Department of Higher Education

Twenty-six Missouri high schools are set to participate next week in a pilot program aimed at helping students successfully navigate the college application process.

Missouri College Application Week, sponsored by the Missouri Department of Higher Education with assistance from the Missouri College Advising Corps, will run Oct. 21-25 at high schools in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas and the south central part of the state. More than 5,000 high school seniors will have an opportunity to participate in the event.

Volunteers will be available to work on-on-one with students to complete college application forms. The primary goal of the program is to increase the number of college applications from low-income students and students who would be the first in their families to attend college.

"A college degree contributes to a good quality of life and a strong economy," said David Russell, commissioner of higher education. "We believe this program will help provide students with information about college preparedness and the application process."

The department plans to expand the program next year.

During Missouri College Application Week, participating high schools provide time and resources during the school day for all seniors interested in completing college applications. Students will be assisted by advisers from the Missouri College Advising Corps, a group of recent college graduates who work in high schools with a large percentage of students who are less likely to attend college.

College Application Week is part of the American College Application Campaign, supported by the American Council on Education and modeled after an approach first developed in North Carolina. Missouri will join 24 other states that currently host College Application Week events each fall.

Russell said increasing access to college is an important part of Missouri's Big Goal, an effort to raise the percentage of working-age adults with a college degree or professional certificate to 60 percent by the year 2025. Currently, 46 percent of adults in Missouri hold a professional certificate or degree.

High schools participating in Missouri College Application Week are:

Kansas City area:

• Central High School
• East High School
• North Kansas City High School
• Northeast High School
• Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts Schools
• Raytown High School
• Raytown South High School
• Ruskin Senior High School
• Southwest Early College Campus
• Van Horn High School
• Winnetonka High School

St. Louis area:

• Bayless High School
• Gateway Institute of Technology
• Hancock High School
• Jennings High School
• McCluer High School
• South-Berkeley High School
• Normandy High School
• Ritenour High School
• Riverview Gardens High School
• Soldan International Studies High School

South Central Missouri:

• Potosi High School
• Salem High School
• St. Clair High School
• St. James High School
• Sullivan High School

For more information about Missouri College Application Week, visit dhe.mo.gov/ppc/students/CollegeApplicationWeek.php.