The costs of going to college can sometimes be overwhelming, but Triton College was able provide students with financial options in an unorthodox way.
The college’s programming board, which is made up of Triton College students, decided to present these financial options in the form of a faux-game show called “Don’t Break the Bank” in the college’s Student Center Aug. 27.
Before the game, representatives from U.S. Bank, the college’s financial aid office, Triton College Foundation, Student Life and college’s alumni organization made short presentations on how their organizations have resources that can help them with paying for college.
After each presentation, five members of the audience were recruited and quizzed about information in the presentation, with the winner of each round going on to the finals.
Corey Williams, dean of Student Services at Triton College said the idea of the event was to make sure the students knew about the options available to them to pay for college.
“We want to make sure we are engaging the students and letting them know what we have for them,” he said.
Baylee Cabrera, vice president of the Triton College Student Association, said paying for college is expensive and students need to know about different alternatives to paying for it.
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“We are trying to save them as much money as they can without taking out a student loans,” he said. “A lot of students don’t know about the resources on campus. Our event gives the students an interactive way to learn about [Triton College’s] resources.”
Ashlee Wright, 20, of Bellwood was prompted to participate in the event by her boyfriend, and ended up winning the grand prize: a free three-credit-hour class of her choosing.
She said the free class will come in handy.
“I feel great,” Wright said. “I thought I was going to lose.”
She wants to eventually become an air traffic controller and said the information she learned about scholarships and the college’s other financial options was informative. She says she’ll take advantage of the different scholarships and financial aid options that were introduced during the event.
Twitter: @DavidDPollard