A.A. DEGREE PROGRAM

Yes. Associate’s degrees require a minimum of 60 college credits (bachelor’s degrees typically require 120 credits). In this program – which we refer to as our “A.A. Track”-you can earn those 60 credits during the four years of your high school or home school (secondary education level), and upon completing them apply for your Associate’s degree.

In this program, you may earn all of the credits necessary for your Associate’s degree while in high school (or homeschool equivalent). Before you can receive your Associate’s degree diploma, you must have graduated from high school 12th grade (or the equivalent level in home school studies). Students in our “A.A. track” complete their 12th grade studies in May of their fourth year and receive their high school or 12th grade home school diploma, and then register in the Associate’s degree program at Holy Apostles College and receive their degree with the summer graduation that September.

Students may begin the A.A. track at age 14, while in the 9th grade level, or later.

Yes. The monthly payment plan may be terminated on 3 days notice (email is fine) with no further financial obligation.

All A.A. track students begin with the Great Books Program courses, which are fully described elsewhere on this LINK. The first course is entitled the Great Books of the Ancient Greeks.  There are 4 years (8 semesters) in the Great Books program. Each semester has been recommended for 6 hours of college credit by the American Council for Education (ACE CREDIT), which therefore total to 48 credits for successfully completing the entire Great Books Program.  Numerous colleges and universities, including Holy Apostles College & Seminary, accept these credits for transfer towards their degrees. It is the policy of Holy Apostles not to accept any undergraduate credits for transfer which carry a grade of less than a C- (1.67 on a 4.0 scale). Holy Apostles requires a 2.5 cumulative GPA (that is between a C [2.0] and a B [3.0] grade average) for the student’s preceding semester of high school studies to qualify to take their courses.

Correct. In fact, Holy Apostles will accept 45 (not 48) of the Great Books Program courses towards their Associate’s degree. The other 15 credits are earned directly from Holy Apostles College online.

You still have them – they are not lost-and they may be applied later towards a bachelor’s degree,  but only 75% (45 credits) of the Holy Apostles A.A. degree may be earned in non-Holy Apostles’ courses.

Correct.

You may take the Holy Apostles courses when you are in the 11th (including in the summer after completing the Great Books Romans year) and/or 12th grades, or later. Each of these courses is one semester. A.A. track students would need to complete 15 credits from Holy Apostles, specifically, the courses listed at Degree Plans.  There are three A.A. Degree Plans: one for an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts; one for an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts which includes all four of Fr. Fessio’s Theology Online courses; and one for an Associate’s Degree in Theology.

Yes. They are also available at the campus in Cromwell, Connecticut. However, not all of them are available every semester, so to determine which are available each semester, go to Degree Plans and look for the semesters indicated in the parentheses after the Holy Apostles course titles.  Holy Apostles’ online learning environment allows students to pursue their education 100% online. Courses are taught asynchronously which means that there are no “live” login times required. Their online degree programs have no residency requirements which makes it easy for you to learn whenever and wherever it is most convenient for you! Students are suggested to log into their courses several times a week in order to view materials and upload assignments. In general, we suggest students dedicate approximately 7-8 hours per week per course.

Please visit the Holy Apostles College webiste for the courses offered each semester: https://www.holyapostles.edu.

For those specific course questions please contact the Holy Apostles Undergraduate Student Advisor,  Jaqueline Reiss at jreiss@holyapostles.edu

No, but it does include a number of them. The A.A. track includes all the courses needed to earn an Associate’s degree while in high school (or in a home school equivalent). It does not include all of the courses typically required for a high school diploma (or home school program diploma or equivalent), such as high school math and science.

However, the A.A. track does include a number of courses which may substitute for various high school courses. For example, the A.A. track Great Books courses may substitute (that is, satisfy the high school requirement for) English and social studies. Similarly, the Theology Online component of the A.A. track may satisfy for two years of religion; and the A.A. track Holy Apostles courses: Catechism Pillars I & II (PAS 161 and 162) will satisfy for the other two years of religion. The A.A. track Holy Apostles SCM 101 Mathematics among the Liberal Arts course will satisfy for one semester of high school math; while A.A. track Holy Apostles SCM 201 Physics and SCM 220 Chemistry courses will satisfy for one year of high school science. These five Holy Apostles courses are a part of the A.A. track (and are listed above).

So at the end of the track, if a student completes all of the A.A. track courses, they would also typically need to have completed the following high school courses for their high school diploma (or home school equivalent): two additional years of high school science (including biology); three and a half years of high school math (typically including Algebra I & II and Geometry). The A.A. track is not a high school program: it is college level courses taken while in high school. It includes a number of courses that are substantially equivalent (or rather, exceed) in content high school courses typically required for a high school diploma.

