423-820-8181
SCHOLARSHIP HIGHLIGHTS
There are some GREAT institutional scholarships available to students. Here are a few!
TN TECH UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP
Deadline to apply: December 15th
If you've been accepted to TN Tech University don't forget to apply for the university scholarship. There's over 700 scholarships you could qualify for!
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UT PROMISE
Deadline to apply: December 15th
There are eligibility requirements for this scholarship. Must be HOPE eligible: by high school graduation have either a 3.0 GPA OR a 21 ACT composite (not superscore). AND family income is 60k or less.
Here's a tip: apply even if you're unsure if you qualify. You never know what may happen!
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ETSU UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP
Deadline to apply: March 1st
If you've been accepted to ETSU don't forget to apply! There're over 80 institutional scholarships you could qualify for. Must have activated your GoldLink before applying.
NESCC SCHOLARSHIPS
Deadline to apply: March 1st
If you've been accepted to NESCC don't forget to apply for this scholarship. Also, mind the eligibility requirements.
WSCC SCHOLARSHIP
Deadline to apply: February 1st
If you've been accepted to WSCC, don't forget to apply! Must activate your MyWS before applying.
COLLEGE APPLICATION DAY EVENTS
NiswongerCARE helped hundreds of students apply to college during College Application Month this year! Check out the galleries below for a highlight of the events.
MORRISTOWN WEST & CHEROKEE HIGH SCHOOL COLLEGE APPLICATION DAYS
WEST GREENE AND DANIEL BOONE HIGH SCHOOL COLLEGE APPLICATION DAYS
DOBYNS BENNETT AND MORRISTOWN EAST HIGH SCHOOL COLLEGE APPLICATION DAYS
NISWONGERCARE TEAM
2023-2024
MEET THE 2023-2024 NISWONGERCARE ADVISORS!
From left to right starting on the bottom row:
Jackie, Shannon, Holly
Jasmin, Heidi, Taylor
Cayla, Lauren, Katlyn
Emily, Colt
Hannah, Justin, Colt
Not photographed: Lyndsey
FAFSA CHAMPIONS
NiswongerCARE's hope is to increase the FAFSA completion rate in the schools we serve. (THEC/TSAC) hosts the TN FAFSA Challenge in order to honor schools' FAFSA completion. If a student completes their FAFSA, it's more likely they'll enroll into post-secondary education.
THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO BECOME A FAFSA CHAMPION
(1) Increase their Tennessee Promise applicant FAFSA completion rate by 5 percentage points or more compared to the previous academic year as of the Tennessee Promise FAFSA deadline
(2) Have 90% or more of their Tennessee Promise applicants complete the FAFSA as of the Tennessee Promise FAFSA deadline
CONGRATS
16 NiswongerCARE served schools became FAFSA Champions this year!
HOW TO TACKLE YOUR LAST SEMESTER OF SENIOR YEAR BY SETTING GOALS FOR YOURSELF
It’s hard to believe that all of you high school seniors only have this last semester left in your high school careers! How does that make you feel? Hopefully, it brings feelings of excitement; for this semester and your future. January is almost over. Do you feel like you were in control this past month? If you didn’t, what can you do to take control of the reins for the remainder of your senior year? One way is to set goals for yourself. If you have some type of structure in your routine, or big goals you’d like to accomplish, then you’ll find yourself less stressed. NiswongerCARE wants to share with you goals they’ve set for themselves. Use their goals as inspiration for yourself!
WHAT ARE SOME GOALS YOU’D THINK WOULD BENEFIT YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW? MAYBE IT’S GOING TO BED EARLIER. MAYBE YOU WANT TO JOIN A NEW CLUB AT SCHOOL TO GET INVOLVED AND MAKE FRIENDS. IF YOU WANT TO CONQUER THIS LAST SEMESTER OF HIGH SCHOOL WHAT IS GOING TO HELP YOU SUCCEED EVERY DAY?
