Countdown to College
By: Toni Blount, District Coordinator of College Advising and Scholarships
The month of October brings color changes in the beautiful NC trees, pumpkin patches and Mumfest but it also brings a college initiative to North Carolina and Craven County entitled, NC Countdown to College (C2C). North Carolina C2C is a statewide initiative to encourage students to complete three major steps in the college process: Residency Determination Service (RDS), college admissions, and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Whether a student is exploring a 2 year community or technical college or a 4 year university, these three steps are critical to begin the college admissions and scholarship process.
April Query, CFNC Regional & Community Services Manager, says, “Multiple organizations work closely together in North Carolina to bring our students resources all month long, including College Application Week October 19-30, when many colleges across the state waive their application fees. This year we are also offering virtual live help sessions. This is vital, as schools are in different Plan A, B, and C steps across the state; we want to make sure everyone receives assistance.”
Each high school is Craven County Schools is hosting virtual meetings with seniors and their families to plan their post-secondary steps; whether that is 2 or 4 year college, military or career. Group events have also been helpful to our school community on topics such as college planning, admissions steps, scholarships and financial aid. Students have access to local scholarships through student or parent employers, faith-based organizations, service organizations, insurance companies, electric providers and credit unions to name a few. The recording and slide deck for each of those sessions is located on the Craven County School’s College Advising and Scholarships webpage.
Additionally, the CFNC Pay for College tab offers 100 scholarships to NC students that plan to attend either a 2 or 4 year college.
Susie Games, Executive Director of Financial Aid at Craven Community College, presented at the virtual high school sessions, “We are happy to help students and their parents complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). We know that students may have unusual situations and some questions may be difficult to answer. Therefore, we can help virtually or in person with social distancing guidelines,"
Craven Community College is a partner to us in the school district with this endeavor. Zomar Peter, Dean of Student Services at Craven Community College adds, “CCC is providing virtual meeting rooms where advisors are prepared to answer questions about admissions, advising, or financial aid. Visit this link for a virtual appointment: http://cravencc.edu/admissions/”
NC Countdown to College in October emphasizes a 4 week planning suggestion:
Week 1: Imagine Your Future: activate or update the student CFNC account, career, programs and college major exploration, create an FSA ID and password for federal student aid for the student and parent
Week 2: Prepare to Apply: Complete the FAFSA and Residency Determination online, make the college list and complete the items needed for the applications, and see the high school counselor for fee waivers or recommendations
Week 3: Complete the applications on CFNC (for a full list of the FREE applications from 10/19/20-10/30/20, see CFNC.org)
Week 4: Finish all applications, send the student transcript through the CFNC transcript manager, and begin searching/applying for scholarships.
Amy Denton, CFNC Regional Representative shares, “I’m honored to serve the 252 area code region and work with such great school counselors and educators to ensure our students who seek further education beyond high school can fulfill their dreams. No student should be left behind, pandemic or no pandemic, so this month we hope to lighten the load for families and possibly ease their financial hardships by offering students the opportunity to apply to college for free to 100 of our 111 colleges and universities in North Carolina.”
All of these resources, how to videos, and calendar events are located on cfnc.org/C2C. Each high school in Craven County Schools has been advertising this month-long event with seniors and parents in the Class of 2021. Students and parents should contact the high school counselors for exact information on acquiring a virtual appointment.
CFNC offers all services and website conversion to Spanish. The Spanish Services representative is Juana Hernandez and her email is Juana.hernandez@cfi.org. Please visit CFNC.org/C2C or the Craven County Schools website, College Advising and Scholarships at https://www.cravenk12.org/domain/3352 for more information. Toni Blount, Craven County School’s District Coordinator of College Advising and Scholarships can be reached at 252-524-8553 or toni.blount@cravenk12.org.
