What is HEOP?

The Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) is a New York State-funded program that provides assistance in attending college to New York State students who have limited academic and financial resources. St. Lawrence University has had a HEOP program since 1969. Each year, 15-20 new students enroll at St. Lawrence through this program.

HEOP students demonstrate the potential to succeed in college, but may need additional academic support to meet the demands of college coursework. In addition, their ability to pay college expenses is very limited -- in some cases their families are unable to provide any financial support. Students admitted through HEOP receive enough financial aid to allow them to attend St. Lawrence. St. Lawrence also provides mentoring to HEOP students that includes academic advising and tutoring, personal and financial counseling, and advice about preparing for careers and graduate school. The goal of the program is to help retain and graduate those who would otherwise not attend St. Lawrence.

HEOP students get a jump-start on college with our First-Year Summer Program, during which they complete two courses and get a sense of what the academic expectations will be.


Who Qualifies?

You must be a New York State resident for one year prior to your entry into HEOP. You must also be a U.S. citizen or Permanent Resident.

You must be educationally disadvantaged, inadmissible under normal St. Lawrence admissions standards based on your high school grades, Regents exam scores, or SAT or ACT scores.

You must be economically disadvantaged as defined by the guidelines set forth by the New York State Education Department (available through the HEOP office).

You must possess a high school diploma or a state-approved equivalency diploma at the time you enroll.

You must not have been enrolled at another college unless you were enrolled through one of the following programs: HEOP, EOP, SEEK, or College Discovery.


How Do You Apply?

1. Complete the Common Application for Admission on-line at http://app.commonapp.org, print off and mail in the application here, or use the paper form available in your high school's guidance office. Be sure to complete the required St. Lawrence University Common Application Supplement. All forms must be submitted no later than february 1st.

2. Complete the Federal Application for Student Financial Aid (FAFSA) on-line at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov or use the paper form available in your high school's guidance office. The FAFSA must be filed between January 1 and february 1st.

3. Schedule an interview with a St. Lawrence representative, either a member of the HEOP staff or the admis-sions staff. You may call (800-285-1856), e-mail admissions@stlawu.edu or IM SLUAdmissions to find out more about the interview process. We conduct interviews for students throughout the state of New York so you should not be concerned if you cannot visit campus for an interview. The interview gives you an opportunity to learn more about St. Lawrence and gives us a chance to get to know you.