April 18, 2013
04/19/13 Ancilla College is offering local high school students a way to accelerate their college education. The Early Bird Program at Ancilla College will provide high school juniors and seniors a leg-up in college at greatly reduced tuition rates.
“Area high school students have options like dual enrollment and advanced placement (AP) courses offered with many different institutions. The Early Bird program is another way a high school student can take classes that will transfer to any other university or college in the Midwest. The big difference is that Ancilla’s Early Bird program is designed to build a college transcript with Ancilla’s online and on-campus courses that include free student support services and tutoring in math, college writing and core learning skills,” Ancilla’s interim Director of Admissions Eric Wignall said.
High school graduates face soaring college tuition, costly housing, extra fees and rising travel expenses. Ancilla has addressed costs by lowering tuition 4.7 percent. Ancilla’s Early Bird program is an extra effort to start building college-level experience, improve learning skills and launch a college degree on a positive note close to home, Wignall said.
“Early Bird tuition is only $125 per credit hour. Starting a four-year degree with two years already completed is a huge leap to the head of the line—and at a cost that saves thousands of dollars. We’ve had students from Plymouth who took Early Bird classes in high school, then finished their degree in the summer after they graduated. That fall they transferred to university walking onto campus as a junior on day one. That’s a huge difference for students in advising, in housing and in getting into the degree program they want at major universities,” Wignall said.
The college is opening Early Bird to students throughout Marshall, Starke and now Fulton, Kosciusko and LaPorte counties. Students taking advantage of early college credit programs have more than just financial incentives to get started. Research studies from large universities and community colleges indicate Associate’s Degree graduates who transfer to four-year schools finish Bachelor’s Degrees at a much higher rate and are better prepared to be successful.
Ancilla College offers two summer semester schedules of liberal arts and general education courses that can lead to degrees in the health sciences, business administration, criminal justice and more. “We’re right here near Plymouth with a beautiful wooded campus, great library and computer facilities, and with just under 500 students we can promise you won’t get lost in the crowd,” Wignall said.
The program is open to all home-schooled or high school students who will be juniors or seniors by summer who have a grade point average of ‘B’ or better (3.0 on a 4 point scale). They can apply for free to the college and need a signed application reference from their high school guidance counselor. Information about the Ancilla Early Bird program can be found online at http://www.ancilla.edu/apply-to-ancilla/early-bird/ .