First Lady Michelle Obama is getting the word out about Up Next, a new free text-messaging tool that supports students by providing useful tips about postsecondary education and financial aid. Find out more below!
There are two major changes coming to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process this year. First, the 2017-18 FAFSA will be available to students and families earlier. Students can file on October 1, 2016, rather than on January 1, 2017. Second, starting with the 2017-18 FAFSA, students will use previous income and tax information. For example, students – and their parents, as appropriate – will report their 2015 income and tax information, rather than their 2016 income and tax information. How will these changes benefit students? On the front end, students will no longer have to use estimates or log in later to update their FAFSA after filing taxes, and they may be able to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to automatically import tax information into their FAFSA. On the back end, students will have additional time to meet most deadlines and explore and understand their financial aid options. Students can already obtain their FSA ID, which you can learn more about in this video.
Also, the Department’s partners have advice for counselors as they organize events and prepare to help students and parents through the financial aid process. Here are creative ways to make the process fun.
Students can also text "COLLEGE" to 44044 to receive important reminders about financial aid and FAFSA filing.
Last month, the First Lady announced ThinkZone Games as the grand prize winner of the Reach Higher Career App Challenge. The Reach Higher Initiative and the Department of Education launched the Challenge last fall, calling on innovators to develop mobile app solutions that will help students navigate education and career pathways, including career and technical education.
ThinkZone Games will receive $100,000 and additional sponsor prizes for their career exploration mobile app Hats & Ladders. Hats & Ladders engages middle and high school students with swipe-to-choose self-assessments, connected activities, and mini-challenges. By providing repeat exposure to a broad spectrum of careers, it enables students to draw connections between their personal attributes and multiple pathways to career success.
The winning Hats & Ladders team, from left to right: Benjamin Galynker, Scott Brewster, Michelle King, David Langendoen
First Lady Michelle Obama recently launched Up Next, Better Make Room's new tool that gives students, their parents, and school counselors free personalized support on all things college – college search and application, federal student aid, even student loan repayment – all through texting. Research has shown that these texts can significantly increase students’ college enrollment and persistence – IF students sign up. This is where you come in.
On September 30th, schools, communities, and organizations across the country are taking action to get students signed up for Up Next and to celebrate the road to a postsecondary degree. Find out how your school or organization can get involved by checking out the Up Next Day of Action Toolkit. 
Next Generation High Schools (NGHS) are schools that use evidence-based strategies to make high schools more engaging and help better prepare students for college. NGHS specialize in providing personalized coursework and hands-on experience that align with college and career standards and expectations. The purpose of NGHS are to improve high school completion and readiness for college and careers. NGHS have educators who are strong in all subjects, including STEM.
NGHS use six evidence-based strategies to improve U.S. high schools for the next generation:
1) Participation in rigorous curriculum:
2) Small learning communities/small schools of choice:
3) Career academics
4) Dual enrollment:
5) Early college high schools
6) College and career counseling:
In the coming months the Department will release a series of briefs about specific high school strategies in order to improve graduation rates, based on its survey of 2,142 public high schools.
With a goal to strengthen, align, and expand the college-going pipeline at the local, state, and national level through school counselor leadership and collaborative partnerships, 42 states have committed to contributing to Reach Higher's mission, many by setting long-term goals such as increasing FAFSA completion rates, the percentage of students who visit college campuses, and student exposure to work-based learning opportunities.
Below are some highlights from the most recent Reach Higher Convenings, which focus on this work. A big thanks to all who made these convenings such a huge success, and a special thanks to The National Consortium for School Counseling and Postsecondary Success for its support! We look forward to continuing this important work with everyone in the days ahead.
New England Convening
Better Make Room Director Don Yu spoke at the New England Reach Higher Convening about Up Next, the First Lady's new college support text-messaging tool.
On August 16, 2016, 250 school counselors and college access, financial aid, and higher education professionals from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont gathered at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts, for the New England Reach Higher convening to learn more about about the Reach Higher Initiative and how to collaborate to inspire more young people throughout New England to reach higher beyond high school. Speakers included Josh Steckel, Senior College and Career Planning Manager for New York City’s College Access for All Initiative, New York Dept of Education; Francesco Cesareo, Assumption College President; Mitchell Chester, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; and Carlos Santiago, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. The convening provided the opportunity for three states to begin their Reach Higher efforts and for the other three to continue their initiatives.
DC National Reach Higher Convening
The final National Reach Higher convening of the Obama Administration will take place October 28 - 30 at the American University Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C. This event is for the Reach Higher State Team school counselors community. The convening is entitled, "Connecting the Dots: Cultural Competence, Counseling, and Career Readiness of Underserved Youth." Thanks to Dr. Cheryl Holcom-McCoy for her leadership in planning this event. If you are part of this coalition, please reach out to your state team lead for more information about this event.
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Thank you for the life-changing work you do every day, and for equipping and encouraging students to
Reach Higher!
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“College was the most impactful thing I've done in my life other than being the First Lady and having kids and marrying Barack Obama. College did everything for me. It built my confidence. It taught me that I could leave home and be successful away from home. It taught me how to open up, how to try new things that are scary, how to buck expectations and beat the odds.”
- Mrs. Obama, on a surprise visit to college freshmen at Howard University, 9/1/2016.
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The College Scorecard is an interactive website that provides the clearest, most accessible, and most reliable national data on college costs, graduation rates, typical debt levels, and post-college earnings so that students can make the most informed choice possible in selecting a good-value college. See this how-to-guide and video for how to best utilize the Scorecard, this toolkitfor spreading the word about the Scorecard, and this flyer for more information about the College Scorecard and the FAFSA.
October 19th is the one-year anniversary of Better Make Room, the First Lady's campaign to directly reach underserved, college-aspiring students! Watch this PSA featuring celebs (including Robert DeNiro!), and learn more about Better Make Room.
Better Make Room is hosting #CollegeFridays. Have your students wear college t-shirts to school, and get them signed up for free college support through text-messages by texting COLLEGE to 44044!
Check out previous editions of the Reach Higher Newsletter:
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