College Counseling & Scholarships

Summit Charter School is College-Bound!

COLLEGE COUNSELING

As Summit grew from a K-8 to a K-12 school, we recognized a clear and critical need for a comprehensive college access initiative to support our high school students. To that end, Summit fosters a robust and intentional college-going culture, as well as individual postsecondary planning support for our students and families.

Summit partnered with College Access Strategies, which specializes in strategic college access planning support for schools aimed at creating sustainable change. Their Every Student Ready Framework is nationally recognized for engaging all stakeholders to leverage existing resources, emphasize unique growth areas, and build cross-sector connections to support the goals of each school.

Highlights from Summit's Every Student Ready Framework, developed in partnership with College Access Strategies, include:

Systems to maximize individual student competitiveness and outcomes

Regular 1:1 student and family meetings for high school juniors and seniors
College/university apply-to lists balanced for each student’s profile and aspirations
ACT/SAT content and strategy preparation
Curricular and extracurricular advising to strengthen student profiles
Individual coaching on college and scholarship application essays
Financial aid application completion assistance for students and families

Preparing Summit graduates for successful college completion

Summit’s goal for each of our students extends far beyond offers of admission to colleges/universities. Admission is just step one. Support for completion of college degrees is a critical component of any highly effective “to and through” program. To that end, Summit is fully committed to comprehensive integration of postsecondary readiness and completion strategies.

Positive Results

Summit’s commitment to our college access initiative has yielded positive results to date. Highlights include:

100% of students in the Class of 2022 submitted at least one college or university applications. To date, seniors have received 38 offers to 23 colleges and universities.

100% of students in the Class of 2022 completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

Offers of admission earned to the following institutions: Appalachian State University, Brevard College, Carolina Coastal University, Cape Fear Community College, Clemson University Honors College, College of Charleston, Eckerd College, Flagler College, Guilford College, Hawaii Pacific University, Liberty University, Meredith College, Montreat College, Rochester Institute of Technology, Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD), University of North Carolina - Asheville, University of North Carolina - Wilmington, Pratt Institute, University of Tennessee, Virginia Commonwealth University, Western Carolina University, and Western Carolina University Honors College

Summit's College Counselor

SCHOLARSHIPS AND SCHOLARSHIP GIVING

Summit is committed to doing whatever we can to help our students attend and graduate from the college or university of their choice. Our college counseling and development team is partnering with organizations and donors committed to ensuring that our students have the necessary resources to do so.

In addition to to external scholarships available to our deserving students, the Summit Charter School Foundation was pleased to offer the below scholarships designed for the Class of 2022. In the second semester, we look forward to announcing scholarship opportunities for the Class of 2023. If you are interested in donating to our general scholarship fund, which will offer both need and merit-based scholarships, please contact Melissa Hudson at mhudson@summitschool.org, 828-743-5755 ext. 251.

Lauren Bennett

Director of

College Counseling & Student Experiences

828-743-5755 ext. 250

Trailblazer Scholarship

Overview

In 2022, the Summit Charter School Foundation received a transformational commitment of $150,000 from Linda and Mark Quick to fund the Trailblazer Scholarship, which is a multi-year scholarship opportunity for Class of 2022 seniors that exemplify Summit’s three pillars of its “Portrait of a Graduate” – Academically Prepared, Engaged in Community, and Strong in Character. Successful candidates demonstrate excellence in each of these pillars as reflected in their four-year holistic experience at Summit High. Following the announcement of the Trailblazer scholarship, a second, anonymous donor came forward to add an additional $108,000 to the scholarship opportunity.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated by a based on the following criteria:

Academic merit as demonstrated by GPA and rigor of high school coursework
Demonstration of how the scholarship will impact student opportunity to attend his/her ideal college (ex: student submits a school specific financial aid offer)
Trailblazer status: attended Summit all four years of high school

Application

To apply, candidates should submit the following materials in a single PDF to scholarships@summitschool.org by February 11, 2022.
Personal statement highlighting character (student may choose to submit a copy of statement submitted with college application)
Official high school transcript
Teacher letter of recommendation
A list of activities, work experiences, and service highlighting community engagement.
Financial aid offers from choice schools that depict how the scholarship would impact your college decision and future education.

