Advise NC at App State
Advise NC at Appalachian State University is committed to supporting high school students throughout western North Carolina as they plan for their postsecondary pathways, including college enrollment, workforce employment, and military enlistment. By providing high-quality advising, the program works to ensure that all students are equipped to pursue the postsecondary pathway of their choosing and reach their highest potential.
Advise NC was established in 2025 as a statewide collective composed of high-quality and long-standing advising programs housed at Appalachian State University, NC State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
Program Model
Advise NC at Appalachian State places well-trained, recent college graduates to serve as full-time Next Step Advisers in high schools throughout western North Carolina. Advisers work to ensure that all seniors are empowered to make informed decisions about their lives after high school. They collaborate with administrators, support staff, and teachers to support students as they develop their Next Step Plans and prepare to complete one of the three Es – Enrollment, Employment, or Enlistment – following graduation.
Building Postsecondary Plans
Advise NC envisions a North Carolina where every student has the guidance and resources necessary to pursue postsecondary opportunities driving social mobility, economic growth, and a more prosperous future for all. Next Step Advisers empower students to create their Next Step Plans, assist them with developing action items, and support them with making progress toward their goals
Near-Peer Model
Next Step Advisers connect with the students they serve through their own lived experiences. Advisers are recent college graduates and are closer in age, or “near-peer,” to the students they serve. Many Next Step Advisers return to their home communities to serve, often within the high schools or districts they attended as students. Because they recently embarked on their own post-high school journeys, they can serve as trusted mentors and provide first-hand knowledge of the postsecondary planning process to their students.
Adviser Services
- Meet with all seniors one-on-one at least once during the fall semester and once during the spring semester
- Engage with all senior families at least once during the school year
- Assist all seniors with Next Steps Plan creation
- Support seniors with Next Steps Plan progress, including:
- College applications
- Scholarship Applications
- FAFSA Assistance
- Military enlistment
- Workforce entry
- Facilitate 9-12th grade group interactions
Next Step Adviser Benefits
- $38,000 living allowance (11-month contract)
- Partner school schedule (off during school holidays)
- AmeriCorps Membership
- Qualifying educational loan forbearance
- Segal Education Award
- Childcare allowance
- for qualifying members and dependent children
- Health benefits
- 100% employer-covered, including vision and dental
Partners
Our work is built on strong partnerships with community partners and the schools and communities where our advisers serve.
- Advise NC
- Alexander Central High School, Alexander County Schools
- Alleghany High, Alleghany County Schools
- AmeriCorps
- Andrews High School, Cherokee County Schools
- Appalachian State University
- Ashe County High, Ashe County Schools
- Ashe Early College High School, Ashe County Schools
- Avery County High School, Avery County Schools
- Brevard High School, Transylvania County Schools
- Cleveland County Schools
- Erwin High School, Buncombe County Schools
- Franklin High School, Macon County Schools
- Freedom High, Burke County Schools
- Hayesville High, Clay County Schools
- Hiwassee Dam High School, Cherokee County Schools
- Jackson County Early College, Jackson County Schools
- John M. Belk Endowment
- Madison High, Madison County Schools
- Marjorie Williams Academy, Avery County Schools
- McDowell High School, McDowell County Schools
- Mitchell High School, Mitchell County Schools
- Mountain Heritage High, Yancey County Schools
- myFutureNC
- National Student Clearinghouse
- NC Department of Public Instruction
- North Henderson High School, Henderson County Schools
- R-S Central High School, Rutherford County Schools
- Robbinsville High, Graham County Schools
- Smoky Mountain High School, Jackson County Schools
- St. Stephens High School, Catawba County Schools
- Swain High, Swain County Schools
- VolunteerNC
- Watauga High, Watauga County Schools
- Wilkes Central High, Wilkes County Schools
Questions?
Become an Adviser
Advisers develop leadership, work, and life skills as they interact with K-12, higher education, and community-based organizations, developing knowledge and forging connections that will benefit them in their next step, whether that is a career or graduate school.
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