Nashua South Grad Earns 22 College Credits in High School

NASHUA - Nashua High School South graduate Jared Schonhaut enrolled in the math program at Nashua Community College in fall 2018 with a semester-and-a-half of college credits already on his transcript.

“I wanted to learn more about college, and to compare it with high school classes,” he said. Jared earned his first college credits through Running Start by taking a culinary class at Nashua High School North his junior year. The Running Start program gives college and high school credits for approved classes taken at the student’s high school.

He explored other opportunities for high schoolers to earn college credit and began his first Early College class, pre-calculus, at NCC in the summer of 2017 before his senior year of high school.

Like Running Start, Early College awards highly transferable college credits to high school students. But with Early College, high schoolers take courses right on the college campus alongside enrolled college students. Credits also satisfy high school credits with the approval of the students’ high school.

Jared recalled how taking classes at the college changed his perspective. “I was definitely taken aback, because it was nothing like I thought it would be; the price wasn’t bad either,” he said, noting that Early College classes are offered at a 50 percent discount of regular tuition.

Spending part of his time at NCC his senior year at South, Jared said he fit right in and felt comfortable on campus, “It was actually really fun. I made a lot of new friends.”

He said many of his fellow students at Nashua South didn’t seem to know about Early College, although a few of his peers were enrolled in Running Start classes. Jared credited his Career and Technical Education advisor for presenting his options at NCC, “I would definitely recommend it, because you get a taste of what college classes are like, and what NCC has to offer, and you can experience the student life on campus. A lot of the credits transfer to different four-year colleges as well.”

Thanks to Nashua High School South accepting his Early College credits, Jared was able to take five classes through the program. Combined with Running Start, he earned 22 college credits before graduating high school.

Jared said he’s exploring transfer opportunities for after NCC, most likely for math education, “I know I want to go to a four-year school to finish my bachelor’s.” Now fall 2019, he’s about to begin his second year at NCC.

Learn more about Running Start and Early College by contacting the NCC admissions team at 603.578.8908 or nashua@ccsnh.edu. Information on Running Start can be found online at: nashuacc.edu/academics/running-start. Visit the Early College website at nashuacc.edu/admissions/early-college.

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