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DON’T SET YOURSELF UP FOR FAILURE WHILE SETTING YOUR GOALS. TAKE EVERYTHING ONE DAY AT A TIME AND SET REASONABLE AND REALISTIC GOALS THAT YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN MANAGE.
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JANUARY IS COMING TO A CLOSE, AND YOU NOW HAVE ONLY FOUR MONTHS LEFT OF SENIOR YEAR. IF YOU HAVEN’T SET ANY 2023 SENIOR YEARS GOALS FOR YOURSELF YET.. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!!
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM NISWONGERCARE!
NiswongerCARE knows how to have fun! The CARE Staff wrapped up their busy fall semester by celebrating together with a potluck, ugly holiday sweater contest, and karaoke! One of the most important roles in a CARE Advisor’s job is to connect with their students so they can serve them best when it comes to helping with post-secondary goals. It’s also equally important that the Advisors connect with each other so they are one united team! Check out all the fun the NiswongerCARE Staff had at their holiday party.
HOLIDAY SWEATER CONTEST!
As voted on by the Advisors:
Peyton won!!
PARTY FUN
Do you like Karaoke?
Our staff sure does!
FAFSA
Free Application for Federal Student Aid
Scroll down for resources
The 2023-2024 FAFSA opened on October 1st, 2022. Since then, NiswongerCARE Advisors have been hard at work helping their seniors work on their applications. The FAFSA is one of the most important applications that seniors file if their plans have anything to do with post-secondary education. This task can seem overwhelming, especially if it’ll be the student’s first time filling out the application. This makes the CARE staff’s presence in their school’s so important because they are a resource for their students to utilize. Down below are some resources that will help a student’s FAFSA experience go smoothly!
ABOUT FAFSA
FAFSA stands for: Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This is the application that prospective and current college students fill out in order to determine their eligibility for federal and state financial aid. You may have heard common terms like: Tn Promise, HOPE Scholarship, PELL Grant. Those are just a few of the scholarships and grants that a student may be eligible to receive to help pay for college. Students file a FAFSA for every academic year they go to college.
STUDENT AND PARENT RESOURCES
Now that you know what the FAFSA is, how do you get started on your application? Below there will be many explanations/tips/info about the FAFSA. Once great resource is on the College For TN Website. College For TN has video walkthroughs for every single section of the FAFSA. The tutorials begin with how to create your account: FSA ID, all the way to signing and submitting your FAFSA. Use the link down below!
GETTING STARTED
Before you start working on your FAFSA, you will need to know a few things about yourself:
Are you a dependent student or an independent student?
Who’s a parent on the FAFSA?
What parent information do I need to include?
What if I can’t provide any information about my parents?
ARE YOU A DEPENDENT OR INDEPENDENT STUDENT?
Dependent students are required to report parent information on the FAFSA. Independent students are not required to provide parent information.
Use this guide to figure out which parent’s information to include (depending on your family situation).
WHO'S YOUR PARENT ON THE FAFSA?
A parent on the FAFSA can only be the following: biological parents, adoptive parents, or step parents. Everyone has a different family dynamic. “Parent” means something to everyone personally, however the only people you are allowed to list as a parent are those categories mentioned above. Use this guide to figure out which parent’s information to include (depending on your family situation). If you still have questions, please contact your NiswongerCARE Advisor.
SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
Not everyone's personal situations fit inside of a box. You might have determined you are a dependent student. However, you're unable to provide parent information because of a special circumstance. Don't worry, you aren't the first student to come across this situation! When you are filling out the dependency section and you're faced with "I am able to provide parent information" or "I'm unable to provide parent information", choose that second option. This will in turn let you choose the option of: "I have a special circumstance". This will let you bypass the parent sections, and you will be able to submit your FAFSA.
WAIT YOU'RE NOT DONE!
