Grade 11 & 12

Juniors and Seniors are required to attend a total of three Crosby Jr/Sr Academies (CSA), prior to January 31 of their senior year. Each student must complete at least one (1) during junior year, however, if the student chooses to complete four (4) academies during their junior year, they will be complete their senior year requirement.  This gives students the flexibility to attend the sessions they think will be most valuable based on their post-secondary path.

Crosby Scholars offers Jr/Sr Academies year round.  Virtual and in-person options are available.  Students who use more than one session tend to be more successful in achieving their goals.  All Academies are free to the student. However, Crosby Scholars expends resources providing sessions.

Suggested Topics for Junior Year

• Test Prep (ACT & SAT)
• Career Exploration
• YouScience Apptitude Evaluation
• College 101 - What you want from College and how to create your list.
• Resume Writing - Crafting an Activities List
• Essay Writing

Suggested Topics for Senior Year

• CommonApp Workshop
• Essay Writing
• Understanding Financial Aid
• How to Read a Financial Aid Award Letter
• FAFSA
• Registering for College Classes

Online registration is required through CrosbyConnect. Students can check their Academy status. Please note it may take a few days to update following an Academy session.

• Plan wisely in order to complete this requirement. Students must complete three (3) sessions by January 31st of the students senior year.  
• To receive credit for attending an academy, scholars must: arrive on time, sign in, stay for the entire academy, and submit a confirmation of attendance at the end. Scholars who skip any of the steps to this process DO NOT receive academy credit. 
• Students who register for an academy but do not attend and do not cancel their registration prior to the event will jeopardize their status in the program and their ability to attend more exclusive events. 
• Webinar academies are available. Check CrosbyConnect for details.

When attending virtual sessions please follow Zoom Meeting Guidelines.

Click to complete an online community service form for the 2024-25 school year!

2024-25 Deadline:

Grades 11 - 12:  January 31, 2025

Crosby Scholars are required to complete two (2) hours of community service, although five (5) are recommended. Scholars must submit a form documenting their hours.

Scholars who completed the Crosby Scholars Program during the previous school year may count hours volunteered after the previous year's deadline, including summer volunteer hours, toward the following school year's requirement.

Community service must be performed with a non-profit agency or be an activity that benefits a non-profit agency. The volunteer commitment can be fulfilled through scouts, school clubs, civic organizations, and/or certain church activities. While membership in a club or organization does not count as service, volunteering in the community in a club-sponsored activity does. For example, being a member of a youth choir doesn't count, but singing at a nursing home with the choir qualifies as service hours.

If you have questions about whether your community service idea meets the requirement for the Program, please contact Crosby Scholars at 704.873.5005. Crosby Scholars Program staff reserves the right to determine if a community service activity fulfills our requirement. 

Virtual College Fair NACAC 2025 Spring April 27 Virtual Fair

College Fair/College Visit Requirement:

It is important to research your list of colleges.  Students are required to explore four (4) colleges.  We encourage you to participate in in-person or virtual college tours offered by most colleges and universities. Colleges also offer Zoom, Instagram, Facebook and other virtual sessions to learn about the school.  

When you have completed your visits and research into four (4) schools, please log into your CrosbyConnect Student account during your 12th grade year and complete the College Fair/Visit form.  Form only has to be completed once and during senior year.  

Due by October 31, for the Class of 2025.

To fulfill the college fair/college visit requirement, Crosby Scholars must speak with four (4) college admission reps about their respective schools. Students typically fulfill this requirement by attending a college fair and submitting a college fair form during their sophomore, junior or senior year; however, juniors and seniors may also fulfill this requirement by visiting four (4) college campuses.  

The most popular way to fulfill this requirement is to attend the local college fair.  

CACRAO is offers a college fair in Iredell County during the month of October each year.  Crosby Scholars and your guidance team can provide information.  For the 2024-2025 school year, CACRAO will be local on the following days.  Ask your school counselor for details.  

October 15 - 6:30 - 8pm Mooresville Consolidated Fair - Lake Norman Charter

October 16 - 8:30 - 9:30am - West Iredell High School

October 16 - 10:15 - 11:15am - Statesville High School

October 16 - 1:30 - 2:30pm - North Iredell High School

October 16 - 6:30 -8pm - South Iredell High School

The JR/SR program publishes 2 monthly newsletters, destinationcollege2024 & the Jr Newsletter. They are published monthly for Crosby Scholars in the class of 2023/24 to keep them informed of activities, deadlines and announcements. Each newsletter offers appropriate advice and assistance for a specific month. Newsletters are posted on this website and a newsletter link is e-mailed to senior parents and senior advisors.

Jr Newsletter - August                                           destinationcollege2025-- August

Jr Newsletter - September                                     destinationcollege2025 -- September "Scholarships"

Jr Newsletter - October                                        

Jr Newsletter - November                                     destinationcollege2025 -  November

Jr Newsletter - December                                     destinationcollege2025 - December

Jr Newsletter - January                                         destinationcollege2025-- January

Jr Newsletter - February                                       destinationcollege2025 - February - 

Jr Newsletter - March                                           destinationcollege2025 -- March - "Making a Decision"

Jr Newsletter - April                                             destinationcollege2025-- April - "Senior Celebration Info/

Jr Newsletter - May                                              destinationcollege2023-- 

Scholarships: The Crosby Scholars Program offers several scholarships and awards.  Use this link to get to the current available scholarships.

