Jorge Said:

Questions about the Running Start Program for high school students?

We Answered:

granted it has been over a decade since I was in high school, but to my understanding the program is still pretty much the same... when I was doing it, here's how it worked:

running start was a program for high school students, designed so that the student could spend up to the last 2 years of high school (so UNDER 18 years old) taking college classes, and potentially earn an associates degree at the same time they earn their high school diploma.

when i was doing running start, i believe my high school paid the tuition (or maybe it was the state... what i do know is that it wasn't me or my family, regardless of my family's income). I did have to pay for books, but that seemed rather affordable compared to the tuition money i was saving.

as far as scholarships go, i would assume that if the scholarship doesn't state an age requirement, then you're eligible regardless of your age. the thing about scholarships is that they're offered by thousands of different sources, so there's no catch-all answer to that. you'd have to look at each scholarship's requirements to figure each one out. You can start by going into the college's financial aid office, and asking if they have a program or listing that would help narrow the scholarships down to those you're eligible for. they won't be able to give you a list of everything you're eligible for, but it's a good place to start.

i would check to find out exactly what you're responsible for paying before you bother with it. unless you're really in major financial need right now, the effort of searching for scholarships to pay the fees for a couple of textbooks (assuming the program still takes care of tuition) might not even be worth it. keep in mind you can often buy used textbooks at discount prices.