The University will launch Pack Promise this Fall, providing 100 percent of financial aid needs for approximately 400 incoming freshmen. Pack Promise is a plan for student success built around financial aid, mentoring and advising access to needed classes and research-related work-study positions.
Students who are identified as eligible for funding under the Pack Promise will have their financial aid needs met for families whose income is at or below 150 percent of poverty level. The estimated aid package for this year will be about $14,000 per year for in-state students, or $27,000 for out-of-state students.
Both resident and nonresident freshmen will be considered, and a new class will be admitted and funded each year thereafter.
“It’s not just a financial aid program, it’s a concept of resources needed to promote student success,” Julie Mallette, associate vice provost and director, said. “It’s a whole focus the University has now to promote student success. The financial aid piece is just the first part of it.”
Mallette said the financial aid office is still targeting to have 350 to 400 students receive aid from the Pack Promise this year, hoping to have as many as 1,600 when the program is fully functioning in four years.
“N.C. State’s mission has always been to extend a quality education to the broadest range of deserving students, regardless of income or need level,” Chancellor James L. Oblinger said in a press release. “Pack Promise reaffirms our longstanding commitment to access and academic success.”
The students’ needs will be met for nine semesters and will be delivered through a combination of scholarships, grants, federal work-study employment and a need-based loan of up to $2,500 per year.
“The reason we’re putting a limit is because we do know that some students take longer than four years to graduate,” Mallette said. “We want to give students an extra semester but we certainly want students to complete their degrees in a timely fashion.”
The program will provide a mixture of mentoring for students, one form being undergraduate research positions for students to gain additional avenues of interaction with faculty. In addition, advisers will be made available through the division of undergraduate academic programs to ensure students get the courses they need when they need them.
“Some of these students will matriculate directly into colleges,” Mallette said. “So, there will be advising support provided at the college level, as well.”
The program does not require an application, only a completed 2006-07 Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Students will also receive financial aid counseling to make sure they remain eligible and don’t miss filing dates.
The office of financial aid looked at last year’s class and estimated how much aid it would have taken to fully meet 100 percent of their needs, arriving at a figure of a little over $400,000. The money for Pack Promise for the 2006-07 year is allocated from tuition receipts.
As to where the money will come from in the future, Malletta said she “can only answer that question for the first year.” She said she believes the administration is committed to getting additional resources, for instance through campaigns and future tuition receipts.
“We’ve got to work through this one year at a time,” she said. “The University has committed to ensuring that adequate financial aid resources are available to continue this commitment to future classes.”
According to the NCSU Web site, projections on currently enrolled students indicate about one-third of the already accepted Pack Promise students will be first-generation students.
Kim Preacher, a guidance counselor from David W. Butler High School in Charlotte, said she has no doubt the program will be beneficial for her rising seniors.
“I don’t think I’ve talked to any [seniors] who haven’t asked about [financial assistance],” Preacher said. “It’s one of the first questions out of their mouths as far as when they start talking about wanting to go to school. It’s the two things: I want to go to college and I need to know how I’m going to pay for it.”
Butler High School will graduate about 450 seniors, about 80 percent of which plan on pursuing some kind of education beyond high school, Preacher said.
Nationally, Malletta said, there is a lot of concern about the rising costs of colleges, and the Pack Promise should give students from low income families confidence that they can enroll at the University.
“We want to make sure families from low incomes know there are programs available,” she said. “If they fulfill their part, we will provide the financial resources they need to continue here.”
