Feb. 1 is Cash for College Super Saturday

by Gary Toebben

While the nation is focused on the Super Bowl this coming Sunday, thousands of high school students and their parents in Los Angeles will be focused on Cash for College Super Saturday by attending a free financial aid workshop at 50 locations. From now until March 2, workshops will be held at 180 locations throughout Los Angeles.

Now in its 12th year, Cash for College helps students and their families apply for state and federal financial aid. In 2013, with the help of our partners and dedicated volunteers, nearly 8,000 students accessed more than $37 million in state-funded Cal Grants and federal Pell Grants, helping make their college dreams a reality.

With increases in college tuition and living expenses, student debt for college is on the rise. Students and their families are debating whether the promise of a college education is attainable for them.

For many students, particularly those from first-generation and underrepresented backgrounds, cost is the main barrier preventing them from pursuing a college education and the financial aid application process is uncharted and unfamiliar territory. According to a recent national survey, 80 percent of qualified students who did not go on to college cited cost as the main reason, but few of them indicated having applied for financial aid to help them pay for the cost. 

The importance of college scholarships and financial aid is not limited to students and parents, businesses in California have a stake in this game as well. California faces a critical need to increase the number of college graduates to meet future workforce demands and to maintain our status as a place of innovation and economic opportunity. 

That’s why the Chamber is the statewide leader in Cash for College. We are committed to doing all we can to ensure that every qualified student who wants to continue their education has the opportunity and the funding to do so. Cash for College is an investment in the long-term economic prosperity of our region and state. 

We’re proud in this investment in our young people and the future workforce of our state.  If you would like to help, contact Paola Santana, 213.580.7586.

And that's The Business Perspective.