The Angelicum Academy accepts all of the foregoing examples of course substitutions/equivalencies towards its high school level diploma.

These are posted HERE and HERE.

Yes, in Theology. Holy Apostles accepts the four Theology Online courses (taught by Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., Th.D.) which have been recommended by ACE Credit for 3 credits each, so a maximum of 12 credits, together with a maximum of up to 33 credits of the said Great Books program, (thus a total of 45 credits) towards its Associate of Arts (A.A.) in Theology degree. Students transferring said 45 credits would need to complete an additional 15 credits from Holy Apostles in order to earn their A.A. in Theology Degree. Normally this will require five of the following courses:

any two (2) of the following four language courses:

· GRK 201 Greek I
· GRK 202 Greek II
· LAT 201 Latin I
· LAT 202 Latin II
and any two (2) of the following three HACS philosophy courses:

· PHS 311 Logic
· PHS 414 Epistemology
· PHS 501 Ethics
and any (1) of the following Math/Science courses

· SCM 101 Mathematics among the Liberal Arts
· SCM 201 Physics (with or without optional 1-credit virtual physics lab)
· SCM 220 Chemistry (with or without optional 1-credit virtual chemistry lab)
· SCM 161 Earth Science
· SCM 171 Biology

In 11^th and/or 12^th grade, or later. Each course is designed to take one semester. More than one course may be taken simultaneously. There is additional information about these courses on this LINK.

Those latter nine courses are asynchronous, lecture format  – recorded for viewing online when it is convenient for the student. There are also course chat rooms. Students may individually contact the teachers with questions or for assistance with the courses.

The Great Books Program is a 6-credit-per-semester program. So it would take 3 years (6 semesters) to earn 33 credits needed for the A.A. in Theology degree.  Any additional credits earned in the Great Books Program may be applied later to Holy Apostles bachelor’s degrees.

The trend in modern high school education is to allow students to take more and more college-level courses.  This can be done with AP or IB courses and tests, ACE CREDIT recommended courses, Advanced Standing or CLEP tests, dual enrollment courses  (in high school and college), early college, and other arrangements. In fact the U.S. Department of Education is encouraging this trend by spending $20 million to pay for dual enrollment courses as a way of making better education available for disadvantaged students. All of this confirms Dr. Mortimer Adler’s and Jacques Maritain’s insights that most teens are capable of college-level work and should be given the opportunity to do so (see the article on this website: When is the Best Age to Begin the Study of the Great Books?).

In our A.A. track, students do not actually receive their A.A. degree while in high school – they simply earn their 60 credits necessary to qualify to do so, while in high school (or home school equivalent). Once they complete the courses/credits necessary for graduation from 12^th grade, and the five Holy Apostles courses mentioned above, and receive their high school diploma (or home school program diploma or equivalent), then they will be immediately eligible to matriculate into the Holy Apostles Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree program and may apply for their A.A. degree, and receive their degree with the September graduating class.

Of course. The $125 graduation fee is already included in the costs mentioned below. So upon graduation from high school, or home school equivalent, and receipt of your diploma, you simply contact Margaret Gunn, the Holy Apostles Graduation Coordinator, by emailing her at mgunn@holyapostles.edu and complete the Online Student Degree Graduation Application.  You may also call 860.632.3010 and she will get back to you as soon as possible.

It is not required-your Associate’s degree diploma will be mailed to you in that case.

That’s 48 for the Great Books courses, 12 for the Theology Online, and 15 from Holy Apostles-a total of 75 credits towards the 120 needed for a bachelor’s degree. Thus 45 more credits would be needed to complete your B.A. If the student completes all 75 of the credits listed above, they will be eligible to take five courses in the summer following their scheduled graduation from high school (or home school equivalent), five courses in the fall and five courses in the spring, thus graduating with their 120 credit BA at the end of the Spring term, one year following their high school graduation.

Students will be able to choose from among any of the current majors at Holy Apostles:

Undergraduate Degree Programs

Angelicum Great Books Program Fall classes begin each year the first week of September.  Enrollment is open. There are several class times from which to select.

Yes. Holy Apostles College is a fully accredited, co-educational Catholic Liberal Arts college located in historic Cromwell, Connecticut, USA. Holy Apostles College is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and by the State of Connecticut Board of Higher Education. Undergraduate and graduate degrees, and seminary degrees in philosophy and theology, in on-campus, online and blended formats are offered.

