Million Dollar States

$1 Million for Access in Florida

Get schooled on paying for college Get schooled on paying for college

In October 2005, The Sallie Mae Fund launched its first statewide $1 Million for Access campaign in Florida to increase financial aid awareness among minorities in the state.

A Mason-Dixon poll commissioned by The Sallie Mae Fund found that 95% of Hispanics and 80% of African Americans in Florida not currently enrolled in college said they would have been more likely to attend college if they had better information about how to pay for it. Sixty percent of respondents said they would have been better students in high school if they had known that financial aid was available.

Components of the Florida $1 Million Initiative include:

  • Key Partnerships: The Sallie Mae Fund is working with the State of Florida's “College Reach Out“ programs on the campaign's outreach efforts.  Partnerships with media outlets include Florida Education Channel, as well as media outlets in Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando, and Miami.
  • Bus Tour: The Sallie Mae Fund’s popular “Paying for College” Bus Tour visited 12 cities in and around Tallahassee, Orlando, Tampa, Miami-Dade County, and Broward County in the fall of 2006. Now in its third year, this Tour brings free workshops and information on scholarships, grants, loans, and federal aid.  Additional stops are scheduled for fall 2007.
  • Kids2College: The Sallie Mae Fund, in partnership with the Volunteer Florida Foundation and efforts through Take Stock in Children, offers an early college-awareness program for sixth graders to bring to life the dream of higher education. Sixth-grade classes are paired with Miami Dade College to participate in lessons that provide information on careers, college life, and how to choose courses that give them the greatest range of options for education beyond high school. The program, which culminates with a visit to Miami Dade College, has served more than 150 students in the Miami area in two years and expects to increase the number of students served to 400.
  • "Get Schooled on College": The Sallie Mae Fund piloted a public education campaign directed to high school students to make them aware that financial aid is available and that college is within their reach. In partnership with Clear Channel, the radio and outdoor advertising campaign included billboards, radio ads, print ads, a television PSA featuring former Governor Bush, and the airing of The Fund’s 26-minute educational video, “Paying for College and What You Should Know.” The campaign was complemented by a radio contest and winning high schools received a free Paying for College workshop with an appearance by a celebrity DJ.
  • Peer Counseling: The Sallie Mae Fund provided a grant to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund at the University of Miami to help the university's scholar chapter assist Latino students in their transition from community college to four-year institutions.
  • Hispanic Heritage Month: The Sallie Mae Fund provided a sponsorship through the Volunteer Florida Foundation in 2005 and 2006. The Florida Hispanic Heritage Celebration is a month of activities statewide that celebrates and honors the contributions made to society by Hispanics.
  • Free Educational Materials: In partnership with the Volunteer Florida Foundation and former Governor Bush, The Sallie Mae Fund distributed free planning and paying for college educational materials in English and Spanish to student-serving organizations.