Early college entrance program
Early college entrance programs are educational opportunities for groups of
gifted students that allow them to be
accelerated into
college one or more years before the traditional age of college entrance. These programs also provide their students with a social support network and help in dealing with the adjustment.
By placing students into full-time college studies, these programs differ from
dual enrollment,
Advanced Placement and
International Baccalaureate programs, which are alternative methods of earned college credits (or their equivalent) while in high school. Because these early entrance programs routinely admit large groups of students and provide social support, they are also distinct from the more traditional
educational acceleration offered by many colleges [
1], where they may admit one or two underage students a year. Early entrance programs take a number of forms. Some (i:e
Bard High School Early College) are high schools designed to offer a college curriculum. Most are special programs within larger colleges (i:e
Advanced Academy of Georgia).
Simon's Rock College of Bard is unique in that it is the only college designed expressly for younger students.
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Program NameAssociated University | Location | | Transition Program | University of British Columbia | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Transition School and Early Entrance Program | University of Washington | Seattle, Washington |
| Early Entrance Program | California State University, Los Angeles | Los Angeles, California |
| Boston University Academy | Boston University | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Bard High School Early College | Bard College | New York, New York |
| The Early College at Guilford | Guilford College | Greensboro, North Carolina |
| Program for the Exceptionally Gifted | Mary Baldwin College (women only) | Staunton, Virginia |
| Missouri Academy of Science, Mathematics and Computing | Northwest Missouri State University | Maryville, Missouri |
| Challenge Early College High School | Houston Community College System | Houston, Texas |
| Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science | University of North Texas | Denton, Texas |
| Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities | Lamar University | Beaumont, Texas |
| Advanced Academy of Georgia | University of West Georgia | Carrollton, Georgia |
| Academy for Young Scholars | University of Washington | Seattle, Washington |
| Georgia Academy of Mathematics, Engineering and Science | Middle Georgia College | Cochran, Georgia |
| Simon's Rock College of Bard | N/A | Great Barrington, Massachusetts |
| Early Honors Program | Alaska Pacific University | Anchorage, Alaska |
| Resident Honors Program | University of Southern California | Los Angeles, California |
| National Academy of Arts, Sciences and Engineering | University of Iowa | Iowa City, Iowa |
| The Clarkson School's Bridging Year | Clarkson University | Potsdam, New York |
