Started in 2015, Say Yes to Education, a private organization funded by donations, has made college more affordable for Guilford County students. The organization is a community outreach program that provides scholarships and financial assistance to students in counties where its chapters are located. 

Guilford County is the only place in North Carolina where these scholarships are granted. Say Yes also has similar tuition scholarships in New York. 

“Say Yes Guilford provides last dollar tuition-only scholarships to eligible graduates of Guilford County Schools,” said Donnie Turlington, director of communications at Say Yes. “In addition to the scholarships, Say Yes Guilford offers wraparound and support services to K-12 students to assist them in their efforts to achieve post-high school success.”

The organization’s primary focus is to provide full coverage of every eligible high school graduate’s tuition from 2016 onward. 

“We look at the cost of tuition at a university and subtract federal and state aid, the remaining total for tuition is paid by Say Yes,” Turlington explained. 

Though simple in concept, the organization’s assistance has been carried out somewhat questionably according to Ishmail Conze, an incoming freshman at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill studying media and journalism. 

“It was fairly simple, I filled out basic information that took about five minutes to complete regarding my address and school info to make an account,” Conze said. “A few months later, I was asked to update my school info to complete the process. I have had a few difficulties … I’m sure I did everything correctly and on time, but I still have received little to no feedback from Say Yes to confirm everything.” 

Conze says his parents have also been skeptical of the program, especially after hearing that some awards will not be distributed until after classes begin. 

Another incoming freshman at UNC-CH described a similar lack of communication between Say Yes and potential recipients of financial aid. 

“[It was] not a hard application,” said Katherine Pope, a UNC-CH freshman studying biomedical engineering. “Simple, but took a long while to process.” 

Pope explained that while her parents are content with Say Yes and its efforts, she thinks that the program as a whole was poorly explained, and that feedback in general from Say Yes has been almost completely absent.

Sam Messick, an NC State freshman studying electrical engineering, says that Say Yes was very helpful and worked with him and his family to understand everything involved in the program. 

“They have communicated thoroughly with my parents through presentations,” Messick said. “They have also provided me with brochures, as well as information via their website.” 

Messick is one of the many students for whom financial assistance will not be dispersed until September. Despite this, he still approves of the organization, adding that Say Yes’s explanation has been that its business calendar differs from the UNC System’s calendar, as well as the private schools’ calendars for which it provides assistance.

Students seem overall satisfied with the program’s financial assistance. 

“It’s helped me a lot,” Conze said. “Say Yes has cut the cost of college pretty significantly for me. I don’t think I would’ve had to go to a different school without it, but it certainly has made things easier.” 

This is seconded by Pope. “They helped me lessen the amount of loans I would need and offered more opportunities to get money.” 

Messick also said that even though he feels that the program is still a bit rocky, “the office is working duly to distribute our funds and deliver on their promises.” 

“To date, over $36 million has been raised in private donations for the Say Yes endowment,” Turlington said, describing how the money is raised for the program. “The money has come from individuals and organizations in and around Guilford County. The goal is to raise $70 million to create an endowment that will live in perpetuity.” 

“Say Yes Guilford is paying tuition assistance to over 175 Guilford County students who are attending NC State in the fall of 2016,” Turlington said. “We look forward to sharing in their success in the future.”