Project START Eligibility

Anyone, who is currently pursuing an Associate's degree or Certificate at CCBC Essex and meets at least one of the eligibility criteria below, may apply.

  • First generation: Neither of the student's parents has earned a Bachelor's degree from a four-year college or university.
  • Income eligible: The student is receiving, or is eligible to receive, a Pell grant, SEOG, or other student financial assistance or meets income requirements as determined by the Director of Project Start.
  • Disabled: The student has documented disability on file with the Office of Special Services.

Additional qualifications

  • Eligible students will go through an interview process with a Project START counselor where additional criteria including academic history, test scores, and current academic goals will be discussed and evaluated on a case by case basis. 
Brochures and applications are available in the Student Services Center Rooms 142 &143 on the Essex campus.

Project START Offerings

Academic Skills Development

Critical Thinking Workshop Series:

  1. The reading process and cracking the code
  2. Identifying and filtering essential information and non-essential information
  3. Note-taking from lectures, presentations, texts and note-making for daily review and test preparation
  4. Mind-mapping basic training for note-making

Building Relationships

    Living Leaders: Monthly forums that nurture the development of relational leadership skills and acceptance of role responsibility.

Life Skills: The Tools for Success

  • Setting goals
  • Avoiding procrastination
  • Managing stress and achieving relaxation
  • Managing your time

Academic Advising and Support

  • Selecting courses based upon assessment placement results in English and math
  • Identifying courses toward the fulfillment of an Associate's degree and transfer
  • Clarifying academic goals
  • Selecting a major course of study
  • Recovering from academic probation or financial aid suspension
  • Withdrawing from classes
  • Transfer information form ARTSYS (web-based college transfer information system)
  • Campus visits to four-year colleges and universities

Financial, Advising and Support

  • Financial aid advising for transfer
  • Assistance in completing financial aid and scholarship forms

Career Exploration

  • Utilizing the Career Center
  • Career decision-making

Personal Counseling

Regularly scheduled counseling sessions to address personal issues that are barriers to academic achievement or success.

Professional Tutoring

  • Monitored professional tutoring support for English, Reading, Math, and most science courses.
  • Referral to college-wide tutoring services for other courses.