Pasadena Independent School District

Benchmark 3: Target Population

Documenting Enrollment Procedures

Admission, Application Procedure and Lottery Process

Early College High Schools were originally established to help first generation college goers and other underrepresented students, who might not otherwise go to college, get a jump start on their college degree. ECHS is open to ALL students who are motivated and willing to commit to a four year program, which begins in the summer before ninth grade. Students may participate in extracurricular activities at their high school as long as they maintain their grades. Students may also join clubs and organizations at San Jacinto College. It is helpful if the students are currently taking Pre-Advanced Placement classes in intermediate school, but it is not necessary. Enrollment decisions are not based on state assessment scores, discipline history, teacher recommendations, parent or student essays, minimum grade point average (GPA), or other criteria that create barriers for student enrollment.

ALL eighth grade students are eligible to apply. Students must submit the online application by the appropriate deadline. A committee will review the applications and then students are interviewed. Students’ past performance will be examined, but academic, discipline, or attendance records will not be used to accept or deny students. Our goal is to enroll motivated and determined students that are willing to work hard and take advantage of this incredible opportunity.

The ECHS cohort size is limited to 125-135 students per campus to allow campus staff to provide the necessary support students need to be successful. When more students apply than there are available seats, a lottery system is used to determine who is offered a seat in the program. Once applications have been reviewed, all students who meet the criteria will be placed into a weighted lottery with additional weight or increased chances being given to those students who are historically underserved by colleges, identified as at-risk or economically disadvantaged, or will be the first in their family to attend college. The lottery process is tiered, starting with students who live in the school district and plan to attend their zoned high school. This ensures that local students have priority in the selection process.

If students do not live in the PISD attendance zone but still wish to apply, there are additional criteria to consider. For instance, students who currently attend a Pasadena ISD intermediate school on limited open enrollment (out-of-district transfer), or those whose parents work in the school district may apply and may be given a higher priority on a lottery waiting list than a student who attends a non-Pasadena ISD intermediate school. However, it is important to note that students applying from outside the district are not guaranteed a seat in the Early College High School program.

The lottery priority is as follows:

TIER 1 (LOTTERY PRIORITY ONE) - Student lives in the Pasadena ISD attendance zone

Currently enrolled in the zoned PISD school
Currently enrolled in a PISD school on in-district transfer
Currently enrolled in another school/district

All applicants who live in the PISD attendance zone will enter the ECHS lottery for their zoned high school. Students not granted initial admission into the ECHS program will be waitlisted in the order determined by the lottery. Sometimes students are matched to an ECHS and opt out of ECHS, which releases a seat. Students on the district waitlist will be offered unclaimed seats at ECHS programs.

Students may apply for an in-district transfer to another high school’s ECHS program AFTER the outcome of the lottery. In-district transfer applications are available in March. Once the in-district transfer is accepted, the student may then request for admission to the transfer campus’ ECHS program or to be placed on the transfer campus’ ECHS waiting list. Acceptance of an in-district transfer does not guarantee acceptance into the ECHS program at that campus.

TIER 2 (LOTTERY PRIORITY TWO) - Student lives outside the Pasadena ISD attendance zone

Currently enrolled in a PISD school on limited open enrollment and parent is PISD employee
Currently enrolled in a PISD school on limited open enrollment and parent is not PISD employee
Currently enrolled in another school/district and parent is PISD employee
Currently enrolled in another school/district and parent is not PISD employee

All students who live outside the PISD attendance zone will not be included in the lottery with students who live in the PISD attendance zone. Students who live outside the PISD attendance zone will complete an application for approved limited open enrollment transfer to attend a PISD high school. If the student is interested in attending the ECHS program, he will declare his intention on the transfer application. A lottery process will be used for these students and they will be placed on the waiting list for the intended high school. Students whose parent is a PISD employee will be moved to the top of the waiting list in the lottery assigned order.

In-district students who are on the waiting list will be given priority for admission into their zoned Early College High School (ECHS) program. Additionally, out-of-district students will be requested to rank their preferred ECHS programs for consideration when their name reaches the top of the waiting list.

Pasadena ISD ensures consistency across all campuses, therefore students must attend their zoned ECHS. If an incoming student changes residency after acceptance letters have been distributed for the next school year, then the student will be placed on the wait list at the campus to which they are now zoned. If a current ECHS student moves (or plans to move) to another school zone in the middle of the school year, then the sending and receiving deans will meet with family to discuss the options available.

Enrollment Application

We have students complete an online application that contains information found in this document.

Our online applications can be found on our PISD Early College Home Page.

Recruitment Timeline

Read about our recruiting timeline

View our Recruitment Video