NC College Application Week! Good morning class of 2019! As some of you may know, next week is College Application Week – also known as Countdown to College. Over the next few minutes, I’ll explain what this week means, and how you’ll be able to participate. Ms. Glover – College Adviser

What is it?? From Monday October 15th at 7am until Friday October 19th at 5, you can apply to many North Carolina Colleges FOR FREE through CFNC This is an awesome opportunity!! Applications are EXPENSIVE Next week, there will be prizes if you participate Countdown to College is a week-long program through the College Foundation of North Carolina, or CFNC. From Monday the 15th, until Friday the 19th, most North Carolina college applications will be free! Applications usually cost between $25 and $85, so this is a great opportunity. Next week, we will work with all of you on completing applications, and students who participate can win awesome prizes!

Which Colleges are free? ALL NC Community Colleges Gardner-Webb University North Carolina A&T University Barton College Greensboro College North Carolina Central University Belmont Abbey College Guilford College North Carolina Wesleyan College Bennett College Johnson & Whales University Pfeiffer University Brevard College Johnson C. Smith University Saint Augustine’s University Cabarrus College of Health Sciences Lees-McRae College Salem College Lenoir-Rhyne University Shaw University Campbell University Louisburg College St. Andrews University Catawba College Mars Hill University University of Mount Olive Chowan University Meredith College Warren Wilson College Davidson College Methodist University William Peace University Elizabeth City State University Montreat College Wingate University Fayetteville State University Here is a list of all the colleges with free applications this year! The list includes, all North Carolina Community Colleges, All NC Private Colleges except Duke, High Point, Elon, and Wake Forest, and none of the public colleges except UNC Pembroke, Elizabeth City State, Winston Salem State, NC A&T, and NC Central. Don’t forget that students who qualify for free or reduced lunch can always receive fee waivers from Ms. Glover, meaning that they should never have to pay for a college application. Don’t Forget About Fee Waivers!

Why Apply to College? So, why should you fill out an application next week? As you can see in this chart, the majority of new jobs in the United States are going to college graduates – mainly those who went to a 4-year college. On top of that, a college graduate makes on average 1 million more dollars in their lifetime than someone who graduated from high school and did not attend college. The US government also conducted a study that found that many times, a college graduate will make twice as much money for preforming the same job as someone who did not attend college.

How to apply Go to CFNC.org Log-in is the same as school username and password If you do not have a log in – create an account Most college applications will be done through CFNC. Even if your applications are on the Common App or another website, CFNC will be important to you. CFNC is where you will complete your Residency for in-state tuition, and also where you will send your transcripts for NC colleges. In preparation for next week, let’s make sure everyone’s account is working. Please go to CFNC.org and try to log in. Most of you made an account in 8th grade and your log in should be the same as your school computer log in. If you do not have an account, click “create account”. Please take a few minutes to do this. Pause here.

Need help with applications? All Seniors will have an appointment next week to work on Applications with Ms. Glover Next week, all seniors will be working with Student Services in groups to work on college applications. Now, your homeroom teacher will distribute a slip with the time and day of your meeting.

How to be prepared: Update your CFNC account! Complete RDS ncresidency.org Have a list of 3-6 Colleges you’re interested in In order to make the most of your time next week, here are some things you can do. Update you CFNC account. Now that you have an account, you can select “edit profile” on the first page. All of the information you complete in your profile will automatically upload to all of your CFNC applications. This way, if you are applying to 4 colleges, you do not need to type in your address, activities and more, 4 separate times. Complete the Residency Determination Service through CFNC. This is how you qualify for in-state tuition in North Carolina. ALL NC Colleges will require this for admission. See the handout you received for more information. Have a list of colleges to apply to. I recommend applying to at least 3 colleges, but keeping your list smaller than 6.

Creating a List BigFuture.org Now, we will take some time to craft a college list. Go to Big Future.org and select “find colleges”. Here, you can select factors that are important to you, such as location, major, size, or financial aid. For example, you can select that you wish to attend a small 4 year college in North Carolina that has a nursing program. Out of all the colleges in the US, this website will find the ones that match you! Take 10 minutes to search colleges, and find out more about ones you may not have heard of through their individual websites. On the next slide, there is a sheet with the average GPA of students who are accepted to some NC colleges. Keep this in mind as you create your list.

Now, take about 10 minutes to find and research colleges.

Countdown to College Activities I hope you all found a college that you love! If you’re having trouble, you can always make an appointment with Ms. Glover to find a great match for you. Don’t forget that applying next week will enter you into our senior raffle! Seniors who complete a college application will have the chance to win college t-shirts, gas cards, and other prizes. See the posters around school for more information!

Follow @NCHS_SS Follow student services on twitter, Instagram, and facebook to see Important deadlines, Raffle winners Tag us in your posts about college for an extra raffle entry! Wearing College gear Completing an application Researching colleges Etc. As always, don’t forget to follow Student services on social media to stay in the loop. Also, tag us in pictures of you wearing college clothes to enter our social media raffle! You maybe shared on out Instagram story! See you all next week!