Early College

Students must submit an Early College Application each academic year. To be eligible, students must meet the following criteria:

• Be in their junior or senior year of high school
• Have a minimum 3.0 GPA (B average)
• And/or receive a recommendation from their high school counselor

Counselors may recommend students for specific courses based on demonstrated academic promise or prior success in related college-level coursework with a GPA of 2.0 (C average) or higher.

To remain in the program, students must maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA (C average) on their Southern transcript. Students who do not meet this standard will be dropped from any preregistered courses in a future term but may reapply to the program after taking one fall or spring semester off.

Early College students may explore courses in fields such as healthcare, business, education, science, and the arts, and can earn up to 30 college credits applicable toward a degree. Students are classified as part-time, non-matriculated (non-degree seeking) and may enroll in:

• Up to two courses during the fall semester
• Up to two courses during the spring semester
• One course during a summer intersession

Once approved, students requesting enrollment on their application in a course offered at their high school will be registered automatically. Students requesting enrollment in a course offered at Southern will receive an acceptance email from Southern's Early College Office with further instructions regarding registration.

Students may elect to no longer participate in a course and "withdraw" from the course. For withdrawn courses, a grade of ‘W-Withdrawn’ will be issued on the transcript; otherwise, students will receive grades as assigned by the instructor. Academic withdrawal deadlines are not the same as tuition and fee refund deadlines.

How to Withdraw from a Course at Southern

Please visit our withdrawal website to review important information about withdrawing from a course held at Southern, including instructions on how to submit a course withdrawal and withdrawal deadlines. 

How to Withdraw from a Course held at your high school

Students enrolled in an early college course held at their high school, who are no longer interested in pursuing college credit for the course, may withdraw at any time leading up to the withdrawal deadline listed on the Early College calendar for the semester by submitting the Early College Course Withdrawal form.

Students may earn dual credit for approved Early College courses. Grades will appear on both the high school transcript and the official Southern transcript (order official transcripts here). Please note:

• Courses taken through Early College are recorded on the SCSU transcript and count as attempted credit in the SCSU GPA.
• The grade recorded on the high school transcript may differ based on the high school’s grading policy.
• Credits earned at SCSU are transferable to any public Connecticut State College or University. Acceptance of these credits by other institutions is at their discretion.

Fresh Start Option

The Fresh Start option is available to first-year and transfer students who enroll in an undergraduate degree program at Southern and are seeking GPA forgiveness for their Early College coursework. This policy allows students to reset their undergraduate GPA upon matriculation, while retaining credit toward their degree for any Early College course in which a grade of C– or higher was earned. To use this option, students must declare it with the advising center during their first semester at Southern. Please note: Once elected, this decision cannot be reversed.

All bill statements will be sent to the student's SCSU email (@southernct.edu) after registration is complete. If your school or district is a partner of our Early College program, tuition and general fees are waived for Early College courses taught at your high school or at SCSU!

• Students will be charged $65/semester for each fall and spring.
• Students will be charged $55/session for each winter and summer.
• These fees are waived for any student who qualifies for Free/Reduced Lunch.

If your school or district is not a partner of our Early College program, you will be billed part-time tuition per credit. Information on part-time tuition and payment options is available.

Note: The purchase of textbooks is in addition to tuition. Students/families are responsible for purchasing textbooks for courses they take at SCSU (high schools may provide the textbooks for courses taught at the high school). While Early College students have access to many campus services available to matriculated students, they are not eligible for on-campus housing or financial aid.