If you want to go to college, there is a way to do it.

That’s the message the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, known as VSAC, wants to get across to all Vermont students.

“There’s definitely a way, there are definitely many resources available,” said Stacey Wheeler, 19, who got help from VSAC’s outreach program.

For many students, college is the automatic path after high school. But for others – especially those whose parents didn’t go to college – the process can be overwhelming, making college seem out of reach.

“Just all the paperwork and trying to figure out what I needed and knowing how to get it … it was really crazy in that sense,” Wheeler said. “Also making sure you have enough money to live off, planning and budgeting,” said Wheeler, who lives on her own and supports herself entirely.

Wheeler, who is from Lyndonville, is the first person in her family to go to college. She is enrolled in the Nursing program at Vermont Technical College, where she will get an Associate’s degree and then pursue a career as a Registered nurse. Later, she plans to go back to school and get a Bachelor’s degree, she said.

“I did it all myself with VSAC’s help, I didn’t have a parent to help me,” she said.

While the rate of students who continue on to college is about 75 to 80 percent in some Vermont counties – Chittenden, Bennington, and Essex – in other parts of the state the rate is closer to 60 percent, according to information gathered by VSAC.

Hannah Hurlburt, a VSAC outreach counselor, said many students don’t think college is an option for them because they don’t have enough information. College does not necessarily mean a Bachelor’s degree, she said, and there are plenty of options for education after high school.

“It’s about demystifying the process,” Hurlburt said. “We just want to reach as many Vermont students as we possibly can to let them know what we offer, and that they’re not alone.”

Hurlburt travels around the state to speak with sixth to 12th grade students for Start Where You Are, a VSAC program directed at increasing college aspirations.

Hurlburt is a first-generation college student. She didn’t start thinking about college applications until her senior year in high school, and ended up going to college for eight years because she didn’t know what she wanted to do.

“I was just kind of floundering during that whole time, and because it took me eight years to get through school, it could have been much cheaper,” she said. “I think it’s helpful for (students) to know that most people struggle when trying to figure out what they want to do.”

Ashley Gonier, 18, of Williamstown said that figuring out how to pay for college was definitely difficult, but it was even harder to find the right school. Gonier is the first person in her family to go to college.

“Deciding where I wanted to go to school was probably the hardest thing,” she said, and determining “if they have everything that I needed and wanted.”

Gonier, who is also involved in VSAC’s outreach program, began her freshman year at Lyndon State this fall, and is going into elementary education. She said her VSAC counselor took her on college tours and helped her work through the application process.

“You can always further your education and you can always get help,” Ashley said. “You’re not doing it by yourself, there is plenty of help.”