You'll need to then contact the financial aid offices of the colleges you're considering. Every school is different, so you need to ask them what you need to do since you chose the "Special Circumstance" option. After you’ve done what the college asks of you, they will determine if they’ll grant you a “dependency override”. This means that the college will deem you “independent” in their eyes. If you are not granted this you will either (1) Not be eligible for financial aid OR (2) have to find a way to provide parent information.
FAFSA INFORMATION FOR DACA & UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS
Not every student will be eligible to file a FAFSA. If you happen to fall in this category, you deserve the chance to attend post-secondary education just as any other student. NiswongerCARE wants you to know that if you happen to be DACA or Undocumented, there are resources for you, and we are here to help you navigate the college going process.
Resources found for you from NCARE Advisor Hannah Scheurer
WHY ARE DACA AND UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS INELIGIBLE TO FILE A FAFSA?
“An Undocumented Student does not qualify for in-state tuition rates at Tennessee state institutions, does not qualify for FAFSA federal aid nor Tennessee state aid, and may encounter rules that disqualify them from getting private and student loans.”
Since Undocumented/DACA students do not qualify for federal or state financial aid, these students need to seek out scholarship opportunities instead of completing the FAFSA.
Don’t be discouraged to pursue college. College opens up the door for opportunities beyond high school. The value of a college education is more than just pursuing a career. College is also meant to help students build community within each other, learn more about yourself as you are going through transitional life changes, and influence your knowledge about the world. succeed. There will be challenges in regards to financial aid and finding a program that you qualify for, but ask for help early in your journey because you have people at your high school and colleges who want you to
FINANCIAL AID RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO YOU
List of Scholarships available to all immigrant statuses:
https://library.ws.edu/ld.php?content_id=67821691
Reach out to colleges you are interested in to see if they have other scholarships. For example, here is a list from ETSU: https://www.etsu.edu/cas/lcrc/scholarships.php
Schools known in our region for supporting DACA and Undocumented students: (Not a complete list)
Walters State Community College: https://library.ws.edu/c.php?g=1179998&p=8686310
EAST TN Partnering Organizations of Equal Chance for Education: https://www.equalchanceforeducation.org/criteria-to-apply/
Milligan University, ETSU, Carson Newman, Maryville College, TN Wesleyan
TCAT (flat rate tuition for all students):
https://tcatelizabethton.edu/future-students/admissions-frequently-asked-questions
2022 COUNSELORS CONVENING
Here are the highlights from this year's event-ETSU location.
“LEARNING TOGETHER - ONE REGION, ONE PURPOSE, EVERY CHILD.”
#LearningTogether, #CER, #NiswongerFoundation
Educators across Northeast Tennessee joined colleagues for a professional development day centered on the theme of “Learning Together - One Region, One Purpose, Every Child.” Nearly 4,700 educators, representing all subject areas, at thirteen locations across ten school districts for stimulating presentations (specific to their subject areas), discussion, and relationship building with their colleagues. The Niswonger Foundation and East Tennessee State University were honored to host 180 of the region’s School Counselors and Student Support Professionals.. We are very appreciative of the partners who made this day possible. Thank you to Mr. Niswonger, ETSU, Ballad Health, and Food City whose partnership helped to make this day possible!
COLLABORATION
#LearningTogether, #CER, #NiswongerFoundation
The Counselor Convening #LearningTogetherDay provided over 180 School Counselors and Student Services professionals the opportunity to learn about best practices and collaborate with colleagues and partners from across the region!
NISWONGERCARE STAFF
#LearningTogether, #CER, #NiswongerFoundation
NiswongerCARE Advisors were honored to partner with East Tennessee State University to host the Counselor Convening
COLLEGE APPLICATION AND EXPLORATION MONTH 2022
Recap with NiswongerCARE!
