Making College a Reality for Foster Youth

There are lots of ways to pursue your education after high school: community college, vocational/technical school, four-year college, or a non-degree program. If you are still in high school, you should begin making your plans during the Fall of your Junior year or earlier.

These eight steps will help you, as well as other young people who are adopted and in foster care, decide what the best path is for the future.

1. Check out It’s My Life: Postsecondary Education and Training – A Guide for Transition Services. This guide has lots of resources to help you decide about your educational options. It also includes information about admissions, financial aid, and staying in school once you get there.
2. Meet with your high school guidance counselor. He or she has access to lots of resources that can help you.
3. Talk to family, friends, and other adults, including your social worker or independent-living worker, about what type of school might work best for you. They can also help you with tips about how to juggle school, work, and other responsibilities.
4. Decide what kind of college community you want — big city, suburb, small town – and whether you want to be close to home where your support network is or farther away, so you can try someplace new.
5. You don’t need to know exactly what you want to do before going to college. But think about what your interests are and what your ambitions might be so you can make sure they are available at the schools you choose.
6. Check out Internet resources. Three good places to start are
   • A University of Texas site that lists nearly all postsecondary institutions in the US.
   • A similar site that focuses on community colleges.
   • A search tool that matches schools to your interests.
   • Cost of Attendance Comparison Worksheet – developed by financial aid professionals, available at: www.nasfaa.org. Click on “Parents and Students,” and then scroll down to “NASFAA Financial Aid Tools,” and then click on “Cost of Attendance Comparison Worksheet”.
7. Find some people who are currently attending, or who have graduated from, the kind of program you are considering so you can talk to them about their experiences. Your social worker or your state Independent Living Coordinator can help you identify people.
8. When you have narrowed your choices to specific schools, ask the Admissions Office to help you find the “special services” office for students with special needs. As someone who has been in foster care, you are entitled to these services. Your social worker should also contact the Admissions Office to see if they will waive the application fee, given your circumstances.

Above all, remember that there is no one right choice. There are many options, so look around and decide which schools seem best for you.

Financial Aid

Once you have decided where you want to go, you will need to figure out how to pay for it. Here are some resources to help you get started.

• All postsecondary education institutions have financial aid offices that will provide application guidelines. Most, if not all, such institutions have websites that will include this information. A website for general scholarship search assistance can be found at www.finaid.com.
• Aid is available to all financially needy applicants to postsecondary education through the Federal FAFSA process (www.studentaid.ed.gov and www.fafsa.ed.gov).
• Your state’s Independent Living Coordinator can tell you about your state’s financial aid programs for youth who have been in the child welfare system.
• Education and Training Vouchers are available to all current and former foster youth. Go to www.nrcys.ou.edu/yd/ to find the coordinator in your state.
• The National Foster Parent Association has information on scholarships for foster and adopted youth.
• The Orphan Foundation provides scholarships and on-campus support to foster youth and young adults who were adopted at age 16 and older.
• “Your Future, Your Education, Your Money” – useful resource of financial aid information and goal-setting, at: www.collegesummit.org/nefe/index.html.
• “African Americans: Top Five Financial Aid Myths and How to Conquer Them,” at: www.princetonreview.com. Enter the title in the Search box, and then click to read it.