Get your applications ready. It’s free to apply to these NC colleges this week

It’s a good time to apply to college in North Carolina.

This week, the state’s community colleges and 38 four-year colleges and universities are suspending their application fees. And that waiver will extend for a month for students in Hurricane Florence-affected counties.

College Application Week is sponsored through the College Foundation of North Carolina, or CFNC. Students who want to take advantage of college application activities should first create a profile at CFNC.org. Students can also call 1-866-866-CFNC.

The free application period will run through Nov. 16 at 5 p.m. for students from 31 FEMA-designated counties, following widespread damage from Hurricane Florence. The counties are: Anson; Beaufort; Bladen; Brunswick; Carteret; Columbus; Craven; Cumberland; Duplin; Greene; Harnett; Hoke; Hyde; Johnston; Jones; Lee; Lenoir; Moore; New Hanover; Onslow; Orange; Pamlico; Pender; Pitt; Richmond; Robeson; Sampson; Scotland; Union; Wayne; and Wilson.

Colleges allowing free application submissions for those students, and for all students this week, are: Barton College; Belmont Abbey College; Bennett College; Brevard College; Campbell University; Catawba College; Chowan University; Davidson College; Elizabeth City State University; Fayetteville State University; Gardner Webb University; Greensboro College; Guilford College; Johnson and Wales; Johnson C. Smith University; Lees-McRae College; Lenoir-Rhyne University; Livingstone College; Louisburg College; Mars Hill University; Meredith College; Methodist University; Montreat College; N.C. A&T State University; N.C. Central University; N.C. Wesleyan College; Pfeiffer University; Queens University; St. Andrews University; St. Augustine’s University; Salem College; Shaw University; UNC Pembroke; University of Mount Olive; Warren Wilson College; Wingate University; William Peace University; and Winston-Salem State University.

The state’s 58 community colleges are also waiving fees for a month in the hurricane-affected counties and this week for all students.

All month, CFNC will sponsor programs to help students fill out the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and a required form for North Carolina students to verify their residency in order to qualify for in-state tuition. The program is called NC Countdown to College and details are available at CFNC.org.