HEOP Program

During the summer and academic year, supportive services take many forms:

1. Courses: If you need additional academic assistance to prepare you for college-level work, HEOP can meet your academic needs. Before you begin your classes, the HEOP professional staff will evaluate your academic strengths and weaknesses, and design a specific academic program to help improve your academic deficiencies. You will have be enrolled in a Summer Program that provides you with the opportunity to earn 3-6 credits and enter the fall semester with a strong college GPA.
2. Tutorial Services: HEOP provides you with tutorial services to assist you with your academic courses. Tutorial services are conducted on a one-to-one basis or in groups, depending upon your needs. Some tutors are even junior or senior HEOP students who have excelled at STAC.
3. Counseling Services: Counseling services are provided by the HEOP staff on an individual or group basis to assist you obstacles that may interfere with your academic work. You will receive the following types of counseling:
   • Academic: The HEOP counselor will assist you in selecting your academic major and courses. You can take a reduced course load during your first semester. You are also given an extra year of eligibility to graduate.
   • Personal: Adjustment to college life often presents many new problems for HEOP students. Counseling helps you develop your self-confidence, identity, and a positive attitude about learning.
   • Career: Students are often undecided about what to do after graduation. The HEOP staff will assist you in making career choices. STAC 102, in the spring semester of your freshmen year, provides more focused career counseling. We will help you select the necessary courses to prepare you for employment or postgraduate study.

Entering students are required to take part in a pre-freshman summer program. The summer program is designed to orient the student to college life, build academic skills, and acquaint the student with the services available through HEOP. For the entering class of 2025 the mandatory Summer Program will begin  Sunday, July 13th and continues through Thursday, August 7th. Students spend Sunday through Thursday at STAC living in the residence halls. The entire cost of the summer program is estimated at $10,000 per student, but there is no cost to the student. The tuition, fees, books, meals and room are provided at no cost to the students in the Summer Program. All activities are also included in the Summer Program.

Students who are interested in the HEOP program must apply to the College and then the College determines if you are eligible based on your high school transcript and the results of your FAFSA. Applicants must complete the current year FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The Office of Student Financial Services reviews applicants who have been accepted to the College and meet the GPA guidelines and then reviews the FAFSA results and refers accepted students who initially meet both the Academic and Financial guidelines of this NYS Program. We encourage students who are interested in HEOP to apply as soon as possible in their senior year of high school.

Unfortunately no, HEOP can only accept graduating high school seniors to the program.

Yes, all HEOP applicants must have been a New York State resident for at least one year prior to the year of entry into the NYS HEOP Program.

It is not based solely on financial need. That is just one component. The other components include your high school transcript and meeting the HEOP Program academic guidelines; and the third component is your participation in the Interview with the HEOP Staff to determine if you are ready for the HEOP Program at St. Thomas Aquinas College.

As part of the HEOP agreement, all students admitted to the program must successfully complete St. Thomas Aquinas College’s four week summer program. This counts as preparation for the academic and/or fine arts challenges they will encounter during the freshman year. The required intro courses, counseling and workshops help students begin to prepare for and anticipate the demands of college. Upperclassmen are often assigned as mentors to the incoming class and to help structure the students’ summer experience. Various enrichment activities take place throughout the summer to add balance to the academic load.

STAC has a very limited number of spots each year for a transfer student. The College is limited in the number of students it can serve in this program and typically fill that number with entering freshmen. If a STAC student transfers out, we will open a spot for a student to transfer in.

Students who are currently enrolled in an EOP program at a NYS Community College are encouraged to complete their Associate’s degree requirements at the community college. We can begin the transfer process with an application and transfer request form once you are in your final year at the community college. We will advise you on which courses might benefit both your associate’s degree requirements and the major you plan on selecting for your four year degree.

For students who are not enrolled at a NYS Community College the transfer process is different. First, you must have completed a pre summer HEOP/EOP program just after graduating from high school. NYS requires that you transition from high school to college via the pre freshmen summer program in order to be eligible to enroll in a HEOP/EOP program. The second step is to begin the transfer process by contacting the STAC Transfer Coordinator in the STAC Admissions Office. You may also contact the STAC HEOP Program:

Ms. Elvira Vasquez, Director, The HEOP Program
Ms. Doris Osei, Assistant Director, The HEOP Program
845-398-4035
evasquez@stac.edu

Ms. Joy Gallagher, Director of Transfer Admissions
845-398-4101
jgallagh@stac.edu
Transfer Application Link

Please click on this Information Package to see a sample Financial Aid Award for the 2024-2025 Academic Year. Once 2025-2026 financial information is released we will update this Information Package.

Prior to accepting our offer, you will receive an actual financial aid award package as a HEOP student. That package will only be valid if you accept our offer and attend our Summer program.

Family obligation: additional costs such as transportation to and from campus; activities; room deposits; and other costs incurred by the student that are outside of the tuition, fees, room, and board costs outlined above. The student loan for a typical freshmen (that covers any gap in funding, including indirect costs) is often less than the $3,000 estimated in this example. 95% of the funding is provided to students each year.