Schenectady Smart Transfer Early College High School is a grant-funded program, partnered with SUNY Schenectady Community College, which allows high school students to pursue associate’s degrees while earning their high school diplomas. Successful students then automatically transfer to a 4-year institution to complete their bachelor’s degrees. 

Funded by New York State Education Department, Smart Transfer is a partnership between SUNY Schenectady, University at Albany, SUNY Delhi and the Schenectady City School District. Students apply and are accepted in 8th grade, undergoing a multi-stage application process and then participate in a rigorous 6-week summer program at SUNY Schenectady. 

Smart Transfer is modeled after existing Early College High Schools in the country, but is unique in the Schenectady community and in the Capital Region. Two cohorts of students were accepted in Spring of 2018 and graduated from both SUNY Schenectady and Schenectady High School in 2021 and 2022. The program was expanded in 2022 to admit a ninth grade cohort of up to 64 students. Smart Transfer students spend their first two years of high school, with Schenectady High School teachers and staff, at the SUNY Schenectady Center City campus in downtown Schenectady and then spend their junior and senior years primarily at the SUNY Schenectady main campus.