The Early Excellence Fall Program

The Early Excellence Program provides early college credit and degree pathways for more students across the city.

Fall 2023 Application
The application window to apply is December 8 - May 1, 2023. Application Deadline: May 1, 2023. Any applications received before April 1, 2023 will be notified by April 15, 2023.

About the Early Excellence Program
The Early Excellence Fall 2023 Program is an opportunity for PELL and TAP eligible students to earn up to eight NYU SPS college credits for free. Early Excellence students enroll in two college level courses in the Fall semester, taught by NYU SPS professors and taken with other SPS students. With the lighter yet challenging course load, students can adjust to a college lifestyle, make new friends, and learn how to use NYU email and other online platforms to engage in program activities and communicate with faculty, staff, and classmates.

Early Excellence Fall 2023 Students matriculate into NYU SPS’s Division of Applied Undergraduate Studies (DAUS) Associates Degree Program, so long as they maintain grades of B or better. Through the DAUS Applied Associates Degree Program, students gain academic and real world experiences that prepare them for a career or additional study at the Bachelor’s level. DAUS AA tuition rates are equivalent to community college and schedules are flexible for full-time, part-time, and evening course experiences.

Early Excellence Learning Content
Early Excellence students take a math and writing placement test to place into the accredited DAUS Math and Writing course best suited for them. Commonly placed courses include Math 1 and Introduction to Creative and Expository Writing.

• Math 1 is the first of a two-course sequence in elementary and intermediate algebra. Topics include signed numbers, linear equations, linear inequalities; absolute value equations and inequalities; laws of exponents; polynomials; factoring; rational algebraic expressions; and graphs of linear equations and inequalities
• Introduction to Creative and Expository Writing introduces students to broad a range of writing activities, exercises and texts within the fields of creative and expository writing. Students will sharpen their skills through practice and reflection and learn how to use writing as a tool for thinking, learning and organizing. They will write, read and analyze texts in a variety of forms to help them generate ideas and focus their thinking. They will also become more familiar with the conventions of Standard English. By the end of the semester students will have developed strategies for effective writing and communication.

Early Excellence Program Acceptance Criteria

• US citizen or legal residence, and eligible to work in the USA
• TAP and Pell eligible
• High School GPA of 2.8 or higher and one letter of recommendation 
• Able to commute to NYU from home