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Promise Offers First-Time, Full-Time Students Tuition-Free College MiraCosta College is helping college students get focused and stay focused on their studies. This fall, the MiraCosta Promise waives tuition for all first-time, full-time students with financial need, while also allowing eligible students who graduated from a high school within the MiraCosta Community College District to receive up to $1,000 in funding towards textbooks and instructional supplies. “Promise aims to remove a significant hurdle for college-bound students; tuition, mandatory fees, and textbook costs for eligible full-time students. According to the latest research, these programs are achieving positive outcomes,” explains Dr. Sunita “Sunny” Cooke, superintendent/president of MiraCosta College.“Promise is boosting transfer and certificate attainment rates, improving academic performance, and expanding higher education access to underserved populations. The Promise model expands our ability to reach, support, and inspire students to complete their educational goals.” The Promise is funded from a variety of state and local resources as well as private donations to the MiraCosta College Foundation. The goal of the Promise is to increase the number of students who successfully graduate, transfer to a university, and/or become workforce-ready. Nearly 500 students were recipients of the MiraCosta Promise during the 2017/18 inaugural year. Of the first cohort, nearly half of the students were the first in their family to attend college. The Promise makes higher education a viable option for high school graduates—many of whom did not have plans to attend. MiraCosta College hopes to see a sizeable increase in the number of participants this year, and the MiraCosta College Foundation is aiming to raise enough money to cover a full two years of tuition and fees in the near future. By 2020, projections point to roughly two thirds of new jobs in California requiring at least two years of postsecondary education. In addition, studies show an associate degree yields more than $400,000 in increased earnings over a working lifetime and boosts tax revenues that fund everything from police protection to scientific research. For more information, visit our website at www.miracosta.edu/promise <http://www.miracosta.edu/promise> or contact the MiraCosta College Financial Aid office MCCFinAid@miracosta.edu <mailto:MCCFinAid@miracosta.edu> . Students must complete and submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or a California Dream Act Application to be eligible for the MiraCosta Promise. “We encourage all first-time, full-time students to contact our Financial Aid office to ensure they are maximizing funding assistance,” said Cooke. The fall semester begins August 20 at both the Oceanside and San Elijo campuses. About MiraCosta College The MiraCosta College District has served the coastal North San Diego County area for over 80 years. More than 17,000 credit students in over 70 disciplines enroll in associate degrees, university transfer and workforce readiness certificate programs. The college also serves a wide spectrum of educational needs in the region ranging from programs for adult education, basic skills, and ESL to a California Community College pilot program offering the nation’s first baccalaureate degree in biomanufacturing. MiraCosta College is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
Promise Offers First-Time, Full-Time Students Tuition-Free College
MiraCosta College is helping college students get focused and stay focused on their studies. This fall, the MiraCosta Promise waives tuition for all first-time, full-time students with financial need, while also allowing eligible students who graduated from a high school within the MiraCosta Community College District to receive up to $1,000 in funding towards textbooks and instructional supplies.
“Promise aims to remove a significant hurdle for college-bound students; tuition, mandatory fees, and textbook costs for eligible full-time students. According to the latest research, these programs are achieving positive outcomes,” explains Dr. Sunita “Sunny” Cooke, superintendent/president of MiraCosta College.“Promise is boosting transfer and certificate attainment rates, improving academic performance, and expanding higher education access to underserved populations. The Promise model expands our ability to reach, support, and inspire students to complete their educational goals.”
The Promise is funded from a variety of state and local resources as well as private donations to the MiraCosta College Foundation. The goal of the Promise is to increase the number of students who successfully graduate, transfer to a university, and/or become workforce-ready.
Nearly 500 students were recipients of the MiraCosta Promise during the 2017/18 inaugural year. Of the first cohort, nearly half of the students were the first in their family to attend college. The Promise makes higher education a viable option for high school graduates—many of whom did not have plans to attend.
MiraCosta College hopes to see a sizeable increase in the number of participants this year, and the MiraCosta College Foundation is aiming to raise enough money to cover a full two years of tuition and fees in the near future. By 2020, projections point to roughly two thirds of new jobs in California requiring at least two years of postsecondary education. In addition, studies show an associate degree yields more than $400,000 in increased earnings over a working lifetime and boosts tax revenues that fund everything from police protection to scientific research.
For more information, visit our website at www.miracosta.edu/promise <http://www.miracosta.edu/promise> or contact the MiraCosta College Financial Aid office MCCFinAid@miracosta.edu <mailto:MCCFinAid@miracosta.edu> . Students must complete and submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or a California Dream Act Application to be eligible for the MiraCosta Promise.
“We encourage all first-time, full-time students to contact our Financial Aid office to ensure they are maximizing funding assistance,” said Cooke.
The fall semester begins August 20 at both the Oceanside and San Elijo campuses.
About MiraCosta College
The MiraCosta College District has served the coastal North San Diego County area for over 80 years. More than 17,000 credit students in over 70 disciplines enroll in associate degrees, university transfer and workforce readiness certificate programs. The college also serves a wide spectrum of educational needs in the region ranging from programs for adult education, basic skills, and ESL to a California Community College pilot program offering the nation’s first baccalaureate degree in biomanufacturing. MiraCosta College is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).