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Students at a Paying for College Bus Tour stop, Reading PA Students at a Paying for College Bus Tour stop, Reading, PA

Fund invites financial aid colleagues' participation in paying for college tour

To: Our Financial Aid Colleagues
From: Kathleen deLaski, President, The Sallie Mae Fund

I am pleased to announce that The Sallie Mae Fund, a charitable organization sponsored by Sallie Mae, is gearing up for the fall component of its 2007 Paying for College Bus Tour. The tour, now in its fourth year, serves as The Fund’s coast-to-coast campaign to help students and families understand that college is possible for everyone. The higher education community is invited to participate in this educational effort.

Since it began traveling to communities across the United States, the Paying for College Bus Tour has reached more than 96,000 families, awarding $330,000 in scholarships to deserving students. This fall, the tour will visit more than 30 cities, with the first stop in Des Moines, Iowa, on September 8, continuing through 21 states in the midwest, east, and south, before finishing the fall tour in Jackson, Mississippi, on December 5. In the spring of 2008, the bus will head west to visit more than 30 other locations.

The Paying for College Bus Tour was created in response to research from The Fund, which found that lack of access to information on financial aid for college was a key factor preventing many promising students from seeking higher education opportunities. For example, research showed that more than 90 percent of Latino and African-American parents believe a college education is instrumental for success in life, but 51 percent of Latino parents and 45 percent of African-American parents could not name a single source of financial aid. Moreover, nearly three out of four young adults say they would have been more likely to attend college had they been aware of financial aid options.

The tour’s message of college attainability is being heard: After attending a Sallie Mae Fund Paying for College workshop, 82 percent of students and parents said that they would be able to pay for college, as opposed to only 27 percent prior to attending the workshop.

New to the tour this fall is Arnold Hernandez, who is The Fund’s Paying for College spokesperson. Born into a migrant farm worker family, Arnold grew up picking apples and onions in the fields of Texas and Idaho. Determined to pursue a higher education, he graduated from St. Edward’s University in Texas and went on to work as a journalist.

As in previous years, each stop of the bus tour will feature Paying for College workshops at high schools and community centers where free planning and paying for college materials in English and Spanish are distributed. At the end of each workshop, a scholarship will be awarded, as well. Students also can climb on board the tour’s high-tech bus to search for scholarships, sign up for a FAFSA PIN, or research various higher education institutions using one of four Web-enabled workstations.

To conduct the tour, The Sallie Mae Fund works with local and national groups that can assist in reaching students and families most in need of financial aid information. National education and media partners include the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, Council for Opportunity in Education, National Association for College Admission Counseling, National Council for Community and Education Partnerships, MTV Tr3s, and Project Grad USA.

There are several opportunities for financial aid experts and admissions counselors from local education institutions and community groups to volunteer at the workshops. For more information about the Paying for College Bus Tour, please contact Mari Canizales, Senior Program Manager with The Sallie Mae Fund, at 703-984-5222 or via email at mari.canizales@thesalliemaefund.org.

2007 Paying for College Bus Tour Fall Schedule

1. Des Moines, IA September 8–11
2. Muncie, IN September 13
3. Indianapolis, IN September 14–15
4. Cincinnati, OH September 17–18
5. Chicago, IL September 20–22
6. Buffalo, NY September 24–25
7. Boston, MA September 27–28
8. Providence, RI October 1–2
9. New Haven/Bridgeport, CT October 3–4
10. Long Island, NY October 5–6
11. New York, NY October 9–1
12. Jersey City, NJ October 12–13
13. Newark, NJ October 15–16
14. Bethlehem, PA October 17–18
15. Reading, PA October 19–20
16. Philadelphia, PA October 22–23
17. Baltimore, MD October 24
18. Silver Spring, MD October 25
19. Washington, DC October 26–27
20. Northern Virginia October 29–30
21. Abingdon, VA November 2–3
22. Charlotte, NC November 5
23. Columbia, SC November 7
24. Atlanta, GA November 8–10
25. Chattanooga, TN November 12
26. Orlando, FL November 14–16
27. Broward County, FL November 17
28. Miami-Dade County, FL November 19–20
29. Fort Myers, FL November 21
30. Tampa, FL November 26–27
31. New Orleans, LA November 30 & Dec. 1
32. Baton Rouge, LA December 3–4
33. Jackson, MS December 5

Note: Dates and cities are subject to change. Please visit www.salliemaefund.org for more information.