As the cost of college continues to rise, more students find themselves feeling priced out of higher education. However, there are promising efforts to improve access to college, and one such initiative in San Francisco is yielding positive results.
Back in 2011, San Francisco made headlines by pioneering a college savings account program called Kindergarten to College (K2C). This program provided an initial $50 deposit for every child entering kindergarten in the city’s public school system. Now, those same students are on the cusp of entering college.
Yadira Saavedra, aged 17, is among the more than 600 students from San Francisco benefiting from the K2C savings program. Her parents saved $2,200 in a universal children’s savings account, a move that significantly altered her perspective on pursuing a degree.
“My family has always encouraged me to go to college, but I felt overwhelmed,” Saavedra shared. “I didn’t really know how much college cost; I just knew it was a lot of money.”
This fall, she’s embarking on her journey as a freshman at the University of California, Davis, with plans to study archaeology or sociology. To cover her college expenses, Saavedra will tap into a combination of resources, including her savings and need-based aid. She expressed the hope that this opportunity offers her and her pride in being able to attend college.
José Cisneros, San Francisco’s treasurer, highlighted the significance of these accounts, saying, “These accounts have made a difference.”
College affordability remains a pressing issue. Tuition and fees have more than doubled in the last 20 years, with the 2022-23 academic year seeing an average of $10,940 at four-year, in-state public colleges and $39,400 annually at four-year private colleges, according to the College Board.
When considering additional expenses, the total cost can exceed $70,000 per year for undergraduates at certain private colleges or out-of-state students attending four-year public institutions. These skyrocketing costs, coupled with burgeoning student debt, deter many high school students from considering college.
However, a study by the Center for Social Development at George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis found that even when families have saved less than $500, low- to moderate-income children are three times more likely to enroll in college and more than four times more likely to graduate from college than those without savings accounts.
“Just engaging with that account builds an awareness and aspirations,” Cisneros emphasized.
Since its inception, the K2C program has seen balances grow to $15 million. “Every dollar represents conversations that have been happening in households,” Cisneros added.
Brandee McHale, Global Head of Community Investing and Development at Citi, which helped implement the program, highlighted that this initiative is not merely about providing a savings account but serves as a tool to support a college-going mindset.
The success of the K2C program has inspired similar initiatives across the United States, with more than 120 universal children’s savings account programs now in operation in 39 states. Cities like New York City, Boston, and Los Angeles have launched their own programs, offering additional funding and rewards to parents who continue building up the balances.
San Francisco’s pioneering model also played a role in motivating California to initiate CalKIDS, the largest children’s savings account program in the nation, in 2022. This statewide initiative allocated $1.9 billion to fund college savings accounts of $500 each for 3.7 million low-income California public school students from first to 12th grade, with additional support for students in foster care or experiencing homelessness.
These savings can be rolled into a 529 college savings account, a tax-advantaged method for saving for higher education expenses. Saavedra, a first-generation college student, is particularly excited that her younger siblings will have the opportunity to participate in the program, making higher education more attainable for them.
“They’re going to be like, ‘My sister went to college.’ It’s going to be so much more achievable,” she said.
