Advance at College

If you are a Philadelphia resident entering 11th or 12th grade or under the age of 21 and actively pursuing a GED or high school equivalency credential, you may be eligible to take college courses at Community College of Philadelphia and earn up to 12 credits a year free of charge. You will not pay for tuition, books or fees, and you can choose from a variety of courses. Early Scholars is made possible through the Octavius Catto Scholarship, a partnership with the City of Philadelphia.

How to Apply

Existing Students: If you previously applied to the Advance at College dual enrollment program, completed the FERPA form and satisfied placement, you do not need to re-apply. You will be sent an email with a link to the Early Scholars Intent form.

New Students: Follow these steps in the order they are laid out to expedite your application. Please read through these steps prior to starting the application so you have all necessary information available.

• Create a College account providing all required information. The academic program is not required, but if answered, choose non-matriculated. Create a password and click “create account.”
• Next, click “Start New Application” and complete the application in full.
• The application has 5 sections. Click SAVE and CONTINUE at the bottom of each page. Your Social Security Number is required. If you do not have a social security number, please follow the instructions provided within the application.
  1. Personal: this section will be partially prepopulated with information you provided when you created your account. Complete any missing information.
  2. Demographics: Complete required information.
  3. Plans: choose Non-Matriculated as the Academic Program. Choose Dual Enrollment for the Student Type and then select Advance@College as the high school program.
  4. Academics: Provide your high school information.
  5. Signature
• Preview your completed application before submitting it and then click “Save.”

1. After completing the application, you will be brought back to the dashboard and you will see the application in the “My Applications” window. Please note the status of your application and edit it if needed.
2. Complete and return the FERPA/Consent form. The PDF is editable so you can fill out the information and sign it digitally or if you have access to a printer, please follow the steps below:

• Print the form
• Student signs form
• Parent/Guardian signs form
• Scan or take a photo of both sides of the signed form
• Email the signed form (scanned copy or photo) to your high school counselor or principal. Have them sign it and forward it to advanceatcollege [at] ccp.edu (advanceatcollege[at]ccp[dot]edu). If they are unable to sign the form, ask them to indicate in the text of the email that you have permission to participate in Advance at College.

If you have no way to access the forms to sign by hand or digitally, please send us an email and let us know. We are working daily to provide an alternative means for signature.

1. Satisfy college placement. After completing your application, you will receive an email outlining steps to satisfy placement. Details about placement can be found here.
2. Once the application is accepted, you will be sent an email with information about course selection and other required documents. Please check your junk/spam folder.

Questions?

If you have questions or need clarification about Early Scholars please contact Christina Dixon, Coordinator, K-16 Special Projects, at cdixon [at] ccp.edu (cdixon[at]ccp[dot]edu)