Students Achieve College Dreams with Texting Service

indiana-youth-institute-logoTrip To College Alerts by the Indiana Youth Institute (IYI), sends three to four monthly text messages to students 13 and older to prepare them for education after high school and keep them on track through their postsecondary education. The messages have expanded to last four years after high school graduation to keep students on track through their postsecondary education.

The texts often direct students to links where they can get more information.

The messages are grade specific and provide information on ACT and SAT test dates, career assessments, scholarship information, financial aid deadlines, internships, study habits, building relationships with teachers and other tips on the essential steps to earning a postsecondary education.

Sample message include:

8th grade:
Having trouble figuring out what careers interest you? Go to www.driveofyourlife.org to find out what careers match your skills.”

Juniors:
Register for the ACT by this Friday. http://www.actstudent.org/regist/

College:
Earn while you learn! You may eligible to participate in a work-study program at your school with EARN Indiana. More info at: http://www.in.gov/ssaci/2340.htm

“Students need to take several actions over the course of a few years to prepare for post-secondary education and even more to make it to graduation. One student said texting was the easiest way to get them the information they need,” said Kate Coffman, director of the IYI’s Career and College Counseling (C3) initiative. “Many students absolutely wanted to pursue some education after high school, but they worry they will would miss important steps in the process. Trip To College Alerts makes that less likely to happen.

Trip To College Alerts communicates with students in the medium they use most: the technology they carry with them in their pockets. The texts provide information specifically targeted for each student’s grade level over the course of the middle, high school and college years.

According to Pew Research, 78 percent of teens own a cell phone with 75 percent texting daily. Yet finding information on a website can be difficult, even for this tech savvy generation. Trip To College Alerts is reaching students by putting the information directly into the mobile phones and tablets they use daily.

Almost 90 percent of students who tested Trip To College Alerts said the information received through the texts was helpful. Students found the alerts made it easy to get a clear idea of what they needed to do to realize their college dreams. All those involved in the test recommended that other students sign up for the service.

The service is another way to “reach middle, high and college school students where they live,” to provide information about the growing importance of achieving some form of education or training after high school as a way to broaden students’ career options, said IYI President and CEO, Bill Stanczykiewicz.

“The alerts also provide information about certificate programs, military training, apprenticeships and associate degrees, in addition to the traditional college route, which all open paths to jobs,” Stanczykiewicz said. “This is a critical time in Indiana, where the need for a better educated workforce is evident in the tens of thousands of jobs currently available for workers with the right type of education.

We hope Trip To College Alerts helps families gain the knowledge they need to explore all the educational options available for their children, resulting in graduates prepared to meet the demands of the 21st century economy.”

To join Trip To College Alerts, students should text the word “grad” and their high school graduation year to 69979. For example, a senior would text “grad2015” as one word, while a freshman would text “grad2018.” Students must be 13 or older to join. Standard texting rates apply and students should have the permission of a parent or guardian to sign up.

Parents and mentors can also join Trip To College Alerts to discuss the messages with their children. All the parents who tested the text alerts found the information helpful and would recommend it to other parents. One parent said it was a better way to get information so she could better support her child’s college dreams.

Parents can join multiple campaigns if they have more than one child. They just need to text “grad” and the graduation year of each child separately to 69979. So if parents have an eighth grader and a junior, they would text “grad2019” and then separately text “grad2016.” The parents would then receive texts that apply to each child.

In addition to Trip To College Alerts, students are encouraged to visit www.DriveOfYourLife.org, which has grade-specific information about careers and what education is needed for students to obtain their dream job. Parents and students also can visit the college planning website www.TripToCollege.org to find out more about financial aid, steps to college and other tips to make sure their children stay on track for education after high school.