Upcoming Events

Oct

FAFSA Filing Help

9:00am - 4:00pm Virtually via Zoom or In Person at VSAC in Winooski

Are you a Vermont student that needs help filing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2027-28 school year? We're available to assist Vermont families in person...

Oct

FAFSA Filing Help

10:30am - 6:30pm Virtually via Zoom or In Person at VSAC in Winooski

Are you a Vermont student that needs help filing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2027-28 school year? We're available to assist Vermont families in person...

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Main Content

Blog Archive: Applying to College

05 Jun

VSAC Salutes the Class of 2020: Courtney Carr, a small-town Vermonter expands her horizons

Written by
Sabina Haskell

Courtney Carr, who graduated from UVM last month with a bachelor’s in psychology and minors in law & society and sociology, is intently focused on starting her career with a criminal justice nonprofit. However, she didn’t always know exactly what she wanted to do. “It was a bit of a roller coaster,”…

19 May

VSAC congratulates 2020 graduates: Cassie Piper achieves her dreams through grit & determination

Written by
Sabina Haskell

“I never thought I would have gone to college,” says 21-year-old Cassie Piper, a native of Derby. It’s an incredible statement from a young woman who will graduate this month from NVU-Johnson with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a minor in Anthropology and Sociology, an associate’s degree in…

08 May

VSAC congratulates 2020 graduates: Alexis Lape is prepared for the future and current uncertainties.

Written by
Sabina Haskell

When asked about her “goals for the future,” Alexis Lape pauses. “Right now, it's up in the air given the state of the economy … and the pandemic … and my living situation … but I'd like to maybe pursue real estate as well as music. I'm a business major so I don't have set plans.” Born in Brandon…

28 Apr

How VSAC helped a future ranger see the forest for the trees

Written by
Sabina Haskell

When Chandler Prescott was a high school sophomore, he joined the Forestry and Natural Resources program at Stafford Technical Center, where he got a big eye-opening. “It was there where I learned about the wilderness … how global warming is affecting the wild and everything like that. I just really…

17 Apr

For this first-generation college student, “VSAC is very close to my heart”

Written by
VSAC Staff

Cassandra Bittner knows she overcame some tough odds to be able to go to college at all. Neither of her parents had gone to college; in fact, her mother never even finished high school. And in St. Albans, where she grew up, she was definitely not alone in that, a factor that made for some low…

09 Apr

Trent Cross: From sports standout to exercise science student

Written by
Sabina Haskell

When asked to talk about his journey from a kid growing up in Milton to a successful college freshman, Trent Cross tells a story marked with the typical challenge facing first-generation college students: “None of my family had ever gone to college, so I didn’t really know what way to go.” “But when…

06 Mar

VSAC Student Success Story Mimi Duong: First-generation student keeps her eye on the end game.

Written by
Sabina Haskell

Mimi Duong overcame challenges in applying to college, showing resilience and determination to achieve her higher education goals.

06 Dec

VSAC Student Success Story Lauren Craig: From a scholarship & scrubs to ‘sassy saint’

Written by
Sabina Haskell

When she was in her mid-twenties, Lauren Craig thought she had hit a dead end on her career path. Fortunately, with some heavy encouragement from a friend and some financial help from VSAC, some new doors opened, and today, she’s working in a job she loves. “I’ve kind of jumped around a lot, with…

19 Nov

Ashley Gray brings the world back home to the NEK

Written by
Sabina Haskell

When Ashley Gray was selected in 2016 to be the new principal of Peacham Elementary School, officials from the Caledonia Central Supervisory Union knew they were fortunate to have found such a strong candidate. “Ms. Gray possesses strong leadership skills and a desire to work with the community,”…

05 Nov

Eden Towers is there to help in medical emergencies

Written by
Sabina Haskell

Through determination and VSAC’s support, Eden Towers turned challenges into opportunity—earning scholarships to pursue her dream of becoming a paramedic.