Early College Program for High School Students

Get a head start on reaching your college goals by taking classes at HCCC at reduced tuition.

An Opportunity for All Hudson County High School Students to Earn College Credits

Are you a high school student who attends school or lives in Hudson County? Then you have the opportunity to take up to 18 college-level credits per academic year and earn credits towards a degree that can help you get a head start on your associate degree or explore transferring them to other colleges to lessen the time and cost it will take to reach your academic goals.

HCCC has a number of partnerships with local high schools that may allow qualifying students to earn credits, a certificate or even a full Associate Degree upon high school graduation. View the list of participating high schools and programs here. If you attend one of these high schools and are interested in participating in their program, you may contact your school counselor or the Early College program for more information. However, all high school students who attend school or live in Hudson County are eligible to participate in the Early College Program and pay only 50% of the in-county tuition rate. The Early College team is ready and eager to help you start your college journey.

 

Ready to Get Started?

In just a few quick steps, you can be on your way to earning college credits.

Head to the application. 

  • Create an account.
  • Under “I will be entering as” select "Early College (participating high school student only)."
  • Under School Attended, search for and select your high school.
  • Please enter the year you started high school in Graduated/Attended to Month and the year you will graduate in Graduated/Attended to Year.
  • Anticipated Entry Term is the first term you will take classes as an Early College student.
  • Academic Level is "Early College."
  • Academic Program is “High School – Non Degree.”
  • Make sure you write down the e-mail address and password you use to create this account!
  • Once your account is created, click on “Create a New Application.”
  • Click on Start a new “Early College Application.”
  • Click the button that says “Click Here to Start Application.”
  • Under Student Type, Select “Early College.”
  • Complete all other fields and submit application.
  • Ignore if asked for supplemental materials.
  • Within 2 business days (or sooner) your HCCC user name and student ID number will be sent to the e-mail you used to create your account. PLEASE SAVE THAT E-MAIL!

The second step is to complete the Student Agreement Form.

You will need the signature of your parent/guardian and, if applying as a participant in a partner program, the signature of your high school counselor. Once it’s complete, e-mail a copy to earlycollegeFREEHUDSONCOUNTYCOMMUNITYCOLLEGE.

Once you submit the student agreement form, a student success coach will reach out to you to discuss the next steps. This may include taking a placement exam and will eventually lead to you registering for your first classes!

If you’d like to find out more information while you wait, you can learn more about the placement test process here: Testing Services or you can complete the Directed Self Placement process to determine your placement:

You can also take a look at the many classes we offer in the course schedule. Just remember that what classes you can take right away will depend on your initial placement, and some classes might have additional pre-requisites.

The Early College Team

The Early College team.

Contact Information

For High School Students Attending High Tech or County Prep
Secaucus Center Frank J. Gargiulo Campus of the Hudson County Schools of Technology
One High Tech Way
Secaucus, NJ 07094
Phone: (201) 360-4388
 secaucuscenterFREEHUDSONCOUNTYCOMMUNITYCOLLEGE

For all other Hudson County High School Students
Early College
2 Enos Place, Room J104
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Phone: (201) 360-5330
Fax: (201) 360-4308
earlycollegeFREEHUDSONCOUNTYCOMMUNITYCOLLEGE