By Mrinal Gokhale
Senator Tammy Baldwin poses with three Bradley Tech High School seniors who applied for MATC Promise.
It was announced in September 2015 that the newly launched MATC Promise program provides free college education for up to four consecutive semesters at Milwaukee Area Technical College.
Designed for students living at or below poverty level, MATC Promise requires students to maintain a 90 percent attendance rate, a 2.0 GPA, a minimum ACT score of 16, and finish a FAFSA application by March 15. MATC Promise covers fees left over after federal and state aid is applied.
Unfortunately, many have yet to meet this critical deadline, according to Bradley Tech High School guidance counselor Meghan Obligato.
“Only 45 of about 100 seniors at Bradley Tech High School have finished their FAFSA application,” she said.
Obligato was one of many who attended a Bradley Tech High School press conference, where Senator Baldwin urged MATC Promise eligible students to fill out FAFSA online by March 15. She was joined by MPS Superintendent Dr. Darienne Driver and MATC President Dr. Vicki J. Martin.
“What an amazing number it is that 3,000 students want to be a part of this process,” said Baldwin, referring to the number of Wisconsin high school graduates who have applied to MATC Promise.
“And how scary it is that many haven’t yet filled that last piece of paperwork that must be done by March 15 to secure the promise.”
She acknowledged that it’s difficult to fill out the FAFSA online application and that she hopes to change that.
“In the future, I ask the U.S. Department of Education on a federal level to make FAFSA easier.”
She added that in the 2017-2018 school year, the U.S. Department of Education will allow students to use prior tax information from two years when completing FAFSA. She also mentioned her campaign, In the RED (Reducing Educational Debt), which aims to give students two years of free tuition at community colleges.
Dr. Driver said that of the 3,000 high schools seniors in Wisconsin who applied for MATC Promise, 2,600 are from Milwaukee Public Schools.
Senator Tammy Baldwin urges high school seniors to complete FAFSA.
“We’re trying to push for students to get FAFSA done early because it increases access to scholarships and more financial aid,” she said.
She added that MATC Promise provides guidance on different career paths that students choose from. About eleven MPS schools in addition to Bradley Tech, she said, have implemented Career and Technical Education (CTE), in which students receive credit for taking college level courses for careers in the trades.
Some Bradley Tech High School seniors who finished their FAFSA application attended the press conference, met Baldwin and spoke to news media about their experiences.
“We chose those students to be here today because they finished the FAFSA and they’re comfortable speaking,” she said.
“They were active in completing the FAFSA. Some of our students had help from their parents, but these students really spent a lot of time working through it and know some of the challenges that came with it.”
Visit matc.edu/promise for more on the program or tammybaldwin.com for more on the In The RED campaign.