College Success Fund

In addition to distributing the Trailblazer Scholarship to six seniors this past May, Linda and Mark Quick announced the Summit Charter School Foundation's new College Success Fund. Made possible by the Quick family and an anonymous donor, the College Success Fund is designed to support Trailblazer scholars as they begin their postsecondary education and journey. According to The Institute for College Access and Success, only 52% of students who start at a college/university complete a degree within six years. At Summit, we recognize that continued student support throughout the college experience is critical. We want to improve this statistic; to see our students to and through college. If a student needs a tutor, counseling, help with car trouble, or they simply need a check-in with a trusted mentor in-person, the Success Fund is here to help. If you are inspired to give to the College Success Fund or make a scholarship contribution to have a purposeful impact on a local student, please contact Melissa Hudson at mhudson@summitschool.org.

STEM Scholarship

Overview

A STEM scholarship is available to a graduating Summit Charter School seniors who is interested in pursuing a postsecondary degree in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education:

The Summit STEM Scholarship – a one-time $7,500 scholarship awarded to a graduating senior. This scholarship is made possible by an anonymous donor who hopes this scholarship fund will continue to grow for years to come.

Eligibility for the STEM Scholarship will include: academic merit as demonstrated by GPA and rigor of high school coursework, financial need and how the scholarship will impact their opportunity to attend their ideal college, vision and goals in the STEM field as demonstrated through responses to required three 250 word essay questions.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated by a selection committee composed of members of the community based on the following criteria:

Academic merit as demonstrated by GPA and rigor of high school coursework
Financial need and how the scholarship will impact their opportunity to attend their ideal college
Vision and goals in the STEM field as demonstrated through responses to required three 250 word essay questions.

Application

To apply, candidates should submit the following materials in a single PDF to scholarships@summitschool.org by April 1, 2023.

Essays (250 words or less for each question):
- Why are you interested in STEM? What specific area of STEM are you interested in studying in college and why?
- What college do you intend to attend and what degree area are you primarily interested in studying at that school? Why are you particularly interested in that specific school?
- Please select one of the following to questions to answer:
  - What is a specific area of technology that you think will drastically change our daily lives in the next 5 years and why?
  - Describe one of your most interesting projects or hobbies related to STEM
  - What is a cool app or tech that you have discovered in the past year and what do you use it for?
Personal statement submitted with college application
Official high school transcript
List of activities and work experiences
Financial aid award letter from the college or university at which the scholarship applicant intends to enroll

Applications Timeline

Applications opens: March 1, 2023
Applications deadline: April 26, 2023
Candidates notified of decision: May 1, 2023

One Summit Family Scholarship

Overview

Established in 2020 through gifts from 10 community benefactors, the One Summit Family Scholarship Fund provides financial aid to deserving Summit students.

Through this general scholarship program, financial aid is provided to qualified students who demonstrate a passion for life and learning. As our high school student population continues to increase, the Summit Charter School Foundation strives to grow the support we can offer our students with additional needs and merit based awards. If you are inspired to have a purposeful impact on a local student by making a general scholarship contribution today, please contact Melissa Hudson.

Scholarship Requirements

To be eligible to receive the Class of 2023 Scholarship, the student must successfully fulfill all Summit High graduation requirements necessary to be awarded a Summit diploma at the time of graduation on May 20, 2023 and must be enrolled in a college, university, or vocational school.

Graduating seniors entering a non-degree or certificate program, such as the military, may submit a written request for alternative use of the scholarship award with explanation of how the funds will support the individual’s career goals. Requests for alternative use of funds must be submitted to scholarships@summitschool.org by May 2, 2023.

Scholarship awards will be paid directly by the Summit Charter School Foundation to the college, university, or vocational school to which the recipient will be attending after high school graduation or to other approved uses of scholarship funds as relevant.

Application

No application is necessary. All graduating seniors in the Class of 2023 who meet the scholarship requirements will be awarded a scholarship.

Important Dates

Announcement of scholarship opportunity: week of March 14, 2023:
Deadline for submitting request for alternative use of scholarship funds: May 2, 2023