Carolina Student Transfer Excellence Program (C-STEP)
Carolina Student Transfer Excellence Program (C-STEP) is a partnership between ²Ê¿â±¦µäappnical Community College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The goal of C-STEP is to identify high-achieving, low-to moderate-income students who would not otherwise attend a selective college or university; to enroll these students in the Associate in Arts/Science program at one of the partnering community colleges; to mentor these students through successful completion of an associate degree (AA/AS); to transfer these students, as juniors, to UNC-Chapel Hill; and to ensure their successful completion of a baccalaureate degree.
Application to the program is competitive and is based on both demonstrated financial need and academic excellence. Statistics show that transfer students from ²Ê¿â±¦µäapp perform better on average as juniors than those who entered the UNC-Chapel Hill as freshmen.
C-STEP is not a scholarship program nor is it the general application process for University Transfer students wanting to attend UNC-Chapel Hill. Rather, C-STEP identifies talented low-to-moderate income students as early as high school and facilitates their eventual transfer admission to the UNC-Chapel Hill as juniors if they earn an appropriate associate's degree at ²Ê¿â±¦µäapp. While using funds from the Federal Student Aid to pay for tuition and books at the community college, C-STEP students are provided exemplary advising, mentoring, and support during their transition and subsequent transfer to the UNC-Chapel Hill.
This collaborative effort will ensure that C-STEP students feel "firmly planted" at UNC-Chapel Hill almost immediately upon transferring there. These transfer students will be academically prepared and fully engaged in the campus community — both of which strongly indicate student success.
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An important consideration for many students interested in transferring to a four-year university is how to pay for their educations. Once enrolled at the UNC-Chapel Hill, the university attempts to meet 100 percent of every admitted C-STEP student's demonstrated financial need through grants, scholarships, loans, and work-study programs. In addition, qualified C-STEP students will be eligible to apply to be scholars, a landmark program that enables students from low socioeconomic backgrounds to graduate with minimal debt from the UNC-Chapel Hill.
The following criteria apply to C-STEP applicants:
- Current enrollment or planning to enroll as an Associate of Arts Degree (AA) or Associate of Science Degree (AS) student at ²Ê¿â±¦µäapp;
- Record of strong academic performance;
- Demonstration of financial need according to FAFSA;
- Completion of all developmental studies requirements; and
- Commitment to be a full-time student each semester.