CUMBERLAND – Prince Edward and Cumberland County High schools were two of 16 pilot schools to participate in Virginia College Application Week, a pilot initiative announced by Governor Robert McDonnell to encourage high school seniors to apply to one of Virginia's colleges, universities or technical schools.

The governor's proclamation of the initiative emphasizes the changing job market, projecting that by 2018, “64 percent of all jobs in Virginia will require some postsecondary training beyond high school.”

The proclamation also states that those with a bachelor's degree make on average $13,000 more per year than those who do not complete any college credentials.

Realizing that applying for a college or university can be a complicated and sometimes overwhelming endeavor, the initiative is designed to provide support and guidance for students as they complete the application process.

The state initiative, which was November 26-30, is two-pronged, according to the governor's office. It is designed to encourage every high school senior to apply to at least one institution of higher learning and to encourage that application to be to a Virginia institution.

Cumberland High School students filled out college applications in conjunction with a government course, which all seniors are required to take. Principal Jeff Scales said that the school's two government teachers, Jordan Vick and David Drummond, were both instrumental in helping students with the application process. They took the initiative in stride and offered time in their classes on Monday to complete applications.

Cumberland students were positive, willing to take the opportunity to think about their plans after high school and fill out applications, according to Scales. Ninety seniors completed at least one application. There are about ten seniors who are planning to enter the military who did not apply.

Scales said the initiative was beneficial to the students in several ways. First, it allowed students who were planning to apply to a school, but kept procrastinating, an opportunity to complete an application early.

Second, some students had not been aware of the diversity of higher education opportunities available to them. Some students already knew they did not want to attend a four-year school, but had not considered attending a trade school or two year community college program to make them more career ready.

Many students were encouraged to fill out the Common Application, which let them apply to fifteen Virginia colleges and universities, both public and private simultaneously, including Hampden-Sydney College, the College of William and Mary, the University of Virginia and the University of Richmond.

Third, Scales felt that this event, coupled with the Common Application, helped take some of the pressure off of parents who might be overwhelmed by the amount of paper work that is involved when applying to multiple colleges or universities.

Additionally, many of the application fees were waived because the initiative.

On Tuesday, an admissions representative came from Longwood University. Students were able to apply to Longwood for free during that time as well.

Students who filled out applications were given a flash drive as an incentive.

The program is funded by state funds and the U.S. Department of Education College Access Challenge Grant. The Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia and the State Council for Higher Education for Virginia were co-sponsors of the initiative.

The initiative is meant to help fulfill the goal established by previous Top Job legislation to award an additional 100,000 undergraduate degrees for Virginians over the next 15 years. Virginia has 23 community colleges, 16 public colleges and universities and 33 independent colleges.