No. Their relationship is by an articulation agreement between them which you may read about HERE. However both Holy Apostles College & Seminary and the Ignatius-Angelicum Liberal Studies Program (which simply includes the Angelicum Great Books Program and the four Theology online courses mentioned above) are recommended by the Cardinal Newman Society’s The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College. 

Associate’s degree costs vary widely, depending upon the institution one attends.  The College Board lists average annual costs for two years of tuition, fees, room and board, ranging from $22,876 (at two-year public colleges) to $87,842 (average for two years at four-year private colleges), not including books.  Averages do not include any scholarships.

Yes, there is a 20% family discount for the 2nd, 3rd or more siblings in the A.A. track (the family discount is not available for the first sibling enrolled). If a sibling subsequently withdraws from the program, the discount terminates for any remaining lone sibling, and goes back up to the $397 per month payment beginning at the time the other sibling withdraws.

$3,975 per year. That includes all fees (not including books). Payment per year, each semester in sequence, locks in the price for the entire A.A. track year as does beginning the monthly payments of $397 and maintaining timely monthly payments that year.  Students in the A.A. track for less than four years, please see FAQ #45, below, for more details.

Again, it depends, but the average range is $381 (community college) to $1,464 (source: College Board). Averages do not include any scholarships.

$212 per credit hour for the full 75 credits.  If they only wish to complete 60 credits, then the cost per credit hour would come to $265.  If students wish to complete the 75 credits mentioned above, they may do so. However all they need for the A.A. degree is 60 credits. The total cost is the same either way: $15,900: this includes the tuition and fees for the Great Books courses, the four Theology Online courses and the five Holy Apostles courses needed for the A.A. degree.  Students in the A.A. track for less that four years, please see FAQ #45, below.

Students registering for a bachelor’s degree at Holy Apostles after earning their Associate’s degree, and having earned 75 credits, will need 45 more credits at the regular Holy Apostles tuition rate of $360 per credit hour. 45 x $360 = $16,200, plus a few hundred in fees (currently $350), all totaling $16,550. * (prices subject to change without notice).

The range is from $ 61,972 (two years at a two-year college + two years at a four year public college in-state) to $175,684 (four-year private college). Averages do not include any scholarships.

$ 32,450 which includes the $15,900 for the A.A., and is of course under ½ of the average costs listed above, and about 1/6^th of the average cost at four-year private colleges. * (prices subject to change without notice)

Yes. Students who begin the A.A. track in 9^th grade (or with the Greek Year of the Great Books, regardless of age) may make 40 payments of $397 each. The first payment is due upon enrollment and monthly thereafter, through May the fourth year (which is typically the time of graduation/A.A. degree completion). See below for family discount information.

The payments include all tuition and fees in the A.A. track. However is does not include the cost of any books (note: the Great Books are easily borrowed from libraries and are almost all available online for free). Students who pursue a B.A. at Holy Apostles following earning their A.A. will need to consult the Holy Apostles website catalog for then-current fee information.

No, a high school diploma (or home school equivalent) is required to qualify for Federal student loans. However they are available for the Holy Apostles courses beyond the A.A. track– that is, for the Holy Apostles bachelor’s degrees. For information on federal loans contact: http://www.holyapostles.edu/tuition-and-financial-aid/ or call the Holy Apostles Financial Aid office at 860.632.3020 or email finaid@holyapostles.edu That said, for students who complete two years of the Great Books Program, it is possible they may be able to qualify for federal students loans for the five Holy Apostles courses in the A.A. track. The Department of Education is experimenting with and encouraging this sort of possibility, so if you are interested in this possibility please contact the page above for information in 2017.

The High School track option does not include any college credit and may not be used for the A.A. track: it involves considerably less study and less written work. The College track is also not part of the A.A. track: it involves the same study and time for students, but is priced independently, per course (e.g., just a Great Books or Theology Online course), and is useful mainly for students planning to attend colleges other than Holy Apostles College & Seminary, or who prefer not to commit to the A.A. track and just want to take individual courses. The A.A. track is only available for students aiming at receiving their Associate’s degree from Holy Apostles College & Seminary.

First, it is a seamless track to a Catholic, accredited Associate’s degree earned during high school (or home school equivalent) –  already laid out and arranged for you. Secondly, because the A.A. track combines three elements (the Great Books courses, the four Theology Online courses and the five Holy Apostles courses), we are able to discount the overall price considerably. Absent the combination, the cost of those 75 credits would be approximately $20,000 priced separately; so the A.A. track reduces tuition costs about 25%. Thirdly, the A.A. track price is also locked in for students who either pay in full or begin the monthly payments of $350 and maintain timely monthly payments. Otherwise the prices are subject to change, without notice.

