HISTORY

On January 28, 2007, more than 900 students and parents turned out to seven locations across Washington state for the first-ever College Goal Sunday Washington. Nationally, the first College Goal Sunday took place in Indiana in 1989. Research had shown that families often cited high cost as the main barrier to college attendance, even though millions of dollars in financial aid were available. Too many families--particularly those of color, low income and with no tradition of post-secondary education--simply were not applying for those funds.

It was clear that the mere availability of funds wasn't enough to lift many students over the threshold to higher education. Students and their families needed two more things--more information about the availability of financial aid and expert assistance in filling out the paperwork required to qualify for that aid. A two-part strategy was devised to address the problem. First, staff from college financial aid offices volunteered their expertise on one particular day of the year. Second, the group implemented an extensive public information campaign to reach low-income residents.

In the past 14 years, the program has assisted more than 60,000 Indiana residents and currently there are College Goal Sunday events in 34 states nationwide. It's projected that College Goal Sunday programs will serve more than 100,000 students and families nationwide by 2007. The annual event will continue in Washington, adding several new locations for 2008.

Learn more about the partners involved in bringing this program to Washington state.