$5 MILLION IN FINANCIAL AID
AVAILABLE FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS
Application deadline approaching fast

RALEIGH -- Students planning to attend a North Carolina community college will find new financial assistance available for the fall semester.
        The State budget just passed by the General Assembly includes $5 million dollars to provide need-based financial assistance to community college students.  However, in order to qualify for this assistance for the fall semester, an application must be completed by mid-July.
        "The $5 million for a new financial aid initiative will make a community college education free for most students when combined with the benefits of federal Pell Grants and the Hope Scholarship Tax Credits," said North Carolina Community College System President H. Martin Lancaster.
        With the addition of this new funding, one existing source ends.  Effective this fall, scholarships financed from the interest-only reserve fund disappear.  However, this new financial aid source makes it possible for community colleges to provide assistance to more students than the limited number provided by the reserve fund.
        The new assistance is designed to offset the tuition increase of $95 per semester for full-time North Carolina residents.
        Students must complete the federal application for student aid (FASA) to be eligible for the state need-based program.  The application deadline is mid-July for action by fall semester. The FASA forms are available at libraries, financial aid offices, community colleges and other locations.
        Each community college has a financial aid counselor to provide information to students about federal financial aid programs, the Hope and Lifetime Learning Tax Credits, the State need-based program and other financial aid opportunities.  The counselor will help students determine if they meet the requirements for the need-based assistance.
        "It is important that no eligible student miss this opportunity," said Dr. Brenda Rogers, NCCCS Vice President for Administration.
        Interested students should contact the financial aid counselor at their local community colleges as soon as possible.  A list of all North Carolina Community Colleges is available on the Worldwide Web at www.nccommunitycolleges.edu,