SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Charlie Baker told students from the High School of Commerce and Putnam Technical Vocational High School to do their homework when considering going to college.

Baker spoke at the start of a two-day college fair event that all of the city’s seniors would be attending. The event was Oct. 4 and 5 and conducted at the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Called “Go Higher!” the college fair featured representatives from the Commonwealth’s public colleges and universities. Springfield school officials called it the largest such college fair in the state, therefore attracting the attention of the governor. It was organized in conjunction with the Department of Higher Education.

Mayor Domenic Sarno told the students how his parents were immigrants who came to this country following World War II and they stressed the importance of education to their children.

“Don’t let anybody tell you you can’t make it,” Sarno stressed.

Baker said, “There’s nothing wrong talking to as many people as you can about where to go, what would be a good fit.”

He added, “It’s never too soon to start talking to people who could help you make the right decision.”

The governor said students are lucky here in the Commonwealth as “there are more colleges per capita than any other state in the country.”

Baker also spoke of the Commonwealth Commitment, a program to lower the cost of an education. The program states if a student begins at a community college, maintains a 3.00 GPA, finishes an associate degree in two years, transfers to one of the state universities, finishes a bachelors degree in two years while maintaining a 3.00 GPA, the state will freeze all tuition and mandatory fees and provide a 10 percent rebate off tuition and mandatory fees payable at the end of each successfully completed semester. The program also guarantees admission and transfer of credits and there is no application fee or essay.

Baker said the cost of a four-year degree under this program is between $25,000 to $30,000, which he added, “is less than one year of college at many schools across the country.”

He said the program makes college “not just possible academically, but possible financially.”