College funds for NYC’s kindergartners: How to get and give seed money for higher education
In January, all New York City’s public school kindergartners will receive a seed investment of $100 in their city-sponsored college savings accounts.
It’s the second year that 5-year-olds citywide will automatically get the NYC Scholarship Accounts — a giant experiment aiming to help thousands of families who historically have faced steep barriers to postsecondary education.
The push has some research to back it up: In addition to the tangible benefits the money itself brings, the act of opening a college account for a young person has intangible benefits of motivating kids to focus on educational achievement and getting to college.