GTCC's CCP, co-admission programs relieve stress of student's college transition
Published on: March 7, 2022
Emma Edwards needed a quiet, slow start to her college career. Two of Guilford Technical Community College's programs provided the perfect beginning.
Edwards suffers from social anxiety disorder, an anxiety disorder that causes extreme fear in social settings. Because of the condition, Edwards was home schooled. When she graduated from high school in 2019, she knew the transition to college would be difficult.
GTCC's Career and College Promise program and the GTCC-UNCG Co-Admission program made the transition work.
The Career and College Promise program offers North Carolina high school students the opportunity to earn college credit at a community college. The tuition-free program allows students to earn college credit transferable to all UNC System institutions and many of the state's independent colleges and universities.
In addition, GTCC partners with two local colleges – North Carolina Agricultural &Technical State University (N.C. A&T) and UNC Greensboro (UNCG) – to offer co-admission programs that provide a seamless path from GTCC to the partner college. These are not simply college transfer programs. Co-admission students are enrolled at both colleges and have many of the same benefits and privileges as students at the partner college.
Edwards enrolled in the Career and College Promise program when she was in the 11th grade. She began slowly, taking just one class the first semester.
"To be able to have one foot in college classes and one foot in high school was really helpful because I have to take it slow transitioning," Edwards said. "It was helpful because it eased me into college. I was home schooled because I do have bad social anxiety, and I was scared about that with college. But this allowed me to take as many classes as I was comfortable with.
"I really wasn't that nervous when I transitioned over to GTCC (full time) because I had already been on campus. When I got my schedule, I already knew where my classes were."
Edwards is a first-generation college student, so every step in the process was a first step for her and her family. The GTCC-UNCG co-admission (Gsquared) program made those steps much easier.
"I've always known I wanted to go past two years, and I really didn't know how," Edwards said. "But after I started at GTCC, I started seeing some advertisements (for the co-admission programs). It was recommended to me through the people at the college, and it sounded like a good option."
It turned out to be a perfect fit for Edwards.
"The transfer program was really helpful to my anxiety and guides me in the right direction," she said. "I need a lot of help in that. I didn't know all of the steps, and this has laid out all the steps for me."
Edwards said her advisor at GTCC has kept her informed of performance marks that need to be met for the transfer program before she graduates from GTCC this spring with an Associate in Arts.
"My advisor at GTCC has let me know the mark where we need to get the ball rolling; the classes we need to finish this year. It has been very comfortable and reassuring that GTCC makes sure which credits will transfer and will not transfer."
Even though it will be next fall before Edwards officially enters UNCG as a junior, the college has been helping ready her for the move, which she sees as a plus for anyone involved in the program.
"They (UNCG) have reached out to me more and more about the transfer, and they have laid out all the details about transferring and that has been so helpful," said Edwards, who hopes to major in psychology and become a counselor to help others who share the same anxiety disorder. "They have guided me down the path I need to go.
"It has definitely helped because UNCG makes me a little anxious because the campus is so big, (yet) they have reached out and communicated and made me comfortable and calmed me so much."
For more information on the Career and College Promise program, visit gtcc.edu/ccp.
For more information on co-admissions programs, visit gtcc.edu/admissions-and-aid/admissions-requirements/co-admissions-programs.php.
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