Nearly 15 years after UVM established its precollege program, more high school students are enrolling in the program to get a head start on their college degree.
UVM’s precollege program is offered to high school juniors and seniors who want to explore areas of study and earn transferable college credit.
Since 2004, 3,709 high school students have enrolled in 4,878 courses at UVM. Of that number, 993 of those students were admitted to UVM, 364 completed their undergraduate degree at UVM, and 47 went on to enroll in UVM graduate programs.
“UVM’s precollege program is not only an effective way for students to get a head start on their college career, but also an opportunity for them to experience everything UVM has to offer,” says Beth Taylor-Nolan, Associate Dean for Continuing and Distance Education, which oversees the UVM precollege program. “As the program has grown more robust over the years, we’re seeing more of our precollege students apply and matriculate to UVM.”
Precollege attracts students to UVM from all over, including Vermont, New England, New York, New Jersey, Hawaii, California, as well as Puerto Rico and British Columbia.
The UVM precollege program offers more than 100 online and on-campus courses for high school students in the summer and throughout the academic year. As part of the University’s precollegeofferings, Summer Academy is a four-week program offered on-campus and online.
Dual Enrollment for Vermont Precollege Students
Vermont high school students looking to enroll in a precollege course may apply for a voucher under the Vermont Dual Enrollment program to earn transferable college credit. Students can access up to two college courses with tuition fully reimbursed through a voucher system approved by their high schools.
Ruby LaBrusciano-Carris, who graduated from Twinfield Union High School in Plainfield in 2013, participated in UVM’s precollege program in the fall and spring of her senior year of high school. She decided to take advantage of Vermont’s Dual Enrollment Program.
The financial benefit of Dual Enrollment was a big reason why she decided to eventually enroll in UVM, where she graduated from in 2017. The precollege program also helped her realize that UVM was the right choice.
“It reassured me that there were a variety of classes and (a community of) people that I could see myself being a part of,” she says.
