While most students at HHS are picking classes for the next school year, some students are already picking college courses thanks to STLCC’s Early College program.
Students in the Early College program attend classes on the college campus for two years, replacing junior and senior years of traditional high school, while earning their associates degree and high school diploma at the same time for free. While in the program, students are enrolled in a curriculum consisting of all college coursework taught by professors at STLCC.
Students who are eligible for this program apply during their sophomore year and start the program their junior year. If you do not get accepted into the program the first year, you can retry for your senior year and complete up to 30-36 hours of credit towards your college diploma.
All students who want to be in this program are expected to complete a Hancock Place High School Early College Program application packet, and once accepted into the program, complete an STLCC application online.
However, this does have some requirements. Students must have a 3.0 gpa to be eligible in the first place, each student has to write a 500 word essay, get two recommendations from two teachers, and finally, take an accuplacer test to see where you score on a college level.
Last year, a few students at HHS applied to the program and got accepted.
For example, Jordan Harvey (11), wanted to try to get into the program because he felt that it was an opportunity to get ahead and save money.
“I decided to join the Early College program because it was an opportunity to get ahead of my peers. Saving money was also nice too,” Harvey said.
Harvey wasn’t stressed about not being able to get accepted and he believed that he could do it if he gave it his all.
“I was pretty confident I’d get in. There wasn’t much that would disqualify me,” he said.
Harvey didn’t know for sure how it would be when he joined the Early College program.
“I was expecting it to be incredibly hard. I thought I’d be stressed 24/7 like in the movies,” Harvey said.
When Harvey compared high school classes to Early College classes he said, “I think these classes are a bit easier. I have way more flexibility with my time and I have access to a writing center.”
Currently, Harvey is taking Intro to American Politics, English 102, Math 260s, Earth science, and oral communication 101.
Early College students also have the opportunity to visit their school and participate in after school activities.
“Early College students have the ability to continue with extra curricular activities/sports at the HS level if they can make it work with their college class schedule,” Counselor Ginger Steinhauff said.
“For example, Zainab was in the play, The Outsiders in the fall. Jordan Harvey still visits school weekly to work in the library and grab lunch. It all depends on what each student can handle personally with their schedules,” Steinhauff added.
However, there could be some challenges Early College students face. Harvey has some trouble managing his time to get to the STLCC campus.
“The most challenging part of this program has been time management. The drive is around 30 minutes, and I always seem to get stuck behind traffic,” Harvey said.
On the other hand, Julisa Sanchez (10), got accepted into the Early College program recently and was shocked when she found out about it. She is excited about starting the program and is already thinking about her future and how this can benefit her.
“I was shocked to find out I had gotten accepted into this program!” Sanchez said. “I thought it was just one of those times when you try something but during the process, it doesn’t end up working out. But so far, I’m very excited the process is going very well!”
This is a big opportunity for anyone who takes it and it could be a little stressful trying to figure out your day and schedule when you are going to be a college student as a 16 or 17 junior student.
“I’m actually a bit anxious.” Sanchez said. “This is a big opportunity for me, but I just hope everything works out. I’m mostly worried about it being time consuming. I already have a busy schedule so I’m hoping I can make it work.”
Sanchez does not participate in any after school activities but she is a part of the National Honor Society at HHS and hopes to stay in it if it doesn’t interfere with her Early College schedule.
“If this doesn’t interfere with my school, I will keep being a member,” she said.
Sanchez’s decision to join the Early College program reflects her drive to get a head start on her future. While her interests once leaned toward the arts, her focus has shifted to a more practical path.
“I’m thinking of getting my degree in accounting,” Sanchez said. “At first I wanted to do Graphic communications, as it would allow me to keep art in my life which is something I’m very passionate about. I could become an illustrator, graphic designer or web designer. But after considering my future, and realizing that I want more flexibility in my future job, I decided to move towards accounting because I feel I’m good at math and it is a job that pays well, and will allow me to have more flexibility in my job in the future.”
“If everything goes well, I’m hoping I will stick with this profession and gain experience in Accounting, but this might only be possible if I continue with this program,” she added.
With a mix of excitement and gratitude, Sanchez shared how much the opportunity means to her.
“I’m most excited about the outcome,” Sanchez said. “I will be able to have a degree by the time I graduate high school, allowing me to go straight into the workforce as soon as I graduate! I didn’t really plan on going to college after high school because I thought it would be very time consuming but going to college in my last two years of school is such a privilege.”
Speaking from experience, Harvey encourages anyone who wants to go into this program to take the risk. He says “Just do it. If you get in, you save a lot of money and you get ahead of your peers. If you don’t get in, then it can’t hurt you. You can only benefit from trying.”
