College NOW Students

You do not need to submit the HCC student application every year while you are in high school. If you have never applied to Heartland, you can continue to the application below. 

• If you plan to attend HCC after you graduate from high school, you will need to reapply for a term that begins after your graduation date. This will let us know what program of study you are interested in pursuing! 

To apply, you will need: 

• An email address you check often; you will need to check this email account in order to access the application. 

On the Personal Information Pages: 

• Enter your complete mailing address. Include the apartment or unit #, if applicable.
  • If you have more than one home address, enter the one where you wish to receive mail.
• If you are younger than 18, your emergency contact must be your parent/guardian.
• If you are unable provide an SSN when submitting your application, we will send you a link to a form to provide an SSN or ITIN, or to verify that you do not have an SSN. A hold will be placed on your account preventing registration until the form is completed. Check your email for a link to the form! 

On the Program Selection Page (pg 4):

• Select Take Heartland classes prior to graduating high school (College NOW) even if you are working toward a degree or certificate while you are still in high school. If you choose any other option, the processing of your application may be delayed. 
• Mark ALL locations where you plan to take classes while in high school:
  • at your high school
  • at a career center
  • at Heartland either on-campus or online
    • Note: Students younger than 16 who wish to take on-campus/online classes must complete additional Early Admission application steps.

Click the blue text for an instruction page to follow as you apply:
College NOW application instructions

It is recommended that you complete the application on a computer, as it is not currently mobile-friendly.

After you click Submit, the submission process can take a few moments to complete. Don't close the browser window until it displays a message confirming that your application has been successfully submitted.

Within 3-5 business days from your submission date, your welcome letter will go to the email address you entered on your application. Application processing could take longer during high-volume times near the start of a semester OR if an error is detected with the information entered on your application (i.e. incorrect SSN, birth date, or high school graduation date, missing apartment or unit number in mailing address).

*Be sure to check your spam/junk filter. Students with Gmail accounts should also check the Promotions folder. If you still can't locate it, send an email to Applications@heartland.edu requesting that we re-send it. Please include your full name and date of birth.

Visit home.heartland.edu to log into your myHeartland account. From there, you can:

1. Click on Manage My Password and refer to the Student ID and Login Name you received in your acceptance letter e-mail to create a password and set up security questions.
2. Access your myHeartland email and check it regularly! All important Heartland communications will be sent your Heartland email address, not your personal email address. 
3. Once enrolled in classes, click on My Classes to see more detailed information about your courses in Canvas. Classes will be available in Canvas 5 days before the class start date. 

Reach out to our IT Helpdesk directly if you have difficulty accessing your account: helpdesk@heartland.edu or 309-268-8380. 

Placement requirements must be met prior to enrollment in the class. Visit Make an Appointment to schedule your placement testing!

Some high school students can waive the English and/or Math placement tests by submitting recent ACT, PSAT, or SAT scores. For a complete list of accepted waivers and qualifying scores, visit the Waive the Placement Test page. 

• High school counselors can submit your official ACT, PSAT, or SAT score report on your behalf by:
  • Uploading to the HCC ShareFile upload portal
  • Emailing to testing@heartland.edu 
• High school students can send your own official ACT or SAT scores to Heartland by:
  • ACT: Sign in to your myACT account to request that a copy of your official score report be sent to our Testing Center. HCC site code for ACT: 1046
  • SAT: Sign in to your account at College Board to request that a copy of your official score report be sent to our Testing Center. HCC site code for SAT: 1361

Placement is not required for certain Career and Technical Education classes if taken as a College NOW student through your high school or career center.

Visit our College NOW page to learn more about your opportunities and next steps as a College NOW Student! 

*Students under 16 years old taking HCC courses on-campus/online, not through our high school/career center partnerships, must complete additional Early Admission Process steps.