Pretty much all of the Democrats want more people to go to college, just like they wanted everyone to buy a house and we all know how that worked out.

Beckie Supiano of the Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

Michelle Obama Takes Bigger Role in Urging Young People to Pursue College

Michelle Obama will take on an expanded role in promoting the administration’s college-attainment goal during the rest of her time as first lady, she said at an event for educators and others who work with high-school students on Wednesday. That role will be “talking directly with young people,” Ms. Obama said, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Ms. Obama has already started this work. Back in November, she talked about the importance of college with high-school sophomores in Washington.

Her message: Students already have what it takes to succeed, but they must make a commitment to getting an education. Students who face challenges like living in a dangerous neighborhood or learning English as a second language have resilience, Ms. Obama said at the event, which came a day before the White House holds a summit on college access.

“So what I want these kids to understand,” she said, “is that if you can do all of that, then certainly you can fill out a Fafsa form,” a quip about the government’s notoriously onerous Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which the administration has worked to improve.

Ms. Obama spoke at a White House event for invited college students, high-school teachers and counselors, and representatives of college-access and youth organizations.

“The first lady is an incredibly exciting spokesperson for the access and success space,” said Nicole Hurd, founder and chief executive officer of the National College Advising Corps, which places new college graduates in high schools to serve as college advisers. And the event, Ms. Hurd said, was “a nice complement for what’s happening tomorrow.”