Central Administration Building
601 South 8th Street
College Readiness
For many students, a two or four-year college will help them achieve their career goals. Planning for college starts long before high school graduation. Beyond paying attention to academics, the path to college involves taking the right high school courses, exploring your career interests, visiting colleges, and applying to colleges that are a good fit. Here you will find resources and information to help students and families.
College Entrance Exams: SAT & ACT
All students who want to take college entrance exams should have that opportunity. To ensure ALL students have equitable access, the district schedules in-school time for students to complete exams and pays for exam fees.
Advanced Programs
Advanced program courses include Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), College in the High School courses, and Running Start.
Dual Credit Courses
Dual credit courses allow students the opportunity to earn high-school and college credit. Students may earn dual credit through Advanced Placement (AP) courses, International Baccalaureate (IB) courses, College in the High School courses, CTE Dual Credit (all high school CTE courses are eligible) and Running Start.
College and University Partners
Tacoma Public Schools has agreements with eight schools to clearly outline admission criteria. For students and families, this gives a roadmap and peace of mind knowing what steps they can take now to ensure college admission.
College and University Partners
Applying for College
All colleges have an application. Typically, you can submit a vocational, technical, two-year or four-year college and university application online and sometimes in-person or by mail. There is a common application that is used by hundreds of colleges in the U.S., this application is convenient because you can send it to multiple eligible schools. There is also a shared application for many community and technical colleges in Washington.
Paying for College
Paying for college shouldn't be a barrier to pursuing education after high school. Find resources to help students apply for scholarships, federal and state financial aid and more.