The School for Advanced Studies is a top destination for ambitious students who want to earn both a diploma and an associate degree during their final two years of high school, without leaving a campus.
The school, known as SAS, is a collegiate high school -- created through a partnership between a college or university and a school district -- that holds classes at five campuses of Miami Dade College.
The SAS schools are tuition-free and are overseen by the Miami-Dade County school board.
“[It’s] where the students are not only exposed to dual enrollment courses where they have the opportunity to not only earn their [Associate of Arts] degree, but also equally important to take [advanced placement] courses [toward college credit],” SAS Principal Omar Monteagudo said.
Students who graduate from SAS will enter college as juniors, which not only saves time but also cuts tuition costs, Monteagudo said.
At the school, also known as “The Dream Factory,” students follow a more independent schedule, as a college student would do.
“Students are able to automatically go into a field of study,” Monteagudo said.
Students must be starting their junior year of high school to enroll. A typical day includes two college classes followed by two high school classes.
“They have an opportunity to do internships, and they’re able to work directly with college professors,” Monteagudo said.
Students may enroll in any of MDC’s 300 courses in the catalog, which includes the new Artificial Intelligence Program at the North Campus.
Students must attend one of the five college campuses that is closest to home. The only exception is the Wolfson campus in downtown Miami. Students would need to take mass transit or have their own transportation to attend classes there, according to Dennis Lindsay, director of recruitment for the school.
Along with the new AI program on the North Campus, SAS students this semester may also participate in band, through a partnership with the North Campus’ orchestra.
Monteagudo said that students benefit from college-level access to advisors and one-on-one time with teachers and professors.
Students at The Dream Factory won’t miss out on the regular high school experience though, as SAS offers plenty of clubs and activities such as National Honor Society, Student Government Association and Mock Trial and Debate. Athletics are held through the student’s home high school.
There are some qualifications for students who wish to enroll: A minimum grade point average and passing an entrance exam.
“To apply to our program in 10th grade [to begin in junior year] they have to at least a 3.0 unweighted GPA,” Lindsay said.
The students at the school must also maintain that GPA or higher during their final two years at SAS.
Along with the GPA, students are required to take a college placement test. Minimum scores for the PERT placement tests are 123 for math; 106 in reading and 103 for writing.
More information on an another entrance exam, ACCUPLACER NG, entrance requirements and forms are available on the school’s website.
The North Campus has 65 seats for SAS high school students; if more students apply than there are seats available, it uses a random ranking of students who meet the minimum entrance criteria, Lindsay said.
While the school has a lot of advantages over a traditional model, Monteagudo says it is not for the faint of heart.
“The type of students that benefit from this are very structured, have a clear vision as to what path they would like to take and are individuals who are looking for a smaller, more cohesive environment,” Monteagudo said.
Class of 2022 graduates went on to enroll at some of the nation’s top colleges and universities, including in the Ivy League.
For more information on SAS visit www.sasdreamfactory.org.
CORRECTION
In the printed version of this story there were three errors that are corrected in this online report:
Students take college courses in the morning; if more than 65 students apply to the SAS program on the North Campus of Miami Dade College, a random ranking system is used to determine who is admitted, and the school admits new high school juniors, not new seniors. We regret the errors.