Save Money on North Carolina Tuition

Updated: Feb 8, 2023

Get North Carolina In-State Tuition

One of the more affordable ways to get a bachelor’s degree typically is to attend an in-State public school. Here is a website with information about how to qualify as a North Carolina resident: https://ncresidency.cfnc.org/residencyInfo/studentFAQ. While in-State tuition for a public institution is not financial aid, it is subsidized. The cost of attending an in-State public institution should be compared against the cost of other institutions after financial aid awards are offered. Families often do not pay the sticker price.

Get a North Carolina Government Grant to Go to a Private School

The NC Need-Based Scholarship Program provides grant aid for North Carolina residents to attend private schools. Information about the NC Need-Based Scholarship Program is available at: https://www.cfnc.org/pay-for-college/apply-for-financial-aid/nc-need-based-scholarship/.

Please note that the funds are available until they are all spent, so I encourage families to apply as soon as they are able. Families apply by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®). The FAFSA® becomes available on October 1 each year and should ideally be completed by November 1. Please list at least one North Carolina private college as a potential college when completing the FAFSA. Students with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC, a rough estimate of what a family can afford to pay per year) of $16,000 or less are eligible.

The North Carolina program provides tuition assistance to North Carolina resident undergraduate students enrolled in at least 9 credit hours at eligible private nonprofit North Carolina colleges. The maximum size of the grant is $7,640 in 2022. The grants are need-based, just as the name states. Since in-State tuition for North Carolina public schools is subsidized by the State, these grants help to “level the playing field” by providing a subsidy for North Carolina residents to attend private schools in North Carolina.

UNC Need-Based Grants

The UNC Need-Based Grant provides need-based financial aid to attend one of the 16 Universities of North Carolina (UNCs). Information about the program can be found at: https://www.cfnc.org/pay-for-college/apply-for-financial-aid/unc-need-based-grant/. The maximum size of the grant is $4,200 in 2022. Please note that the funds are available until they are all spent, so I encourage families to apply as soon as they are able.

Families apply by completing the FAFSA®. Please list at least one UNC as a potential college when completing the FAFSA. Students enrolled in at least 6 credit hours are eligible.

NC Education Lottery Scholarship

The NC Education Lottery Scholarship is another need-based grant that is available to students attending either community colleges or a UNC. Information about it can be found here:

https://www.cfnc.org/pay-for-college/apply-for-financial-aid/nc-education-lottery-scholarship/. The maximum size of the grant is $3,768 in 2022. Please note that the funds are available until they are all spent, so I encourage families to apply as soon as they are able.

Families apply by completing the FAFSA®. Students enrolled in at least 6 credit hours are eligible.

NC Tuition Promise

In-State students only pay $500 per semester to attend one of four North Carolina public universities under the NC Tuition Promise Program. Out-of-State students pay $2,500 per semester. For details, please see: https://www.northcarolina.edu/future-students/nc-promise/.

UNC-Chapel Hill Meets Full Need

The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill is one of only two public institutions in the U.S. that both (1) has need-blind admissions and (2) meets the full need of the students it admits (sometimes with Federal student loans). You can see the names of other institutions (public and private) that are both need-blind and meet full need here: https://www.educ8fit.com/economically-disadvantaged. Other North Carolina publics offer need-based aid. A typical grant is around $10,000.

North Carolina Merit-Based Financial Aid

North Carolina does not have the large merit-based financial aid programs one finds in Georgia (Hope Scholarships) or Florida (Bright Futures). Individual institutions, however, distribute merit-based aid. The merit-based awards at North Carolina public universities typically range from $2,000 to $7,000.