CFNC | How parents, students can navigate free, other finance options to pay for college in North Carolina – ABC11
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Kelvin and Ammita Williams spent the early part of August moving their daughter Amiliya into North Carolina Central University. Amilya is the first person in their immediate family to go to college.
"We didn't really know what we were doing. We were just trying to get help from anybody who could help us," explained Amilya's father, Kelvin.
The application process was one journey, but the Williams Family said paying for school brought on new challenges.
"I had a whole meltdown," recalled Ammita Williams. "Getting a bill, some of the emails that came from the school prior to her moving in and we just, we weren't ready. We just wish we had known about some scholarships that the school had ahead of time and the different networks," she said
Kelvin even started his entrepreneurial journey to generate more money "I do power washing so I have to, you know, save every coin, for her to attend school."
Mom and Dad eventually figured it out and now they're trying to help other parents. Their number one tip: "Start early, really early. Once you have the baby, go ahead and start preparing," said Ammita.
Brittany Privott is an associate outreach director with the College for North Carolina also referred to as CFNC. It's a free state service that helps students plan, apply, and pay for college. Privott said it's never too early to plan for college and it's never too late either.
"We're right in the thick of things when it comes to planning. But one thing you can get ahead of the game with is getting your residency completed.
The second step is the application itself. And the third step is the FAFSA which opens October 1st this year," Privott explained.
She said FAFSA is the gateway to financial aid and it will help determine what federal and state grants are available to you. "A lot of schools use that as a benchmark to offer merit-based and need-based scholarships from institutions. There are local scholarships out there," Privott shared.
"There's tons of money to go to support students going to college, but the big part right now is making sure they have their ducks in a row to complete that FAFSA form first," she continued.
In North Carolina there's also a new program to help families. Next Step NC Scholarship, provides upwards of $5,000 for school. "If their family has an adjusted gross income of less than $80,000 which is over half of North Carolina families, they will qualify."
It's information the Williams Family wished they had earlier "We wish that we had gone into it ahead of time," said Ammita.
You can learn more about Next Step NC HERE .
