College and Financial Aid Night at Kinston Community Center
By Janet Sutton
It's never too early to start thinking about college and while the choices may appear to be unlimited, the selection process can be somewhat daunting. Even when students begin to narrow their choice for higher learning, in-person visits require a lot of time and effort. However, Lenoir County Schools has made it a little easier for students and their families.
On Wednesday, October 30, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., high school juniors and seniors can attend the 7th annual College and Financial Aid Night at the Kinston Community Center. There students can meet with 55 college recruiters inside the KCC gymnasium and learn about financial aid in the banquet room across the hall. In previous years, college and financial aid meetings were held at each individual school but this is the second year that the event will return to the Kinston Community Center.
"We are thrilled to host Lenoir County’s College and Financial Aid Night at the Kinston Community Center," Kelly Cannon, Executive Director of the Kinston Community Center, said. "We take pride in supporting our community’s youth, and look forward to facilitating their connection with higher educational opportunities."
Having the event during after school hours in one location, allows parents and guardians to have access to the same information their children are receiving about career exploration and college programs. Jennifer Hollingsworth, counselor at North Lenoir High School, thinks this is a great time to ask any questions and learn about what's available. School counselors receive lots of information from colleges but College and Financial Aid Night provides in-depth conversations with admissions counselors who know the specifics about their learning institutions and every student is encouraged to attend.
"I think it's important to walk through, pick up these brochures, talk to the recruiters, let them try to sell certain programs to you because it helps you try to figure out what you want to do in life," Hollingsworth said.
Along with information about careers, the event focuses on learning about resources available for paying for college. More than $120 billion in federal student aid is provided each year by the office of Federal Student Aid, which is part of the U.S. Department of Education; it's the largest provider in the nation. The free applications for federal student aid, FAFSA, opened up on Oct. 1, and students can start the application online at fafsa.gov.
The National Center for Education says that grants and loans are the major forms of federal financial aid for first-time, full-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students. Some federal loan programs are available but are based on financial need. To help parents understand their options, at 6:30 p.m. Amy Denton from College Foundation of North Carolina will give a presentation about financial aid. At CFNC.org students can read about grants, loans and planning for college but talking to someone like Denton in-person is a valuable asset.
"It's just helpful because sometimes they're going to ask us [guidance counselors] and we're not financial aid officers." Hollingsworth said. "It's hard to answer those questions and that's why you pull in experts like Amy Denton to help them."
