The University in conjunction with Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced today an umbrella program that will group together financial, academic, and other resources for those who want to apply to U of C, under one name: UChicago Promise.

The announcement made at Kenwood Academy comes on the heels of the Mayor’s challenge to local universities to make themselves more accessible to Chicago students, along with the University’s own desire to engage the community, according to University spokesperson Steve Kloehn.

According to Kloehn, UChicago Promise comprises four new efforts, in addition to multiple existing ones combined to be more easily found. The four new components are: a pledge that says city of Chicago students will graduate debt-free, by turning loans into grants; an automatic waiver of application fees for city students; Admissions Academy programming to help with the application process generally; and a set of Metcalf internships for those who want to work with Chicago schools.

Joining those four parts will also be scholarships for neighborhoods and communities in Chicago, the Bridge Program, the Collegiate Scholars Program, and similar existing opportunities that previously were scattered throughout the U of C Web site.

“We’ve never pulled it all together in one place,” Kloehn said. “We’re doing this with the hope that we’ll have a new Web site that [will show] the whole range of what UChicago has to offer.”

The UChicago Promise financial benefits will take effect for those applying this year, who will become the class of 2017, and will not be available to help those who have existing loans or have already matriculated.

See full article in Tuesday’s print edition.