What is the Save for College Program?
Welcome to the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program!
We are so excited to be working with families, schools, and communities to save for students’ futures, together.
It can be tough to save for college and career training. For many families, saving and planning for higher education may seem out of reach.
Research shows that children with even a small savings account of $1 to $500 are three times more likely to enroll in college and more than four times more likely to graduate. Research also shows that children who attend college earn a significantly higher salary over their lifetimes.
The NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program provides families, schools, and communities with a way to work together to save for their children’s futures. It’s a scholarship and savings program designed to make college and career training more accessible and achievable for all NYC public school students, starting in kindergarten—regardless of their family’s income or immigration status.
By providing upfront scholarships for every eligible student, tools and information for families to develop their own college and career savings plans, and a way for entire communities to invest in their children, the Save for College Program enables all of us to work together to build assets and support expectations of educational and economic success for every child.
Good news! If eligible, your child will be automatically enrolled in the Save for College Program unless you choose not to participate. You do not have to do anything to enroll and receive a free NYC Scholarship Account. If you do not wish to participate please visit the NYC Department of Education website for more instructions.
Program Elements
The Save for College Program has five elements that work together to make college more accessible and achievable for all participants.
The NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program is a scholarship and savings program administered by NYC Kids RISE, Inc., a nonprofit, in partnership with the NYC Department of Education and the City of New York. NYC Kids RISE is neither affiliated with, nor an authorized distributor of, New York’s 529 College Savings Program and does not solicit investments or provide investment advice.
1. College-educated employees have a median salary that is 84% higher than employees without a college degree and are about half as likely to be unemployed. See Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employment Status of the Civilian Population 25 Years and Over by Educational Attainment” (June 2013 – 2014), available at the BLS website.
2. See, for example, Elliott, William, Hyun-a Song, and Ilsung Nam. “Small-Dollar Children’s Savings Accounts and Children’s College Outcomes by Income Level.” Children and Youth Services Review 35, no. 3 (March 2013): 560–71. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.12.003.