Atlanta — November 6, 2009

If you are a high school senior considering college, but are unsure about how to apply, Georgia Apply to College Week (Nov. 9-13) will help you get started.

And if you need any additional encouragement, Governor Sonny Perdue has proclaimed November 9-13 as Georgia Apply to College Week, noting that all citizens of the state of Georgia deserve an opportunity to learn – and earn – and that college provides this opportunity.

Georgia Apply to College Week will be held at 44 participating Georgia high schools. While open to all seniors at those schools, the program will provide college application information designed to encourage and aid those who would be the first in their family to attend college, minorities, and non-traditional age students.

During each local Apply to College event, seniors can apply to college using http://www.GAcollege411.org. This online resource helps students and their families select a college, apply for admission and plan to finance higher education. The GAcollege411 website offers access to information about colleges, universities, and technical colleges throughout Georgia. Volunteers from Georgia colleges and universities will be on hand to assist students as they complete their applications.

University System of Georgia Director of Student Access Sarah Wenham noted that on an anonymous student evaluation form, a 2008 Apply to College participant wrote that this special week helped by answering a number of questions and pushing the student to apply early.

At the first Georgia Apply to College Week in 2008, more than 50 volunteers assisted almost 900 students with completing admission applications at eight pilot high schools. Seven of eight of the 2008 pilot high schools reapplied to participate in 2009.

This week of events is sponsored by the Georgia Department of Education, the Georgia Foundation of Independent Colleges, the Georgia Student Finance Commission, Communities in Schools, the Technical College System of Georgia and the University System of Georgia (USG), and endorsed by the Georgia Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. The event is receiving funding from the College Access Challenge Grant, a federal program that fosters partnerships among federal, state, and local governments and philanthropic organizations through matching challenge grants that are aimed at increasing the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education.

For more information, please visit http://www.usg.edu/apply-to-college.

Editor’s Note: A list of the participating Georgia high schools can be found at: https://www.usg.edu/assets/usg/docs/news_files/GACW2009HighSchoolList.pdf. And a copy of the Governor’s Proclamation can be found at: http://www.usg.edu/apply-to-college/docs/gov_proclamation2009.pdf

The opinions and positions expressed in this press release are the authors’ and do not necessarily represent the opinions and positions of the U.S. Department of Education. Any references within the document to specific education products are illustrative and do not imply endorsement of these products to the exclusion of other products that are not referenced.

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