College Readiness

How to get help paying for college without a high school diploma or GED. 

What is Ability to Benefit? 

It’s a federal financial aid rule that allows students without a high school diploma (or an equivalent like a GED or home school diploma) to qualify for financial aid if they prove they have the ability to benefit from a college education. Financial aid can help you pay for tuition, books, fees and other educational expenses for college-level classes. 

Who is eligible for Ability to Benefit? 

You may be eligible if you: 

• Don’t have a high school diploma or GED
• Are 17 or older (If you are 17-18, you must be formally released from high school before enrolling.)
• Participate in a career pathway for Truck Tech, Health Care, IT, or Business Administration

If you want more information please email to Edric Lysne at edric.lysne@spps.org

REQUIREMENTS

• High school diploma or GED
• TABE Score: 501+ (L1) / 517+ (L2)
• TABE Forms: Reading M/D 11/12

L1=Native English Speakers; L2= Non-Native English Speakers

ACADEMIC SKILLS

• Determine the direction of an academic passage
• Cite evidence from text during class discussions
• Identify type of evidence author uses as evidence (primary, secondary, research)
• Describe the purpose of graphs and charts (line bar, and pie)
• Find specific information on a graph/chart

REQUIREMENTS

• High school diploma or GED
• TABE Scores: 449-536
• TABE Forms: Math E/M
• For students enrolled at St. Paul College

MATH SKILLS

• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and sign numbers.
• Apply equality properties to solve equations involving one or two operations
• Apply models and real-world investigation to develop operations for integers.
• Convert between US and Metric measures of length, weight, and capacity.
• Convert between fractions, decimals, and percent.
• Define a percent as a ratio and solve percent applications.
• Define algebraic expressions, terms, like and unlike terms.
• Evaluate formulas given replacement values and use formulas to solve problems.
• Identify and apply the order of operations for calculations.
• Read and write decimal numbers and round decimal numbers to a specified place.
• Solve application problems with whole numbers, fractions, decimals, ratios, and proportions.
• Translate application problems into equations.
• Translate word problems into equations.
• Write rates as unit rates and unit costs.
• Write ratios of two quantities in simplest form.