

HBCUs, College Costs, and Money – Why You Should Care

I just finished reading a post in the Higher Education blog about Historically Black Colleges and Universities and I’m fighting mad.

the six-year graduation rates of 83 four-year HBCUs last year, finding that just 37 percent of black students attained degrees within six years. More striking than the low completion rate was the fact that the national college graduation rate for black students is actually 4 percentage points higher than that of HBCUs collectively, calling into question the long-held notion that HBCUs are better at graduating African Americans.

It’s not only the fact that only 37% of students at HBCUS are graduating after 6 years that’s getting me riled up. The part that stuck out to me the most is:

Asked about graduation rates Thursday, Education Sector panelists suggested that funding levels could not be discounted as a significant drag on student success at HBCUs.

“A lot of that [graduation] rate …. is grounded in money, lack of money,” Wilson said.

Some HBCU officials say they still encounter hundreds of academically eligible students each year who drop out of college because their financial need cannot be met with Pell Grants and other aid. The vast majority of HBCUs have small endowments, so there isn’t a pot of money to dip into when financial challenges arise.

I take two things from this:

1) Many students of color rely on financial aid to pay for college costs. To make sure that students of color have access to the funds they need financial educators like myself have to:
– Make sure that parents have access to more information about saving for college early and regularly.
– Reach students to plan for college costs earlier.
– Help students of color save and aggressively seek scholarships and grants.
– Assist families of color in better understanding college costs and finding the school with the best fit for them.

2) Students that graduated from HBCUs aren’t supporting the colleges and universities financially as much as they could. I wonder if there is an opportunity to assist HBCU students, and potential graduates, in becoming more successful and understanding how their contributing to their alma maters contributes to building a strong community.

I think we all know the reasons we want more youth to have access to higher education. More young people in college means fewer young people getting into trouble with the law or getting stuck in low wage jobs. If we want our communities to be strong then we have to do what it takes to support others that are striving for positivity.

In an effort to reach more HBCU students I’m making an effort to share my new book 10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money with all 105 HBCUs in the United States. To kick things off I’ll be visiting Fayetville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Jackson, and Dallas-Ft. Worth this August.

Want Shay to visit your school? Call Shay!

Free College for Low Income Washington Students

From HeraldNet:

These are low-income middle schoolers who are guaranteed a full ride to any Washington college if they fill out an application, maintain a 2.0 grade point average and don’t commit a crime before they graduate high school.

Some haven’t applied because they think the deal is too good to be true. Others don’t know about it. And some just haven’t taken the time to fill out the brief application, which includes one question about family income and basic information about the applicant.

Statewide, just 28,000 students have applied since the program began last year.

Many students wrongly believe they need to pay to apply for the scholarship or that it’s some kind of hoax, said Amie Mbye, an eighth-grader at Alderwood Middle School in Lynnwood.

For more information on the College Bound scholarship program or to apply online, go to www.hecb.wa.gov/collegebound.

To read the complete article visit HaroldNet.