National College Application Month, 2015

Proclamation 9356 of October 28, 2015

National College Application Month, 2015

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Our Nation was built on the idea that no matter where
you come from or what you look like, you can make it if
you try. Expanding access to affordable higher
education is key to safeguarding this ideal. A college
degree is the surest ticket to the middle class, and
broadening paths to education so more people have the
chance to earn post-secondary degrees and credentials
is the best way to make sure all our people can
contribute to writing our country's next great
chapters. During National College Application Month, we
pledge our support for those across America who are
taking steps toward earning a degree, and we continue
our work to ensure all Americans can access the tools
and resources necessary to make informed decisions
about college.

My Administration has made it a priority to equip
aspiring college students and their families with data
on college costs, value, and admissions so they can
make choices that are right for their futures and their
budgets. Earlier this year, we redesigned the
Department of Education's College Scorecard, which can
be found at CollegeScorecard.ed.gov, with input from
those who use it most--students, families, and
advisers. It can now be used to compare schools'
affordability, graduation rates, post-college salaries,
and employment outcomes for former students. We also
launched the Better Make Room campaign, which supports
First Lady Michelle Obama's Reach Higher initiative and
gives students a platform to share their goals,
progress, and stories to lift each other up and inspire
one another to continue pursuing an education. And
across our country, organizations are partnering with
government to ensure first-generation college students
and students in low-income communities have the
resources and support to go to school and tap into
their incredible potential.

Our effort to expand access to higher education
includes making community college more affordable.
Community colleges are essential pathways to the middle
class for millions of people: They work for veterans
transitioning back into civilian life, families who
need flexible schedules due to work or childcare, and
people who are seeking to hone new skills and are not
able to go back to school for 4 years. That is why I
announced a plan earlier this year to make 2 years of
community college free for anyone willing to work for
it--because in the United States of America, a quality
education should not be a privilege that is reserved
for a few, but a right for everybody who strives for
it.

Getting a higher education has never been more
important, but it has also never been more expensive,
and my Administration has been working to streamline
the process for obtaining Federal financial aid. Next
year, students and families will be able to apply for
aid earlier, beginning on October 1, and use tax data
from their most recent return rather than waiting to
finalize applications until the following year's tax
season. Additionally, we have made it easier to
complete the FAFSA--the standard form used when
applying for aid from the Federal Government--and we
have created a new tax credit of up to $2,500 for
working families to pay for things like textbooks and
tuition. To make loans more manageable for students

and families, we increased Pell Grant funding, capped
loan repayments at 10 percent of a borrower's income,
and enacted a commonsense plan to keep interest rates
on student loans at reasonable levels. All together,
these actions could help hundreds of thousands of
students pay for college. For resources and more
information about the steps we are taking to expand
access to the opportunities a higher education
provides, visit www.WhiteHouse.gov/ReachHigher.

At such a critical time in people's lives, we owe it to
them to make sure they have the necessary resources and
information to confidently make the important decisions
that come with applying to college. This month, let us
strive to expand access to quality higher education for
all people and to make real our Nation's promise of
opportunity. Together, we can once again secure our
status as the country with the highest proportion of
college graduates in the world, and we can forge a
future where dreams know no bounds.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim November 2015 as
National College Application Month. I call upon public
officials, educators, parents, students, and all
Americans to observe this month with appropriate
ceremonies, activities, and programs designed to
encourage students to make plans for and apply to
college.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord
two thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and fortieth.