Student Aid Saturdays- San Antonio (SAS-SA) will be in the MacArthur High School library this Saturday from 9am-1pm. They will also offer their services at St. Phillip’s College, Palo Alto College, Texas A&M- San Antonio, and CafeCollege.
As part of the city of San Antonio’s SA2020 initiative to “Answer the call to make a difference,” Generation TX, a non-profit organization that aims to create a “college-going and career ready community in a single generation,” and the San Antonio Education Partnership (SAEP) will be working alongside CafeCollege (another city initiative) to help students fill out their financial aid forms– the FAFSA and TASFA.
“The services provided via Student Aid Saturdays – and more broadly at CafeCollege – are important because they encourage students and parents to seek assistance to facilitate the college access process,” Rebeca Gonzalez, Coordinator for CafeCollege said. “Research shows that 90% of students who complete the application will enroll in post-secondary education. [Increasing] the number of college graduates in San Antonio eventually [creates] a more educated workforce, [who] can then compete for quality, well-paying jobs.”
Students who fill out their financial aid forms (e.g. the FAFSA and TASFA) are 350% more likely to attend college, according to a study conducted by the Student Futures Project of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas-Austin.
“Our future as a city depends on [the youth],” Jennifer Whitcomb, Communications Manager at Generation TX- San Antonio, said. “Through education, youth are empowered to make decisions and implement change– not only in their own lives, but the community as a whole.”
SAS-SA events will be held every Saturday until March 17th, where their efforts will culminate in a “Town Hall” panel discussion at the Guadalupe Theater, sponsored by Univision. The city will then host a “Destination College” week in mid-April in collaboration with the San Antonio Youth Commission.
