By Ethan Hoffman--Eagle Editor
Every year millions of students worldwide search for which college they want to attend for the next 3-4 years of their lives. The Community College Access Program (CCAP) has created a way to give more students opportunities for a free college experience.
CCAP provides 2 years of free college education at Virginia Western Community College (VWCC), and there are only a few requirements for Eagles to apply for the program.
The requirements for CCAP are not like those of a regular college; students are only required to have a 2.7 GPA (Grade Point Average) for two consecutive years in high school.
Botetourt County, Craig County, Roanoke County, and Salem City schools are also using the CCAP Program. Since CCAP’s founding in 2008, the program has helped an estimated 3,414 students with a combined 8.1 million dollars provided in scholarship money, according to Virginia Western.
Students interested in studying through CCAP need to apply for the program in three steps. Before doing so, however, ensure VWCC's requirements are met.
The first step is to submit a general Virginia Western application. Next, submit one's 2023-2024 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) Lastly, complete the CCAP application. Applications must be turned in by this academic year's deadline of February 1, 2024.
Some students may wonder how this all works, especially since the program is reportedly extremely popular among seniors. The process that Virginia Western uses for CCAP is rather simple; the program has a certain amount of grant money they can use. Every student who applies to CCAP gets a number based on grant likeliness from 10 to 1, 10 being the most likely and 1 being the least likely to receive full funding.
The program accepts applicants beginning with the 10s until they reach the 1s or run out of money to give. To date, all FC applicants have been funded which bodes well for future applicants.
For more information about the CCAP program, stop by the guidance office in Student Services.