Caltech Helps Low-Income High School Students get into College
Caltech's director of financial aid, David Levy, has helped spearhead College Goal Sunday, a massive campaign to assist high school seniors and, in particular, eligible low-income, underrepresented California students and their parents in filling out forms necessary to receive student financial-aid funds including Cal Grant Awards. By hosting free financial-aid tutorial workshops throughout the state, College Goal Sunday helps students and parents navigate the complicated financial-aid process, thereby enhancing their chances of attending college. One of the goals of College Goal Sunday is to dispel the myth among many low-income families that college is not an affordable option for their children.
Levy was instrumental in the coordination of the College Goal Sunday statewide program and the local component of the workshops, "Free Cash for College." Levy assembled more than 600 of his colleagues from the California Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (CASFAA) from colleges and universities across the state to participate in the program. He helped train college counselors and implement the program in which students and parents are guided through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the Cal Grant GPA Verification Form. These applications can help students receive scholarships, grants, employment opportunities, and loans to pay for tuition, fees, books, and living expenses. Levy also collaborated with Catherine Thomas, associate dean for admission and financial aid at USC, to jointly write and design the workshop financial-aid presentation.
"I wanted to be sure that eligible California students were aware of the availability of financial aid, and specifically the Cal Grants, to help them realize their dreams of a postsecondary education," said Levy.
Major sponsors of the California College Goal Sunday are the Lumina Foundation for Education and the James Irvine Foundation. Caltech is among the members of the steering committee convened by the Governor's secretary for education.
College Goal Sunday workshops will run throughout the month of February. The local College Goal Sunday component, "Free Cash for College" workshops, will start on Saturday, February 1. All workshops will be held at various high schools and colleges throughout Los Angeles and Southern California. Most workshops are scheduled from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.
For more information or to locate the closest workshop, visit www.californiacolleges.edu/collegegoalsunday. Or e-mail Dan Bernal, statewide coordinator, at d.bernal@mindspring.com, or call toll-free (866) 476-8787.
Contact: Deborah Williams-Hedges (626) 395-3227 debwms@caltech.edu
Visit the Caltech Media Relations Web site at: http://pr.caltech.edu/media
