ASCENT/TREP

Full-Time Enrollment

• ASCENT: Minimum of 24 credit hours during the ASCENT year.
• TREP: Must be enrolled full-time at a participating institution.

Postsecondary Coursework

• ASCENT: Must have earned 9 postsecondary credits during high school through:
  • Concurrent/Dual Enrollment (grade C or higher).
  • AP courses (score of 3+), taken before the spring of senior year.
  • IB courses (score of 4+), taken before the spring of senior year.
• TREP: Must have successfully completed one course in the Educator Pathway during their 12th-grade year.

Diploma Withheld

FAFSA/CASFA Completion

Financial Aid Restrictions

Age and Eligibility Restrictions

• Students must be under 21 years old.
• No early graduates, super seniors, or college athletes are eligible during the ASCENT/TREP years.

1. Counselor Consultation: Students work with their high school counselor to ensure they meet eligibility criteria and begin the application process.
2. Verification: The ASCENT Specialist will reverify student eligibility.
3. Meetings: The ASCENT Specialist will schedule individual/group meetings with eligible students to confirm their status and discuss next steps.
4. Orientation: Once identified as recipients, students must attend either an individual or group orientation. During this session, next steps will be discussed, including introductions to ASCENT/TREP points of contact at partner schools, to ensure students are prepared to register for Fall classes.

• Students must complete an ASCENT/TREP application and agreement, confirm enrollment, and maintain communication throughout the ASCENT/TREP program via phone and personal email.
• Schedules and grades for ASCENT/TREP years are required to be collected by the district ASCENT/TREP representative.
• Policies regarding housing, institutional scholarships, and activity participation, such as sorority/fraternity involvement, must be discussed with partner colleges/universities.
• ASCENT/TREP participants remain students in their Local Education Provider (LEP) following their 12th grade year (1 year for ASCENT/2 years for TREP). The LEP receives ASCENT/TREP specific per-pupil state funding that it uses to pay their college tuition (tuition is discounted ) at the resident community college rate. Students receive their high-school diplomas at the end of their ASCENT/TREP year. [C.R.S. § 22-35-108.5]
• Once DCSD is billed (typically toward the end of each college semester), payment will be made to the partner school or university. Please note, college/university systems may still show an outstanding tuition balance, as they are not always programmed to recognize ASCENT/TREP participants.