Get a head start on college while you’re still in high school.

Running Start is a statewide program that allows qualified high school juniors and seniors to receive college credit, tuition-free while completing high school requirements.

Eligibility 

Be qualified as Junior (including rising Juniors, the Summer before Junior year) or Senior at a Washington public high school. Home-schooled students and students attending private high schools must be evaluated as juniors or seniors by a public school official either at the high school or the local school district.

Explore BTC

BTC offers Campus Tours & Career Exploration appointments. 

For more information regarding entry requirements for programs, visit the Degrees & Certificates webpage. 

1. Apply 

Go to the Online Admissions Application Portal, create an account, and log in. From the dropdown menus on the application homepage, choose: 

• College – Bellingham Technical College 
• I will be enrolling as… -- Running Start
• Program – Professional Technical (Includes most BTC Degrees and Certificates) 

  • Note: If you do not see your degree/certificate choice here, check out the other Program options.

• Term – [Choose Preferred Start Term] 
• Degree or Certificate – [Check our program webpages to find the correct degree or certificate title]

Look for Your Welcome Email 

After you apply, you’ll get a “Welcome to BTC” email within 5 business days. It will include your student ID number (ctcLink ID) and remaining admissions steps.
Tip: Check your spam or junk folder—sometimes the email ends up there.

2. Running Start Enrollment Verification Form & Contract 

Work on turning in your Running Start form and contract. Connect with your high school counselor to complete your Running Start Enrollment Verification form. 

3. Assess Your Starting Point 

Once you have applied to BTC, received your Welcome Letter email, and started working on your forms, you are ready for the next step, determining your math and English placement: 

• Complete the Guided Self-Placement, a free, short assessment questionnaire to determine your comfort level with math and English, prior to scheduling your GET Started Meeting. 

4. Complete Your GET Started Meeting

Once you have completed the above steps, you will be provided the link to schedule your required GET Started Meeting with a college Navigator, during which you will discuss your program and get ready to enroll in classes. 

• Running Start Enrollment Verification Form

  Running Start Enrollment Verification Form 

  You will need to complete a Running Start Enrollment Verification Form each quarter. Running Start will not pay for classes at BTC without submitting this completed form each quarter. 

  Processing Running Start Enrollment Verification Forms may take up to 5 business days. Please plan accordingly. 

  Required Signatures

  • Your parent or guardian
  • Your high school counselor or school district representative
  • Your own
  • Your BTC Running Start Navigator or representative

• Running Start Contract

  Running Start Contract

  The Running Start Contract includes important information about being a Running Start student at BTC and student expectations. This form is completed annually. 

• Summer Enrollment Verification Form

  Summer Running Start Enrollment Verification Form 

  The state provides a modified enrollment form for Summer quarter For Running Start-eligible students who have not met the 1.40 AAFTE enrollment limitation, the summer quarter is accessible at all colleges and universities offering Running Start for a maximum of 10 credits.

  This applies to the following students:

  • Rising Juniors: Students completing the 10th grade or eligible to enroll in the 11th
    grade in the fall based upon the district's grade placement policies.
  • Rising Seniors: 11th grade students, regardless of whether they have participated in
    Running Start previously.
  • Non-graduating Seniors: 12th grade students who will not have completed the credits
    required for graduation, regardless of whether they have participated in Running
    Start previously. These students would not be considered fifth-year seniors until the
    fall, so they are not limited to taking only college courses that satisfy high school
    graduation requirements.
  • Non-Graduating Fifth-Year and Beyond Seniors: Current fifth-year seniors who have
    not reached the 63-college credit limit for all senior years combined and have not
    met the credit requirements to earn a high school diploma. These students must
    have participated in Running Start previously and are limited to specific college
    courses that would satisfy high school graduation requirements within their
    remaining FTE capacity.
  • Seniors Delaying Graduation: Seniors who have met high school graduation
    requirements but choose to delay graduation. These students cannot be formally
    graduated in June and must be advised that their records cannot be closed, official
    transcripts cannot be generated, and they will not be reflected as graduates until the
    completion of the summer Running Start term.
  • Home and Private School Students: These students must be eligible to be in the 11th
    or 12th grade in the fall based on the grade placement policies of the school district,
    regardless of whether they intend to pursue a diploma through the district.
    

• Delayed Graduation Assurances

  Delayed Graduation Assurances

  Students who have met high school credit requirements and are eligible to graduate in June may delay officially graduating to enroll in summer Running Start for up to 10 credits. The Summer Running Start Assurances for Students Delaying Graduation is required along with the summer RSEVF, and these students are strongly encouraged to attach documentation verifying that steps have been taken to formally delay graduation.

• Residency Affidavit (for recent high school graduates continuing at BTC)

  Residency Affidavit 

  If you are a recent high school graduate planning to continue a program at BTC, submit the Residency Affidavit to the Registration Office to update your student type, without needing to submit a new application. 

Running Start Advising

New students are encouraged to email rstart@btc.edu with any questions, for example:

• Admissions Process
• Program Options
• Running Start Paperwork and Registration
• Program Costs and Benefits
• Determine High School Credit Equivalencies
• Learn about Financial Assistance Programs

Let’s get you enrolled!

Once you have turned in your quarterly Running Start Enrollment Verification Form, and met with the BTC Running Start Navigator for your initial GET Started Meeting you should be ready to enroll. 

Each quarter, Running Start students may register online or by calling Registration at 360.752.8350. 

Appointments:

Running Start Bookings

• High School Course Equivalency Guides

  Select your high school to see which BTC courses equate to high school requirements. If you do not see your high school listed, please send us an email to rstart@btc.edu.

  • Bellingham Public Schools

  • Blaine

  • Ferndale

  • Lynden

  • Meridian

  • Mount Baker

  • Nooksack

  • Sedro-Woolley

• Tuition and Fees

  For information regarding tuition and fees, please see Running Start Costs. Running Start students, that are not eligible for a fee waiver, are responsible for paying all course fees in addition to running start tuition rate of $11.85 per eligible credit. Tuition and fee due dates can be found on the BTC Calendar. 

  Students can pay online with a VISA or MasterCard credit card (not debit), over the phone at 360.752.8311, or at the Cashier window, College Services (CS) building, where you may use cash, check, VISA, MasterCard, or financial assistance.

• Free and Reduced Lunch Eligibility

  If a student is eligible for free and reduced lunch in the high school, they may have access to additional tuition support.

  If you believe you qualify:

  • make sure your high school counselor checks they "FRPL eligibility in past 5 yrs." box on your enrollment verification form.
  • OR, work with your high school counselor to submit a Running Start Tuition Fee Waiver. 

  Please reach out to rstart@btc.edu or 360-752-8664 with any questions about fee waiver eligibility.

  Fee waiver status cannot be applied retroactively and must be in place on or before the first day of the quarter.  

• Additional Financial Assistance

  If you qualify for federal basic food benefits, you may eligible for the BFET program to assist with college expenses. Visit the Workforce Funding & Student Support website for more information. 

  All students are encouraged to apply for the BTC Foundation Scholarship by June 30 for the next school year to assist with fees, books, tools, etc. 

If you have questions about classes or how to get started, contact Running Start at 360.752.8664 or rstart@btc.edu 

Additional registration resources are available to you on the Registration page.