This is the time of year when many high school seniors and their families begin looking ahead to college. However, most don't look forward to navigating the maze of college admissions and financial aid materials.
The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) is launching a new website designed to help college-bound students and their parents.
On the website, www.scoe.net/calsoap, students and parents can find program materials and links to admissions and application information for community colleges, both local and statewide, the California State University, the University of California, and independent colleges and universities.
"We want to make it really easy for students and parents, as well as counselors and community members, to get information fast or to explore at their leisure," said Monica Roberts, Director of the Sacramento County Office of Education's California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP).
Cal-SOAP helps students in secondary schools gain admission and financial aid information as they plan to enter two-year and four-year public and private post-secondary institutions throughout the country.
"The college admissions process and the search for financial aid can be very intimidating for people. This new website will help calm some of the fears that students and parents have when they start making decisions about college," said David W. Gordon, Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools.
"The new website expands and enhances the long partnership we have had with Cal-SOAP to inform high school students of the many excellent higher education opportunities available to them in the greater Sacramento region," said Los Rios Community College District Chancellor Brice Harris.
Established in 1978 by the California State Legislature, Cal-SOAP is an outreach program of the California Student Aid Commission representing the educational community throughout the state. The Sacramento Cal-SOAP Consortium is one of 17 projects statewide funded by the California Student Aid Commission and matched by contributions from consortium partners. The primary function of Cal-SOAP projects is to provide information about post-secondary education opportunities, information on financial aid availability, and academic support.
The program serves over 100,000 students annually in California.