Help for high-achieving, low-income students

February 3, 2009, Charlotte Observer - By Lee Bierer

Navigating through the college admissions process has been made a little easier for first generation, low-income and under-represented students in North Carolina with Carolina Advising Corps.

This new and innovative program serves 7,000 high school students by placing recent UNC-Chapel Hill graduates in 38 public high schools across the state as college advisers. The 19 advisers split their week among two high-need high schools.

Each of the advisers received extensive training in financial aid, college admissions and scholarship applications. They also toured campuses and met with administrators from more than 20 two- and four-year colleges and universities across the state. They serve as role models and often prove to be more accessible to students since they are closer in age.

Pharen Bowman, originally from Wilmington and a 2008 UNC graduate, was a beneficiary of the Carolina Covenant, a UNC program that provides free tuition, room and board to high-performing students with great financial need. She serves as an adviser at West Mecklenburg and West Charlotte high schools. Justin Simmons of Rocky Mount works at E. E. Waddell and Garinger high schools. Students and families at these schools can contact their advisers to arrange meetings.

Bowman says she loves her job because "the students are excited about going to college and their energy is contagious." She has had a busy fall reading students' essays, gathering information about scholarship opportunities, planning a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) night for parents, meeting individually with students to help them identify colleges that represent a good fit for them and advising them on how to present themselves in a college application.

The U.S. Department of Education has estimated that four million potential college graduates have been "lost" during the past two decades. It is believed that a significant number of these students are academically prepared but come from lower income families.

Bierer is an independent college adviser based in Charlotte. Send questions to: lee@collegeadmissions strategies.com; www.collegeadmissionsstrategies.com