Background & Overview

College Application Week began as a pilot program in the state of North Carolina in 2005 with just one high school under the federally-funded GEAR UP NC grant. Computers were wheeled around the school on carts as a handful of students used the CFNC.org online application to apply to college.

The event grew in 2006 to serve students in 15 GEAR UP high schools and continued to function in the pilot stage. As other high schools outside the GEAR UP program learned about the pilot, they asked if they could also participate. College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) and the Carolinas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (CACRAO) joined forces to aid in the expansion and support. The number of participating high schools grew to over 100 in 2007 with thousands of students submitting online applications across the state. In 2008, College Application Week became a statewide event with 293 high schools participating. During this period, North Carolina’s annual event became a pattern for dozens of other states to create their own annual week-long and month-long programs.

Event activities are supported by research which indicates that students can better navigate the path to college when high schools can 1) “engage and assist students in completing critical steps for college entry”, and 2) “increase families’ financial awareness, and help students apply for financial aid” (Helping Students Navigate the Path to College: What High Schools Can Do; NCEE 2009-4066, US Department of Education).

Due to the success of past College Application Weeks and to changes in residency requirements and the FAFSA, NC educational partners are expanding the annual event in 2017 to encompass an entire month. Now the event will help support high school seniors in completing three important college enrollment steps: residency, FAFSA, and applications. There is one week (November 13-17) during the month when some colleges will be adjusting application fees by either accepting fee waivers from eligible students or waiving application fees

CFNC College Application Month

PSAT

SAT

PRE-ACT

ACT

ACT Fee Waivers

CFNC

College Application Month

Scholarships and Financial Aid