Yes, there is a 20% family discount for the 2nd, 3rd or more siblings in the A.A. track (the family discount is not available for the first/highest tuition sibling enrolled). If a sibling subsequently withdraws from the program, the discount terminates for any remaining lone sibling, and goes back up to the $397 per month payment beginning at the time the other sibling withdraws.  The 5% payment-in-full discount is also available, as are any early enrollment discounts (usually: April 5%; May 3%)

Due to the already steeply discounted tuition there are no scholarships available for the A.A. track.

Yes. Students may take up to three years from the time of matriculation into the Holy Apostles Associate’s degree program-which they do upon their graduation from high school (or home school equivalent)-to complete the entire A.A. program, and another three years (so six years total) to complete their B.A. at Holy Apostles, if they wish. So there is plenty of time to complete the track.

Yes. For example, a few students take two years of the Great Books courses in one year, or may complete all of the Theology Online or Holy Apostles courses in one year.  However to take the the Theology Online courses and/or the Holy Apostles courses the student must be a Junior (11th grader), having completed the first two years (4 semesters) of the Great Books program with “C” or better grades.  Older students (beyond high school) may take the A.A. track courses when they wish.

Yes, provided there is no tuition balance due. All colleges require tuition be paid before they issue transcripts, diplomas or degrees. Since the A.A. tuition is discounted, and on a four-year basis, students who leave the A.A. track before completion will have their tuition recalculated at that time, based on the tuition of $1,987 per Great Books semester ($3,975 per year); (plus $212 per credit hour earned to the extent this exceeds the above amount – see FAQ #45). In effect, this simply restores the tuition discount they received for joining and completing the A.A. track. Students who leave mid-semester or anytime before completing a course will be charged proportionately – for the classes or portion of a course they attended or completed before withdrawing. To be effective, we require 72-hour written notice of withdrawal – an email is fine.

Accreditation agencies generally require any college-level credit for work done in high school or home school to be evaluated by a recognized third party evaluator such as such as AP, IB, ACE, CLEP. So any courses not recommended by such a recognized 3rd party course evaluator cannot be accepted for college credit, even if they might otherwise merit it. In order to obtain such recommendations, these 3rd parties either do a full review (as ACE has done in our case) of the courses involved, or develop and utilize their own tests to evaluate the results as college credit worthy (such as AP and CLEP). The review process is arduous and very expensive. But it provides a safety factor for colleges in that as long as they have had such a 3rd party review or testing they may accept such credits (however they do not have to) towards their degrees without jeopardizing their accreditation. Almost no college would be willing to step outside this accepted framework. So any courses without one of those recognized 3rd party college credit recommendations would generally not qualify for college credit, regardless of merit, title (such as “Honors” or “Advanced”) or content. An exception to this is a limited number of credits that some colleges offer for “life” or “experiential” learning, which of course generally applies to older students, and even these are often subject to some similar form of review or testing.

That depends on a number of factors – please contact us in that case (see contact page).

Yes. However in that case please contact us directly for pricing and terms (see contact page).

No. Assuming you earn 75 college credits, here is how that works: we total all payments made for the Great Books courses for college credit, and any payments for our Theology Online courses, and credit those towards the AA track total. Any discounts previously received are counted towards the AA track total, that is, they are added into the total paid. The balance needed to reach the AA track total cost of $15,900 is then scheduled for payments (based on the estimated time to finish the AA track courses), or paid in full.

So for example, if you have completed 3 years of the Great Books program and paid $9,000, then you would need to schedule $6,900 in payments to complete the AA program. The monthly payments for the AA track are $ 397.50 x 10 months = $3,975, leaving a balance due of $ 2, 925 at the end. You may, of course, simply pay an extra $292.50 per month the final/4th year, and have no balance sue at the end.

Another example: You have completed all four years of the Great Books program and three of the Theology Online courses paying a total of $13,000 after receiving $1,000 in various tuition discounts. The $12,000 paid + the $1,000 in tuition discounts = $13,000 in credits towards the AA program, leaving a balance for it of $2,900. You can pay this at the end or simply increase your monthly payments by $290 per month and have no balance due at the end.

If you earn less than 75 college credits, you pay less- please see FAQ #45 for that information.

Please contact us with any questions.

Yes. Just send us your transcript(s) or a listing of your prior studies and we can help you determine where you would best begin the A.A. track and what courses you would need to complete. Keep in mind, high school courses do not ordinarily qualify for college credit (nor towards an A.A.), but they generally will count towards obtaining your high school diploma (or home school equivalent).

Here: A.A. track for your Associate’s Degree ENROLLMENT. 

Many other questions are answered on the angelicum.net website. Call or email if you have any questions. Thank you!