The amount of money residents can receive through D.C.’s Tuition Assistance Grant program (DCTAG) is going up this year.
The grants are designed to help D.C. residents afford tuition at state universitas across the country.
Congress recently authorized increasing the annual grants from $10,000 a year to $15,000 dollars a year and to boost the lifetime cap from $50,000 to $75,000.
For Victoria Evans, a high school senior heading to Virginia Tech in the fall, the increase will help her reach her dream of becoming a doctor.
“I come from a single-parent household, and so my mom, she works really hard to, of course, provide what I need, but sometimes, you know, that’s just not enough. College tuition, especially at an institution like Virginia Tech, it’s very expensive, and DCTAG is really helping me alleviate the cost,” Evans said.
“It gives me hope that I can be less stressed, less worried about how I’m going to have to, how I’m going to alleviate the cost of college for my mom and for, well, basically just my mom and how we’re going to get through this,” she said.
District officials held a pep rally Friday at Calvin Coolidge High School in Ward 4 to celebrate the program’s 25th year.
Antoinette Mitchell, state superintendent of education, explains it’s not just current high school seniors who are eligible for the money.
“DCTAG is available for D.C. residents, particularly those residents that have graduated high school within the past 15 years,” Mitchell said.
“Anybody in D.C. who has lived in D.C. for a year is eligible for DCTAG,” she said. Doesn’t matter income; doesn’t matter ward; doesn’t matter ZIP code. Everybody is eligible for DCTAG.”
While District leaders often complain about Congress and specifically Republicans in Congress imposing their will on D.C., even Mayor Muriel Bowser had to give credit where credit is due.
“So a few weeks ago, we got some good news from the United States Congress,” Bowser said. “Even they can get it right sometimes.”
D.C. residents can start applying now for the grants for the 2026-27 college year. The grants are only available for D.C. students who will attend state universities and HBCUs, not for private college tuition.
from Local – NBC4 Washington https://ift.tt/qZbSjxv
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