Apr 18, 2014 11:34 AM EDT By Jaleesa Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

First Lady Michelle Obama toured Howard University on Wednesday with a group of Chicago public high school juniors and seniors to continue her push to promote higher education, Inside Higher Ed reported.

Last November, Obama kicked off a new White House push to increase the number of low-income students who apply to and graduate from colleges. As part of that effort she launched the "Escape to Mecca" program -an initiative aimed at "exposing high-achieving Chicago students to Howard University," Inside Higher Ed reported.  The historically black college is usually referred to as the "Mecca" of African-American education.

The First Lady was joined by rapper and television host Bow Wow for a tour of a women's dormitory and a roundtable discussion session.  

"No longer is high school the bar," she told the 37 Chicago students, according to Inside Higher Ed. "That is not enough in today's globalizing economy. You have got to go to college, or get some kind of professional training beyond college."

Obama said the goal of the White House administration is to have the most college graduates in the world by the year 2020.

"There's a lot of work that needs to be done on our end -- governments, private sector, the folks with money," she is quoted as saying by Inside Higher Ed. "You don't have time to wait for everybody to fix the system for you."

Bow Wow did not attend college and instead pursued his entertainment, which began at age 13.

"I remember him saying how much they needed us, the youth. It's us that's going to shape this world and turn it around," Bow Wow said, according to the Washington Post. "Maybe the next president is right here in this room."

According to the Washington Post, Obama said she was "very fond" of Bow Wow and praised his commitment to promoting higher education.

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