Two new high school sites were added, Framingham and Malden and Community College sites were added in Boston (Charlestown) and Holyoke. All four new sites made a strong impact. The two sites in the greater Springfield area more than doubled attendance from last year. Worcester changed their building location to utilize a larger space and it was a good thing, since their attendance also nearly doubled.

This year’s success was due to the hard work of standout volunteers dedicated to helping families in Massachusetts. The site coordinators of each of the seventeen sites stepped up and created the grassroots efforts necessary to bring families to the event. They coordinated the distribution of information to area High Schools and Community Centers, they met with local guidance counselors, and they spread the word throughout each community.

On event day, Sunday January 28th, it was the volunteers who made it all work seamlessly. Each site had a presenter that made the FAFSA look easy and over 200 volunteers from Massachusetts colleges, universities, high schools, and Educational Opportunity Centers, helped answer questions and quell anxiety about "the financial aid form." One parent stated, "I received all the help that I needed. [CGS] made me see that filling out the FAFSA is not as hard as it seems. Thank you!"

"Our numbers were way up—we definitely need more [volunteers]. The ones we had were very helpful. I think you need to stress that attendance was way up and that [volunteers] will be busy helping families," said Barbara LaRocque, Pittsfield Site Coordinator. The reaction from families across the state was clearly appreciative, with statements such as "Without [CGS Volunteers] I believe people would have been very confused. Thank you!" and "Thank you so much for taking time out of your personal time for us parents."

Promotional efforts continued strong in year three and definitely increased the awareness about College Goal Sunday. Beginning in September, Guidance Counselors across the state were introduced to the event through Guidance Workshops conducted by The College Board and then again in December when MEFA held their statewide trainings. Parents were also advised of College Goal Sunday during the financial aid workshops conducted by MEFA throughout the state and through their Parent Assistance Services emails, sent to over 6,500 parents. In addition, ASA hosted the CGS Hotline (877-4-CGS-MAS) and helped callers answer questions about the event, find locations and register online.

This year’s increased media campaign included television interviews on WBZ-TV’s CENTO and New England Cable News’ mid-day news. Radio interviews were conducted on over a dozen radio shows and print articles appeared in over two and a half dozen newspapers. The video PSA created for last year’s campaign aired on about a dozen stations and a radio PSA was added this year to air on a nearly twenty radio stations. About a dozen calendar listing rounded out the media coverage for College Goal Sunday.

Increased traffic on the College Goal Sunday website, a 50% increase in online pre-registrations, and numerous requests from guidance counselors for materials to distribute were all good signs that College Goal Sunday is becoming a strong tradition in Massachusetts.

Thanks to all who participated and supported College Goal Sunday and made January 28, 2007 a success in Massachusetts for student access to education! We hope you will join us again next year! In the words of one parent, "I am really happy for the help I got on College Sunday. You folks are doing a very good job."