College Application Deadlines and Fees for UNC Schools

Interested in going to college this fall? Check out these deadlines for four-year public universities to make sure you have the best chance of getting accepted:

University	Application Deadline	Application Fee
Appalachain State University	February 1, March 15	$55
East Carolina University	March 15	$70
Elizabeth City State University	May 1, June 1	$30
Fayetteville State University	June 30	$35
NC A&T State University	February 15, Trans: April 1	$45
North Carolina Central University	June 1	$40
North Carolina State University	February 1	$70
UNC Asheville	February 15, Trans: April 15	$50
UNC Chapel Hill	January 7	$80
UNC Charlotte	February 1	$60
UNC Greensboro	March 1, July 15	$55
UNC Pembroke	July 15	$45
UNC Wilmington	February 1	$60
UNC School of the Arts	January 18, March 15	$95
Western Carolina University	February 1, March 1, April 1	$50
Winston Salem State University	March 15	$50
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics	January 15	$0

Remember that getting everything in on time is an important, and sometimes determining, factor in the admissions process so keep deadlines in mind.

If you are unable to afford the application fee, there are fee waivers available to you. See your guidance counselor for details.

Although community colleges are not listed, they are most certainly not discouraged. Most community colleges will accept applications at any time with a free application fee. Keep in mind that classes fill up fast so try to apply early.

Post-College Financial Lessons

My post-grad experience has been typical of many of my friends, complete with college debt, no money, and certainly no money to jump into being able to pay for an apartment or put a down payment on a house. My friends and I share our experience with thousands, of college grads all over the United States who are living at home to save money and pay off any debt before really settling down. Graduating from college comes the pressure to know exactly what you want to do and how to get there. But the reality is that it isn’t that easy. Many of us don’t know what we want to do with our lives, and statistics about people like us that surface the internet simultaneously give us comfort that we are not alone, while also putting added pressure on us to defy the stereotypes placed on us.

I don’t want to spend time feeling sorry for myself or my fellow peers in writing this blog, because truly, that won’t get any of us anywhere. What I would like to do instead is to explain what I would do if I could do it all over again.

These are my mistakes. This is what I would do differently:

1. I would live at home throughout college. If I did nothing else different, I would have half of the debt I have now.
2. I wouldn’t have spent half my savings my sophomore year of college. I would have significantly more money now and life would be so grand.
3. I would have gone to a tech school to get my associates before going to a 4 year college. If I did that, and lived at home all through that time, I would have have ¼ of the debt I have now, maybe less.
4. If I did number 3, coupled with working throughout college and paying my tuition as I went, I would have NO debt! No debt! People do it every day, and it is amazing!
5. I would have majored in something really really awesome that I love! I wasn’t crazy about my major and I put myself through a lot of unnecessary stress because of it. If I went to get my associates first, that would have given me time to figure out my passion (which I have learned a lot about over the past several years). I say that only because I don’t plan on getting a job in what I majored in, and I almost knew that from the beginning. I am one of the thousands of people who don’t know what they want to do with the rest of their life, and that really affected me in college. I would have been able to pinpoint a job with my degree a lot better had I majored in something I planned to use.
6. I would have gone to a tech school and been done. Maybe I would have done graphic design or welding. I don’t know.
7. I would have done more research when I was applying for college. Enough said.

I thought I knew everything when I was in high school and college. Turns out I was wrong. These ideas are ways I could have saved money, but I didn’t do it all wrong. Here are some tips that worked for me:

1. When I wasn’t spending, I was saving.
2. I worked in college so I didn’t use my refunds from my loan to live off of. Sending my refund checks back really cut down on my total loan cost.
3. I lived at home 2 out of 4 years of college which saved on dorm and apartment costs.
4. I went to a state school. Private schools are quite expensive.
5. I joined a program after college that would help pay my student debt.
6. I continue to live at home and defy social norms post-college to save money.
7. I never buy anything full price.

Just some things to think about as you go to school, graduate, or start living on your own. I am always interested in financial lessons learned by others if you are willing to share. What is your story?

The Spending Diet: Challenge Accepted

I like to be honest when I blog because I when I read other people’s writing, I like to be able to either relate, or not relate. For instance, someone who makes tons of money and lives debt free might not get as much from the blogs I write compared to the low-moderate income person who is trying to pay down debt. We are all different, and when it comes to making life better and easier for us, we have to find out what works for us. That is why there are so many diets and acne medicines out there. Different solutions work for different people! I say this as a preface for the advice I write about. Most of what I write about is from research or my own personal experiences. I find finances really fascinating. I grew up in a house that talked a lot about finances and celebrated saving money and getting out of debt. I am always interested to hear others’ success stories and challenges. So when I came across a blog written by a woman named Anna who was able to pay off $24,000 of debt in 15 months by cutting spending, I had to know how she did it.

First, she made a list of her needs. From those expenses, she saw where she could cut costs. I decided to immediately make this list, and here is what I came up with:

-Student Loan

-Car Insurance

-Gas

-Cell phone bill

-Gym Membership

-Gifts (had a really hard time with this one. She says it’s not a need, but I feel it is a necessity to give people gifts on occasions and holidays)

-Coffee (morning ritual; she says it is a want, but it is something I could cut down on)

Next, she says to stop spending money except for things that are on your NEEDS list.

Since this is The Spending Diet as apposed to the Spending Fast, she is allowing herself to spend $100 a month on non-needs (entertainment, clothes, etc.). This was a hard one for me (I am not quite ready to embark on the Spending Fast). Cutting down my non-needs to $100 is going to be tough, but the money left over can go to my student loan!

February Expenses:

-Coffee $20 (giving up coffee for lent starting February 13)

-Gift for a friend $0 (going to make it homemade this time which is hard for me because I love to buy people gifts)

-Superbowl $10 (gotta eat delicious food)

-Trip to Raleigh $40 (doing the Krispy Kreme Challenge)

-Valentines Day $20 (making and buying simpler gifts than what I usually try to do)

-Other $10

Wow. This is a big difference from last month. Anna says once the money is gone, it is gone. You can’t buy anything else besides needs for the rest of the month!

This is going to be tough but I am going to do this for my remaining 6 months and track my progress. I am excited to see where this will take me. If I keep this up, I could put quite a bit of extra money towards my student loan each month. We will see just how much extra I have at the end of the month. Will you take this challenge with me?

For more information on The Spending Diet, visit Anna’s website at andthenwesaved.com.