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Often the devastating letter meant the end of hope, the demise of a dream: "Thank you for your application, but we are very sorry to inform you it is not possible to offer you admission to the Class of 2012 ..."

But under a new partnership announced Tuesday, some applicants' dreams of a college education at N.C. A&T could still come true - providing they first cross a bridge built by GTCC.

The two schools have established a memorandum of understanding to offer selected students who haven't quite qualified for admission at A&T to strengthen their academic credentials at GTCC.

A&T will invite near-miss students to attend GTCC for two years and, if they succeed at community college, they're guaranteed a chance to get their four-year degrees as Aggies.

"They'll be coming to us from A&T, and their primary goal is to go back to A&T," GTCC President Donald Cameron said. "These are students who are just not quite ready to enter A&T. If they are turned away, what options do they have? The reason this partnership is so important is we think we're going to keep more people in school."

As of Tuesday, A&T had received 7,400 applications and accepted 2,500 potential students for the 2008-09 school year.

For in-state students, that meant meeting minimum standards of a 2.5 grade-point average or a 750 SAT score.

Another 70-plus students from Guilford County will be invited to take part in the new program through GTCC, said Yvette Underdue Murph, A&T's associate vice chancellor for academic affairs.

"They're so close (to qualifying), we know they have what it takes to perform," Underdue Murph said. "They just need that little jump-start before they're ready for the rigors of the university."

GTCC is eager to provide that jump-start, said Alison Wiers, the community college's dean of enrollment.

Early efforts at GTCC will focus on teaching the students study skills, time management and goal-setting along with academic courses.

"When a student does not get admitted to another institution, they're kind of left out in the cold on their own," Wiers said. "This gives A&T an opportunity to take a group of promising students and hand them off to us. ... It's a natural progression to go from an associate's degree here to a bachelor's degree at A&T."

Any student in the program who successfully completes the work at GTCC is guaranteed a place at A&T, Underdue Murph said.

"They'll be automatically admitted to A&T after they finish their associate's degree," she said.

The students can then chase the dream of a bachelor's degree in engineering, nursing, teaching or any other career path offered at A&T, said university Chancellor Stanley Battle.

"You don't have to motivate somebody who comes out of a community college," Battle said.

"We know they've worked and sacrificed. They can see the end of the rainbow."

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com