Have you ever thought about leaving high school early? I know I definitely did, and that’s how I found myself applying for an early admission program through FMCC. After years of doing research on option after option of going to college early, I settled on this program at the beginning of the school year. It’s close and easier to apply to than most other programs, two major pros in my opinion. Not to say the other college programs aren’t worth it, they’re just not for me, so rest assured that if you want to participate in this type of program there are many options available.

The application process is relatively quick and there are only two major requirements: be within the top half of your class, and have a recommendation from your guidance counselor or principal. My parents and I began this process with an email to Ms. Morck, who was very open to the idea and provided me with the physical application form. There are two application forms, one physical and one digital. It’s recommended that you fill out the physical form first and give it to the representative that comes here for the program around February. Once you’ve submitted that form, you can fill out the digital application found on the FMCC website. After you have submitted both applications, there shouldn’t be much of a wait to see if you’ve been accepted. I received my acceptance email less than a week after I submitted the applications.

This was the point where there was a lot of information given at once, but the main thing you should focus on is getting your Ability to Benefit test scheduled. The Ability to Benefit test is required for all early admission students and you are unable to schedule classes until you’ve taken it. All you need to do to schedule the Ability to Benefit test is call the admissions office and they’ll offer you different times to take it. They usually have a test open every week so there should be no problems finding a date that works for you. A photo ID is required, so if you don’t have a driver’s permit or passport, make sure you know where your most recent school ID is.

If you’re sitting there thinking, “A test? I thought you said this would be easy! I don’t want to take a test just to be able to make my schedule!” Don’t worry, I was thinking the same. I sat around worrying about it over the weekend before I took it. Trust me when I say the stress was unfounded. If you get accepted into the program, you’ll probably pass the test. Even if you’re having a bad day and flunk it, you can just schedule another one and take that. They want you to succeed.

After that it’s pretty smooth sailing. Once the test is over you can immediately schedule a meeting with an academic advisor to make your schedule. I found it helpful to go through the course catalog beforehand and make an ideal schedule so I could better communicate what I wanted in the meeting. It is important to keep in mind what classes you’re required to take to graduate high school, as those are the priority, but also make sure you’re getting what you want out of this program. When I went in I gave the academic advisor my list and since everything worked out, she was able to put everything in the system and give me my schedule in less than fifteen minutes. You will also be given a folder with more information about payment, account information, and other information relevant to the process. All in all the appointment only took me around half an hour. After you’re done with your schedule you can go to the library to get your student ID and parking pass.

That’s as far as I have gotten into the process. If you’re interested in this, please reach out to the guidance office for more information, or even just look through FMCC’s website to see what programs are available to you as a high school student. In this article I only talked about my application for the full-time program, but there is also a part-time program that allows students to continue to take classes in their high school. There is also an early admission exploratory program for students not in the top half of their class that offers the ability to take college courses that don’t affect graduation requirements. I really encourage exploring the options available to you, even if they don’t seem feasible, because you really never know what might be the perfect fit.