by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings
AIn America today,@ Dr. Claudio Prieto observed, Acollege is available to everyone prepared to move forward in life. For minorities like us, there are still barriers to obtaining an education, but with hard work, those barriers are manageable....@This was the inspiring core message Dr. Prieto delivered to the hundreds of interested students attending my annual
AHow to Pay for College@ seminar last week. As acting U.S. Assistant Secretary for Post-Secondary Education, Dr. Prieto had traveled to Baltimore to share his insight with the large, talented and motivated audience I had invited to learn how to claim their fair share of the federal government=s annual $13 billion in college aid.In the audience that listened intently to our financial aid experts, I observed a true cross section of America. Women and men - older and younger people of all faiths and racial backgrounds - had come to the Fifth Regiment Armory in search of the same American dream.
In the America of Year 2000 and beyond, education will be the key to financial success. By supplementing a high school diploma with a college degree, people can add $15,000-$20,000 per year to their lifetime earnings - enough to move a family from subsistence to the middle class.
In social terms, assuring universal educational opportunity is essential to our continued freedom as a people. After centuries of struggle, what our children know finally can determine the course of their lives more dramatically than whom they know.
Whether young people actually benefit from this advance in our humanity and technology, however, depends upon us. Although access to college is no longer restricted to a select few (or only to young people, for that matter), paying for educational opportunity remains a challenge for most American families.
At my seminar last week, participants learned how to pay for higher education. We taught them a straightforward, manageable game plan for securing the financial grants and loans many college students need to make ends meet.
By the end of January, 2000, scholarship applicants should take the Scholastic Aptitude Test, contact the colleges of their choice, and obtain the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) from their high school guidance office, college financial aid office or public library.
Then, before February 15th of next year, applicants should complete and mail the FAFSA to the federal government (or file it electronically at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov
/ on the World Wide Web).Maryland residents also should contact the Maryland State Scholarship Administration by telephone (410-974-5370 or 1-800-974-1024 ) or email (ssamail@mhec.state.md.us/
) to learn more about the $66 million in state scholarship funds that Director Karen Price and her staff administer.For many aspiring college students, obtaining the financial aid they need to further their education is not the first
Abarrier@ they must cross in life. It simply is another important step on journeys that began with AHealthy Start,@ AHead Start@ and ATitle I.@As Nathan Chapman, Jr., Chairman of the University of Maryland System Board of Regents, told my scholarship seminar,
AIt=s a long way from Edmondson Village to a college diploma, but each of us can complete that journey - with a little help.@These young people who have learned how to read with proficiency and mastered advanced math and science courses are our urban success stories. They have learned that
Aknowledge is power@ in America; and they are determined to become full participants in shaping their own destiny.They are young people whose intellect and desire reflect high expectations. It is in this nation
=s interest to help them fulfill those aspirations.In the reality of our new America, higher education must become available to everyone who desires it, not just a select few.
-The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings represents the 7th Congressional District of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives.