The Illinois State Treasurer's Office has unveiled a new program that looks to invest in students early in their lives to ensure a successful journey through higher education. The Illinois First Steps Program works with college savings programs to put $50 of seed money into the account of newborns born after January 1st, 2024.

Illinois State Treasurer Mike Frerichs says that a student who knows they have a college saving fund is three times more likely to pursue a higher education of some degree. It does not matter whether the student chooses a four-year university, a community college, vocational, or technical school, Frerichs says that compounding interest plays its role in the account so that students will have funds to pay for materials that come with pursuing a profession.

Frerichs says that a student with a college savings fund is three times more likely to attend college. That number jumps to seven times more likely when that student is a first-generation college attendee. Frerichs explains that money in an account is not making a student smarter, it is showing that student that there is an investment in them, and that expectation produces more effort in the classroom.

The Illinois First Steps Program is available now for registration for Illinois Residents. This investment in students has been shown to produce successful outcomes when that student takes on the daunting years of higher education.
Find more information about the Illinois First Steps Program by visiting their website at, illinoisfirststeps.com/.

Mike Frerichs appeared as a guest on the WTIM Morning Show.