College Awareness Month 2026 Is Here: What Philly Students Can Do in October

Senior year moves fast. One week you’re picking classes, the next week people are asking where you applied, and the list in your head hasn’t turned into anything you’ve actually sent.

October is the month to change that. College Awareness Month runs all month long across Philadelphia, and it exists so students don’t have to figure this out alone at a kitchen table at midnight.

What it is

College Awareness Month is led by CASE and is now in its second year. It is Philadelphia’s local piece of the American College Application Campaign, a national effort to help more first-generation students and students from under-resourced communities apply to college. This year’s campaign has more than two dozen colleges and community partners behind it.

The headline: application fees are waived all month at participating colleges. [Link to the fee waiver post.]

Week one

• Thursday, October 1, 6:00 to 7:30 PM. Writing Personal Statements for College Applications, with Drexel University. Virtual.
• Friday, October 2. Deadline to apply for Villanova Up Close, an overnight campus visit.
• Monday, October 5. What’s Your Plan? has a new home on PG2C.org.
• Tuesday, October 6, 6:00 to 7:00 PM. Virtual FAFSA Workshop for Students.
• Wednesday, October 7, 5:00 PM. Resume Writing 101.
• Wednesday, October 7, 6:00 to 7:00 PM. Student Loan Forgiveness Workshop.

Later in October, in person

• Saturday, October 10, 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. NACAC National College Fair at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Hundreds of colleges in one room, free to attend.
• Saturday, October 10, 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Catto Scholars Legacy Conference at Community College of Philadelphia.
• Tuesday, October 13, 4:00 PM. Finding Your College Fit at Temple University.
• Wednesday, October 14, 3:30 to 7:00 PM. Fall 2026 FAFSA Kick-Off at the School District of Philadelphia.
• Wednesday, October 14, 4:00 PM. Extracurriculars and College Applications at the School District of Philadelphia.
• Wednesday, October 28, 5:30 PM. Campus Philly’s Fall Career Event at the Franklin Institute.
• Friday, October 30, 3:30 PM. “I Clicked Submit, Now What?” Next steps for your CCP application, at Community College of Philadelphia.

Registration links and full details are on the PG2C College Awareness Month page, and CASE has the full citywide lineup here.

Three things to do this week

1. Pick one event and register. If you don’t have a college list yet, start with the National College Fair on October 10. You can talk to a lot of schools in one afternoon without booking a single campus visit.

2. Check the fee waivers. Application fees are waived all month at participating colleges for School District of Philadelphia students. [Link to the fee waiver post.]

3. Look up your deadlines. Some schools close early action on November 1, which is closer than it sounds. The PG2C college deadline tool has the dates for the schools Philly students apply to most.

If you’re not sure where to start, your school counselor is. Tell them you want to apply this month and ask which of the October events they’d send you to.

The applications don’t get easier in November. They just get later.