UNC System rolls out new application, simplifies process for high school seniors

Post-secondary institutions will implement NC College Connect, a new college application process, beginning in the 2025-26 academic year.

Only public high school and charter school students living in North Carolina are eligible for NC College Connect. Students must also have at least a 2.8 weighted GPA at the end of their junior year and maintain it by the end of their senior year.

Students also need to meet the state's basic graduation requirements and the UNC System minimum requirements. 

The following schools will implement the new application process: Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, UNC Asheville, UNC Greensboro, UNC Pembroke, Winston-Salem State University and all 58 North Carolina community colleges.

UNC System schools partnered with various organizations including the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Gear Up North Carolina and the North Carolina Community College System to create the new program. 

The goal is to provide a simpler way to apply to some colleges in North Carolina, according to the program's website. 

Antoinette Reid, director of student services in Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools, said NC College Connect will incentivize students to maintain a 2.8 weighted GPA.

“The program itself was created with the goal of increasing access to higher education by simplifying the application process,” she said. 

Seventeen-year old senior at South Garner High School in Wake County, Aisha Wensman, is part of the National Honor Society and plays tennis at her high school. Wensman said she qualifies for NC College Connect and used it to apply to UNC Greensboro.

“It gives you all the information you need, it makes applying easier. It just helps you be more informed,” Wensman said. 

Wensman said she is using Common App, another application process, to apply to other colleges in the state that are not incorporating NC College Connect, such as UNC Charlotte and N.C. State. 

Wensman said she thinks the Common App is more helpful for applying to schools, and that the NC College Connect is useful to figure out which college you want to attend. 

Patti Harris, director of Gear Up North Carolina, a grant program that increases enrollment of low-income students in post-secondary education, said the organizations came together to promote awareness of post-secondary opportunities.

“It is very important to us that all students, regardless of first-generation status, know that college can be in their future,” Harris said.

Keith Parker, the superintendent of ECPPS, said the public schools in his county are focused on ensuring every student has a post-graduation plan — whether that is going to college, serving in the military or entering the workforce. 

Parker said he can imagine families looking forward to the opportunities provided by NC College Connect.

“It's sort of woven into the fabric of our community [to] support higher education, and so I think our community really values that,” Parker said.

Students can also learn about the Federal Application for Financial Student Aid and apply for college scholarships on the NC College Connect website.

“The same place that [students] can complete the simplified application, they can also learn more about means to financially support their education,” Harris said. 

Harris also said she is excited to promote and launch the new process in North Carolina.

“This simplified application, we believe will be beneficial to all students across the state,” she said.

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