September was a VERY busy month for NiswongerCARE because it’s: COLLEGE APPLICATION MONTH! Here at NCARE the Advisors participate in all the Path 2 College Events. Once the Advisors began their new school year, they all hit the ground running with planning their school’s events. Since the culture is different in every school NCARE serves, that also means every event will look different! It’s exciting to see what each high school does to implement a college going culture for their students. NiswongerCARE’s role in this is by helping their students create their own college going mindset. Since College Application Month is a National Event, many colleges will also join in the festivities. They do this by offering an opportunity for students to apply to their school for FREE! This creates excitement for seniors, which helps give them more motivation to apply to college. NCARE Advisors encourage their seniors to take advantage of this opportunity, and also assist them in applying by planning their College Application Month Events. Discover what NiswongerCARE’s high schools were up to in September in the pictures below!
#WHYAPPLY
THEC/TSAC encouraged everyone in TN to share why they think seniors should apply to college with the #WhyApply on social media. Here are NiswongerCARE's thoughts on why you should apply to college!
COLLEGE APPLICATION MONTH EVENTS
Check out all of the fun events NiswongerCARE, Counselors, Administrators, and Colleges put together for their students!
EVEN MORE FUN EVENTS!
NCARE held TN Promise Scholarship & college applicationworkshops, college fairs, and more!
NCAN NATIONAL CONFERENCE 2022!
NCAN CONFERENCE IN ATLANTA
NiswongerCARE staff, Alyssa Rice and Anita Kilbourne Greer took part in the National NCAN Conference in Atlanta, September 12-14, 2022. This year’s conference theme was “Advancing the Right to Postsecondary Attainment” and the speakers and session leaders shared valuable information that was inspiring and motivating. Thanks to NCAN for a great event!
THANKS TO NCAN!
Alyssa is a CARE Advisor serving Dobyns-Bennett High School, as well as a CARE Mentor assisting fellow advisors. Anita is Associate Director of the program.
NISWONGERCARE 2022-2023 STAFF UPDATES
Read below for new updates!
MEET NISWONGERCARE'S 2022-2023 STAFF!
Meet NiswongerCARE’s 2022-2023 staff! NCARE is so excited to start serving their schools and have been training all summer long to bring their best to the new school year. NiswongerCARE is ready to serve every student by mentoring and guiding their students with their post-secondary endeavors!
MEET NISWONGERCARE'S NEW ADVISORS!
There are two new additions to NiswongerCARE’s team: Shannon Sands and Katlyn Jones. Katlyn is NCARE’S Carson-Newman University Counseling part-time Advisor and she will be serving Morristown East High School. Shannon is a full time CARE Advisor and she will be serving Morristown West, Cosby, and Cherokee High Schools. Katlyn and Shannon have been shadowing the veteran Advisors to gain hands-on experience for their roles.
SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR
Along with the new school year NiswongerCARE has a few staff updates!
First of all, there has been a change in the Social Media Coordinator position. Emily Emerick started her position in July of 2021, and has now begun her second year running NiswongerCARE’s social media pages and this year she will be running the NiswongerCARE website. You can find NCARE’s social media handles here.
LEARNING RESOURCE COORDINATOR
Heidi Armstong-Dyer is NiswongerCARE’s Learning Resource Coordinator. She started this role in 2021 and has provided various resources for the NCARE staff. Heidi makes sure to stay up to date with changes from: colleges, scholarships, state updates, and more! This allows the NiswongerCARE staff to accurately provide the correct information for their students’ important decisions.
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MENTORING PROGRAM
In 2021, NiswongerCARE had a major staff change. This led to two new changes; shadowing and mentoring. The new NCARE Advisors had the opportunity to shadow the veteran Advisors to help them start strong in their new positions. After the school year started, two Advisors earned another title: NiswongerCARE Mentor. Emily Emerick and Alyssa Gibson Rice were appointed to mentor and assist the new NCARE Advisors. One day out of their week is for this Mentor role. Emily and Alyssa were a resource for the Advisors who didn’t have experience in this role. They assisted with Path to College events, TN Promise Scholarship and FAFSA workshops, and much more! NiswongerCARE has decided to continue this mentoring program for the 2022-2023 school year.