Demonstrating its longstanding commitment to access and affordability, UNC Asheville is proud to announce the launch of Access Asheville, a new financial aid program designed to make an exceptional, transformative education attainable for low- and middle-income North Carolinians. This provides an affordable path to pursue an undergraduate college degree for those who may have previously thought it would be out of reach financially.
Access Asheville guarantees full tuition and fees coverage through grants and scholarships during fall and spring semesters for North Carolina residents whose adjusted gross income is $80,000 or less, well above the median household income of $65,000 and potentially impacting more than half of North Carolina families and residents.
This significant financial commitment from the UNC System’s premier arts and sciences university represents an annual savings of $7,501 per family. Families can estimate their remaining expenses, including room and board and other indirect costs, by visiting the Net Price Calculator at https://npc.collegeboard.org/app/uncashville.
Students may be eligible for additional scholarship opportunities, such as a University Merit Award for first-year students or academic department scholarships after enrollment for at least one semester at UNC Asheville. Students also have access to federal loans.
Beginning for new first-year and transfer undergraduates entering Fall 2024, qualification for Access Asheville is based on the successful completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), to verify family Adjusted Gross Income (or AGI), and verification of North Carolina residency.
Scholarship and grant funding from Access Asheville for first-year students is available for up to eight semesters, and for transfers up to seven semesters, or until degree completion, whichever occurs first, provided all the eligibility and financial aid requirements (indicated below) are met.
Eligibility and Requirements:
- Applicants must annually complete the FAFSA by the UNC Asheville priority filing deadline of March 1.
- Applicants must be a North Carolina resident as determined by the North Carolina Residency Determination Service (ncresidency.org).
- Applicants’ Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) as reported on the FAFSA must be at or below $80,000.
- Applicants must be new first-year or transfer undergraduate students entering Fall 2024 and pursuing their first bachelor’s degree.
- Applicants must pursue a full-time courseload of at least 15 credit hours per semester.
- Recipients must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress.
Application Instructions:
- Applicants must submit an application to UNC Asheville using either the Common App (commonapp.org) or College Foundation of North Carolina application (CFNC).
- The Early Action deadline is Nov. 1, 2023, and the Regular Decision deadline is Feb. 1, 2024 for first-year students.
- The Transfer Fall deadline is June 15, 2024.
- Applicants must annually submit the FAFSA at fafsa.gov to UNC Asheville using Federal School Code 002907.
- The FAFSA is expected to open in December 2023. The FAFSA must be filed by March 1, UNC Asheville’s priority deadline for financial aid.
- For questions about the FAFSA (or to request a paper FAFSA), please call the U.S. Department of Education at 1.800.433.3243. If you have a hearing disability, you can call the TDD number at 1.800.730.8913.
- Applicants must complete residency determination through North Carolina Residency Determination Service at ncresidency.org.
Access Asheville Notification:
- Beginning late February 2024, once the application and FAFSA are submitted to UNC Asheville, applicants can expect to hear from the Office of Admission and Financial Aid within two weeks.
Have Questions? Contact the Financial Aid Team!
Ask questions and get advice from the University of North Carolina Asheville if you need assistance with applying for Financial Aid.
| Phone: 828.251.6535 |
| Email: finaid@unca.edu |
| FAFSA Code: 002907 |
| Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. |