Scholarships have started opening! | Smore Newsletters

Read each description carefully for instructions on applying, including what documents to upload.

Last Dollar Grants: The Crosby Scholars Last Dollar Grant is need-based financial aid. Scholars must demonstrate both general financial need and remaining financial hardship after the school of choice has awarded aid. For more information, go to the Last Dollar Grant tab below.

Other scholarships.  Students can begin by researching institutional scholarships offered at the colleges where they plan to apply. The financial aid web page of every college lists scholarships unique to their school and the qualifications necessary for consideration. Crosby Scholars sends out a link to the scholarship page of all colleges in North Carolina. This list can also be found in CrosbyConnect. Students applying to out-of-state schools can locate this information on each schools' web page.

Every high school in Iredell-Statesville Schools has a school counselor designated to serve as the scholarship coordinator. Seniors should make sure they know who is in charge of scholarships and how to access their high school's scholarship newsletter. High schools provide information on local, state, and national scholarships.

FINANCIAL AID

The first step to applying for financial aid is completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which opens online October 1 annually.  It is important to submit the FAFSA as early as possible. Every college has a priority filing deadline for filing the FAFSA, and students who meet the deadline receive first consideration for aid.  Follow these steps to the financial aid process. 

While all colleges require the FAFSA, some schools also request the College Scholarship Service (CSS) PROFILE, which is the institution's analysis of the family's financial circumstances. Unlike FAFSA, the PROFILE costs $25 for the first application and $16 for each additional application.

College costs vary widely. The sticker price at some schools can discourage students from applying, convinced they can't afford to attend. However, the only way to discover the true cost of attendance is to submit the FAFSA and review the school's financial aid package upon receipt. Private colleges with large price tags frequently provide merit aid that makes their overall cost comparable to, or in some instances, more affordable than, public universities.

Outside scholarships can further reduce the cost, depending on how they are factored into the aid package. Students should ALWAYS check with the financial aid office to determine how private scholarship funds will affect any other aid offered. Ultimately, students and families are best served by waiting until they compare all financial aid packages before deciding which college is the best financial choice.

HELPFUL LINKS

• How to Create Your FSA ID (opens as .pdf)
• Line by line demo video - How to complete the FAFSA
  • When completing the FAFSA online, use the "live help" button or the online chat feature
  • Call the FAFSA hotline at 800.433.3243 or 800.730.8913
  • The IRS Data Retrieval Tool is up and running. Learn more about this tool here.
  • #AskFAFSA Office Hours—the last Wednesday of each month on Twitter or watch the stream live at  http://bit.ly/AskFAFSA2
• CSS/PROFILE
• Crosby Scholarship Database
• Scholarship websites
• CFNC: NC Student and Parent Assist Loans
• CFNC: Student/Parent Loan Calculator
• Differences between Federal vs. Private Student Loans Infographic
• Need help comparing your Financial Aid Award Letters? Check out this Compare your Aid Award tool from College Board & Big Future.

Have a financial aid question? Contact Jenniffer Jamison, Crosby Scholars Senior Program Coordinator at 704/873-5005 ext 11407 or jjamison@crosbyscholarsiredell.org

Applications are open for 2024 now! 

Submittable Link to apply for LDG 

The Crosby Scholars Last Dollar Grant is need-based financial aid. 

****A scholar must apply for financial aid by submitting a FAFSA to be considered for a Last Dollar Grant.   Link to the line by line demo of how to complete the FAFSA

****A scholar must demonstrate not only financial need but also remaining need after the school of choice has awarded aid.

****To determine eligibility, the Crosby Scholars staff completes a need analysis form on each scholar individually. 

Three supporting documents must be uploaded to the application:

1. A copy of the scholar’s letter of admission from the institution he/she will attend,
2. A copy of the financial aid award letter from the institution he/she will attend, and
3. A copy of pages 1 and 2 of the SAR- Student Aid Report

If the scholar does not have the three supporting documents, he/she must submit the application and then upload the supporting documents when they are received. Priority is given to those applications received prior to the deadline. The deadline for grant requests is June 30. 

Scholars are notified of our decision by letter posted in their Crosby portal beginning in July. An award is made payable to the institution and is sent directly to the institution to be credited to the scholar's account. The funds are mailed in the summer, to be applied to fall semester costs.

YOU are responsible for submitting your grades at the end of each semester. You do not have to submit an official college transcript. Submitting a copy of your grades printed from your college account is acceptable, provided it includes your cumulative GPA.

Crosby Scholars who complete the program during their senior year with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher are eligible to apply for a Last Dollar Grant for up to 4 years. Even if the Last Dollar Grant is not awarded the first year, the scholar may still reapply 3 times. 

A scholar who does not graduate from high school with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher may apply once his/her college cumulative GPA is 2.0 or higher. 

Students must apply for Last Dollar Grant funding within two years of high school graduation. Last Dollar Grants are available for up to four years of undergraduate studies within six years of high school graduation.

On April 23, 2024, we celebrated the students who completed the Crosby Scholars Senior Program. 

We distributed certificates, graduation cords and a special gift for students who came to the event.  Scholarships were also awarded. 

You can see the event photos, scholarship winners and senior slides for our students by clicking here.

Two programs offered exclusively to Crosby Scholars seniors are Essay Review and Mock Interviews.  We have some of the best volunteers to review student writing and help students practice their interview skills.  

Want to volunteer? Contact Jenniffer Jamison jjamision@crosbyscholarsiredell.org