For 6th-to10th Graders in Harford and Cecil Counties: A Jump on a Successful College Path
Way2GoMaryland to Hold Open House at Harford Community College, Saturday, Nov. 13
Adelphi, Md. (Oct. 15 2010) -- Way2GoMaryland, the University
System of Maryland's campaign to encourage students and their families to begin
preparing for college early, will join partner Harford Community College as
co-host for an informational open house November 13. The free event will offer
access to USM admissions experts for 6th-through-10th-graders
who live and attend school in Harford and Cecil Counties.
The Saturday event, which also welcomes home-schooled students in
the two counties, will be held in the student center at Harford Community
College, 401 Thomas Run Road, Bel Air, Md.
Check-in begins at 9 a.m. The formal program will start at 10 a.m. A
college fair, including two special sessions (paying for college and considering
academic majors and careers), will run from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
Students and their families will hear USM students discuss their own
paths to college. They also will be able to gain critical information from USM
financial aid experts.
The college fair will include door prizes. Complimentary refreshments
will be available until 12:30 p.m.
In addition, 6th-through-8th-graders in
Harford and Cecil counties can enter an essay contest (200-250 words) featuring
an iPod shuffle as the top prize. The
essay must be about the importance of starting to prepare for college before
becoming a high school student. For full contest details, see http://www.way2gomaryland.org/111310contest.html.
ATK, a premier aerospace and defense company with 17,000 employees
in 21 states, is the campaign's lead sponsor. ATK has contributed $210,000 in
financial and in-kind support for the initiative.
Driving directions are available at http://www.harford.edu/tour/directions.asp.
To pre-register for the Way2GoMaryland
event, students and families can visit http://www.way2gomaryland.org/Nov13.php until Nov. 9. Information can be requested
via e-mail at www.way2gomaryland@usmd.edu.
Way2GoMaryland is part of USM Chancellor William
E. "Brit" Kirwan's Closing the Achievement Gap Initiative launched in November
2007. National statistics show that first-generation, underrepresented, and
low-income students are finding it harder to afford and complete a college
degree, limiting their chances for success in the expanding global knowledge
economy.
Nationally,
while college-going rates rise, college attendance and completion gaps between
different groups of students are expanding. According to 2008 data from the
National Center for Education Statistics, African American students earn
bachelor's degrees at half (18%)-and Latinos at one-third (11%)-the rate of
white students (34%). Low-income students earn bachelor's degrees at one-eighth
the rate of their more economically advantaged counterparts (9% vs. 75% by age
24).
By
the year 2015, USM has pledged to cut by at least half the gaps in
college-going and college- completion rates that separate low-income and
underrepresented students from other young Americans. Way2GoMaryland will be part of this effort by encouraging more
students, especially those in middle school, to begin preparing for college
earlier. An early start on the path to college can help students:
- pursue the right mix of
secondary school coursework and be successful;
- prepare for the college
search and application process;
- gain access to adequate
financial aid;
- Complete undergraduate
degrees successfully and prepare to enter the workforce and/or pursue
graduate and professional studies.
Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu
