In 2016, the Chamber’s Direct-to-College 70 (DTC70) partners will attempt to enroll 70 percent of their 2016 graduates directly into college. To accomplish this objective, about 88% of Central Texas students will need to submit the ApplyTexas common college application.

Through the initiative, Elgin High School (Elgin ISD) has emerged as an exemplary district. Last year, only 53% of Elgin’s seniors in the Class of 2015 submitted their ApplyTexas college application by July 2015. For this year’s cohort – Class of 2016 – more than 89% submitted their application and it’s only December.

To see where high schools rank in the region for ApplyTexas rates, click here.

Elgin Success Factors

Stephanie Oyler, College and Career Readiness Coordinator at Elgin ISD, primarily credits Elgin’s improvement to the support from Elgin ISD’s superintendent Dr. Jodi Duron and Elgin High School’s principal Cheryl Koury. With coordination at all levels, they were able to:

• Organize an ApplyTexas push and have seniors complete all aspects of the application in their English classes.
• Ensure English teachers, counselors, campus administration, and district administration were on site to help answer questions and guide students throughout the application process.
• Provide incentives to seniors upon completing their application, such as “swag” items from their college choices.
• Utilize the OneLogos portal several times a week so that they had real-time, actionable data about which students were missing applications.

It is important to submit college applications early (by December) to ensure seniors have a maximum number of options. It also leaves an optimal amount of time to make smart choices and builds a culture of expectations for post-secondary education and beyond.

Financial Aid Push

With the fall semester is about to end, high schools turn to the financial aid season. For all Central Texas high schools to reach our 70% direct-to-college enrollment goal, schools must apply the same level of coordination and focus to financial aid completion. The Chamber plans to host 22 events throughout the region to help students file financial aid forms and receive more money for college.

Click here to find and register at a financial aid event near you.