VGCC Offers Scholarships To Top Area High School Seniors

With the cost of a college education steadily increasing, wouldn’t it be great for students to get their first year virtually free of charge?

Vance-Granville Community College is making that offer to seniors who graduate in the top 10 percent at all public high schools and private schools in the four counties the college serves.

For the fourth consecutive year, VGCC is offering a $1,000 scholarship to all top 10 percent graduates in Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin counties who enroll at VGCC. And for the first time, VGCC will give a $500 scholarship to area students who finish in the top 20 percent of their graduating classes.

The $1,000 grant will pay for virtually all tuition, books and fees for one year at Vance-Granville, college officials said. Students will be able to live at home, which will cut out the high cost of boarding at four-year colleges, they added.

Scholarships are good for all the more-than 30 programs offered at Vance-Granville, including college transfer, technical and vocational fields of study. Credits earned for almost all college-level courses taught at VGCC are transferable to four-year institutions.

After their first year, students are able to apply for a second year’s scholarship, and their chances of success are very good, college officials said. This year, VGCC awarded more than 400 scholarships to deserving students.

VGCC President Robert A. Miller has mailed a letter to the students who finished their junior years in high school in the top-10 and top-20 percent of their classes. He congratulated them on their academic success and invited them to consider the opportunities offered by Vance-Granville Community College. In offering them scholarships, Miller told the students the grants are made possible by generous donations of many citizens, businesses and organizations to the school’s Endowment Fund.

Miller included scholarship applications and applications for admission to VGCC with the letters. Students should complete the forms and return them to the office of the Assistant Dean of Student Services by Jan. 31, 2000.

Students and parents who have questions about the scholarship offer may contact Gene Purvis, assistant dean of Student Services, at (252) 492-2061, ext. 3233.