Live in Detroit? Here’s how your child can get free college

College isn't cheap, but if you know what you're doing, you can get some serious assistance to fund education. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan today announced a program that offers Detroit high school graduates, two years of tuition-free college education.

The program is made possible through an authority formed last fall by Duggan and the Detroit City Council called the Detroit Promise Zone.

"It doesn't matter whether you're a high school senior preparing for college now or a second-grader whose college career is years away. The Detroit Promise will be there to help make a college education a reality," Duggan said. Duggan also says he hopes to one day expand the promise to include four years of tuition-free education at a public university.

The Detroit Promise Zone scholarships will be funded by the Detroit Regional Chamber and the Michigan Education Excellence Foundation until 2018, when the Detroit Promise Zone tax capture is permitted.

So how can your child cash in on this program? It's fairly simple. If your student lives in Detroit, and spent (or will spend) their junior and senior years at any high school in the city (public, private or charter), you’re part of the way there.

The student must also…

1. Successfully complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) form by June 30. You can do this at FASFA.ed.gov.

2. Register for the Detroit Scholarship Fund by June 30, which you can also do online at DetroitChamber.com.

3. Be admitted to a participating community college: Henry Ford Community College, Wayne County Community College District, Schoolcraft College, Macomb Community College and Oakland Community College.

4. Participate in the college's mandatory student academic success activities as outlined by the participating community colleges, which could include special orientations, study sessions or classes on academic success.

For more information about the Detroit Promise Zone and its programs, visit DetroitScholarshipFund.org.