Abilene ISD and the Abilene Education Foundation hosted area students and parents last week for the 17th annual Abilene Area College and Technical School Fair at The LIFT, allowing students and families to interact with more than 50 colleges, universities, and community organizations.
The AEF places four full-time college advisors on each AISD high school campus to assist students with the college admissions process. AEF counselors help students with financial aid and college applications and provide college tours at no cost to students. In 2023-24, AEF helped AISD seniors earn more than $15 million in scholarships.
Those counselors were at the college fair to answer questions and help guide students through the evening’s format. College and university representatives were also available to answer questions about each campus, admissions policies, scholarships, and financial aid.
“We were pleased with the turnout and the number of families asking great questions,” AEF Executive Director Adam Samuels said of the Sept. 23 event. “More families and students are planning for college earlier and earlier, and that’s becoming more important, which we learned this year with how late the government posted FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) awards this year.”
The 2024-25 FAFSA awards were delayed and soft-launched on Dec. 30, 2023, instead of the typical Oct. 1 release date. After launching the new, simplified 2024-25 FAFSA form in December 2023, the federal government found that the aid calculation formula needed to be updated. As a result, universities nationwide experienced delays in processing and allocating financial aid. Some awards weren’t posted until late spring/early summer, making early applications for college entry and financial aid more critical in 2024-25.
AISD extends a special thank you to the following colleges, universities, technical schools, and community organizations for attending this year’s event and equipping AISD students for brighter futures.
Colleges, universities, and technical schools in attendance:
• Abilene Christian University
• Affordable Barber Academy
• Angelo State University
• Arclabs Welding School
• Baylor University
• Cisco College
• Dallas Baptist University
• Full Sail University
• Hardin-Simmons University
• Harding University
• Houston Christian University
• Howard College
• Howard Payne University
• Lubbock Christian University
• McMurry University
• Midland College
• Midwestern State University
• Nelson University
• Odessa College
• South Plains College
• Southern Methodist University
• Southwestern University
• St. Mary’s University
• Tarleton State University
• Texas A&M University
• Texas State University
• Texas Tech University
• Texas Tech University – Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts
• Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing
• Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center; Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy
• Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center-El Paso Foster School of Medicine
• Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Biomedical Sciences
• Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Health Professions
• Texas Wesleyan University
• The University of Texas
• The University of Texas-Arlington
• The University of Texas-Dallas
• Texas State Technical College
• University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
• University of North Texas
• University of North Texas Health Sciences Center
• University of Texas-San Antonio
• University of Texas-Permian Basin
• West Texas A&M University
• Western Texas College
• WyoTech
Community organizations in attendance:
• Abilene Education Foundation
• AISD CTE/NextU
• Alliance for Women and Children
• Community Foundation of Abilene
• Hendrick Health – Workforce Development
• Talent Search
• Upward Bound
