Seniors

FAFSA Day is back this year! On October 23, campuses across the state will be hosting parking lot drive-in sessions for students and their families who need help with the FAFSA.  Here is a link for your students to register.  Check back frequently (maybe even every day) to see the new campuses signing on to host FAFSA Day events. More information may be found on the CFNC FAFSA Day website.

GCS, Say Yes Guilford, CFNC and the College Advising Corps are offering a series of events to assist families in planning, applying and paying for college.  Check these out:

September 23:  SYG Scholarship Info Session

September 30:  GCS College Blast

October 5:  Cash for College

October 18-22:  NC College Application Week

November 9:  Line by Line FAFSA Walkthrough

Register for Say Yes Guilford events today at sayyesguilford.org/events

Register for CFNC events today at cfnc.org/events

You will need to get a FSA ID so you can electronically sign your FAFSA.  Visithttps://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm  

The link to complete the FAFSA:  https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa

FAQs on FAFSA:
1) What is the "FAFSA" and how is it used?
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the form that determines eligibility for state and federal financial aid to cover higher education expenses.
2) Where does the student data in the Finish the FAFSA database report come from?
The NC Department of Public Instruction provides a list of the seniors for each participating high school. Each senior’s name, date of birth, home address, and school code are matched with his or her FAFSA status from the U.S. Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid. Information reflected in the database includes: not submitted, submitted, completed, signed by student and parent, and whether chosen for verification.
3) What do schools do with this information?
School counselors who work with seniors can monitor their students who have or have not completed the FAFSA. They can advise seniors about correcting FAFSA errors or how to complete verification.
4) Is there a risk to student privacy?
No income information is included in the Finish the FAFSA database. No Social Security numbers are included either. Access to the database is guided by regulations to safeguard student data and only authorized users at each school can access that school’s student data. Parents can opt-out so that student information does not appear in the Finish the FAFSA database.
5) Can I share student data that I find in the Finish the FAFSA report?
Student-level data is protected by federal law and must not be shared with anyone other than the student or parent, and other authorized personnel at the school.
• The data should never be shared with other students.
• Sharing student data from one school with authorized personnel at another school is prohibited because authorization is school-specific.
• Sharing student data within the school with unauthorized personnel at the same school is prohibited.
• Authorized personnel have been designated by the school district administration.
• Access has been granted only to those school staff, and/or to other persons from federally designated entities, such as GEAR UP, who work directly with seniors on FAFSA completion and college access.
Each participating school district signs a Data Use Agreement requiring the protection of student data and limitation of use of the data for intended purposes only.
6) Where is Finish the FAFSA?
Education professionals who are Authorized Users access Finish the FAFSA in the Professional Tools on CFNC.org.
7) Where do I get more information?
The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA) is a state agency that helps North Carolinians pay for education. Contact Outreach@ncseaa.edu with questions or to request a Data Use Agreement for your school.

FAFSA help can be found at CFNC:  888/737-9321.

Say Yes Guilford is a local education non-profit organization committed to providing access to support services and scholarships designed to prepare Guilford County Schools’ students for success in college, career, and life.  An equity-based model provides evidenced-based, impactful, and consistent services making sure students who need the most are offered the most support from elementary school through high school and college.  Go here to register for scholarships:  https://sayyesguilford.org/

Governor Cooper, in partnership with the NC Community College System and the State Education Assistance Authority, has announced the creation of the Longleaf Commitment Grant program.

What:

This grant program will allow eligible 2021 high school graduates the opportunity to apply for a grant that covers tuition and fees at any of North Carolina's 58 community colleges for up to two years.

Eligibility requirements from 2021 high schools seniors:

• Graduate from a North Carolina high school in 2021
• Be a North Carolina resident for tuition purposes
• Be a first-time college student (Career & College Promise (CCP) and Early/Middle College High School students are eligible)
• Enroll in a curriculum program during the 2021-22 academic year
• Enroll in at least 6 credit hours per semester
• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for 2021-22
• Have an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from $0 - $15,000. (“EFC” is based upon student’s FAFSA determination)
• Renew FAFSA for the 2022-23 academic year and meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements of the college

The three steps high school graduates need to complete to get started:

1. Applicants must apply for admission to the community college they plan to attend here.
2. Applicants must complete residency determination through the North Carolina Residency Determination Service.
3. Lastly, applicants must complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), here.

For more information or to submit a question about the North Carolina Longleaf Commitment Grant, please click here.

For Governor Cooper’s press release, click here.

To retweet @NCPublicSchools mention of the grant program, click here.

Hello Seniors!

We want to know where you’re going to college this fall.  Take a selfie or even a 5-10 sec video of yourself telling us where you got accepted.  Show off your college acceptance letter, college gear, flyer – anything that you have.  You can even just TALK about it.  Go ahead and do it right now (or over the weekend). Send in your video! 

College Decision Day Example Script

“Hi, my name is __________________ from ___________________ high school and I’m proud to

announce that I’ve been accepted to ________________________ University this fall.”

The CACRAO conference is a great college fair opportunity.  See below!

Youth Leadership Greensboro