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Saving and planning for higher education can seem out of reach, but this National Higher Education Day the good news is: If you have a child in kindergarten or first grade in a New York City public school (including participating charter schools)— or kindergarten through fifth grade in geographic School District 30 — they already have a financial asset for college and career training through the .  

Each student participating in the Save for College Program — about 145,000 students — has a ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵScholarship Account with an initial $100 for college and career training, and opportunities to receive additional funds over time when their parents or guardians take key steps. The number of students with scholarship accounts will grow by a new citywide class of kindergarteners each year. 

Research has shown that a child with even a small savings account of just $1 to $500 is three times more likely to go to college and more than four times more likely to graduate than a child without an account. 

At Queensbridge, Astoria, Woodside, and Ravenswood Houses, nearly every kindergarten through fifth grade student has a ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵScholarship Account with an initial $100, additional scholarship dollars they may have received from completing steps in the program, and contributions from community scholarships. More than 1,190 students at these four developments have over $485,000 already accumulated in their ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵScholarship Accounts for college and career training. 

If your child participates in the Save for College Program, you can activate their ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵScholarship Account today at and view the early investment in their future. When you activate your child’s account you will earn an additional $25 reward for their college and career future. Once activated, you can take the next steps in the program and receive additional awards, like connecting a college and career savings account that you own for the benefit of your child, and saving in the ways and amounts that make sense for your financial circumstances.  

For support with activating your child’s ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵScholarship Account and taking the next steps to receive up to $175 in additional rewards by the end of fifth grade, visit , call 833-543-7473, or email info@nyckidsrise.org. 

Featured photo caption: Woodside Houses Tenants Association President Annie Cotton Morris presented a check for the Woodside Houses Tenants Association’s P.S. 151 Community Scholarship, in partnership with ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵKids RISE, to PTA members representing PS 151 (2021).