Students across Lakes Region send in college applications for free on ApplyNH Day

Applying for college can be a costly, and sometimes exhausting, process, but earlier this month, 12th graders at Lakes Region high schools applied to Granite State colleges and universities completely free of charge.

ApplyNH Day is organized through the American College Application Campaign, and facilitated by Granite Edvance annually. More than 70 high schools statewide were involved, including Laconia, Belmont, Gilford, Franklin, Inter-Lakes, Moultonborough Academy, Plymouth, Prospect Mountain, Tilton School and Winnisquam, on Nov. 13.

At Laconia High School, 80 students applied to 92 New Hampshire institutions that day, according to Director of School Counseling Mollie Greeley. Greeley said the goal is to help New Hampshire students access higher education.

“The students were able to apply to any and all New Hampshire colleges without paying an application fee,” Greeley said.

Greeley said this includes the University of New Hampshire, Southern New Hampshire University, Franklin Pierce University, Plymouth State University, and community colleges. Fees can usually range from $40 to $85, and Greeley pointed out that when students are applying to multiple schools, it can be quite costly.

The entire graduating class is invited to take part, and each student filled out at least one application. There was a banner for students to sign, showing who applied and to where, and they were entered into a raffle for a $500 scholarship.

Cesar Tostado was the winner in Laconia, and plans to pursue a degree in nursing. He has his sights set on PSU and the Panther Nursing Simulation Center.

“This was a big day for a lot of kids, as it was their first day to apply to college,” Greeley said. “There’s a lot of ringing bells and celebrating. It is a nice moment for them, because it is a culmination of all the work they have done.”

There is much preparation to do, so when they walk in, they have done almost everything in their Common App, a standardized application form accepted at many state schools. This also gets students' applications done early, as some deadlines are Feb. 15.

“To have students have all this ready in November puts them in a great position,” Greeley said.

Gilford High School Counselor Desiree Smith said 37 students took advantage of the free applications by filling out 48 in total. She thought it was highly beneficial that a Granite Edvance representative was able to help with federal student aid forms.

This was the second year Gilford has been involved, and Smith said it was like a workshop where everyone was able to get into the frame of mind of applying, with the instant help of admissions counselors right there in the room.

“It was a great experience,” she said. “They got to work with the counselors and get a college perspective. Plus, it helps them be more confident in submitting applications to colleges.”

Sixteen Inter-Lakes High School students applied to 33 schools, and Director of School Counseling Nick Connell echoed Greeley in saying it was a successful day all around. He said students benefited from having college admission representatives from multiple schools there, as well as volunteers who were able to guide them through the process.

“The nice part for students doing this is that they get an admissions decision early, and that can help them with financial planning for college,” Connell said.

The $500 scholarship was another nice perk for the students. Connell said it isn’t a lot of money, but definitely a little extra push for them to take part. Riley Anderson was the recipient of the scholarship at Inter-Lakes, and she plans to study forensic science.

Only a handful of students applied to just one college, and the vast majority submitted applications for multiple schools. Connell agreed with Greeley, saying applying to multiple schools can be costly, and removing the application fee was a great incentive.

“It does add up quickly,” Connell said.

Kiera Moynihan, a 12th grader at Inter-Lakes, said that it wasn’t just about the free opportunity, but also having people from the universities and colleges there, in person, to help.

“Everything is online, and on that day, we were using the Common App, which is basically one application to send to multiple schools,” said Moynihan, who applied to UNH, PSU and Keene State College during ApplyNH Day. “But some schools have specific questions to answer in addition to the Common App, so it was helpful.”

While this is a one-time event each year, Laconia has other plans set up to assist future college students. They are planning an “Apps and Apps” program, where they will serve appetizers while filling out scholarship applications.

“We will get some snacks for the kids, and have a lot of local scholarships that students can apply to,” Greeley said. “It is a good focus time, and Lakes Region Scholarship Foundation offers support onsite.”

Editor's note: Kiera Moynihan is an intern this semester at The Daily Sun.