Dual enrollment: Getting ahead in college while still in high school

Dual credit courses allow students to complete their high school course requirements while also earning college credits. This option is gaining in popularity, but students need to make sure dual credit is the best plan for them. Parents and students may need some help determining whether dual credit is a viable option, and how to go about it.

Dual credit courses are replacing AP courses in popularity, which is understandable considering that, although AP courses may prepare students for college work, they only earn high school credit for them. With dual credit, a student exerts roughly the same amount of effort and earns both high school and college credit.

More and more high schools are recognizing this reality and are working to provide ways for able high school students to take college courses. Many schools now cooperate with neighboring universities and junior colleges to make registering, scheduling, and attending college courses easier for high school students. Some school districts even subsidize the tuition fees and provide textbooks. However, even for those high school students who have to pay the full cost, dual credit courses are still a bargain. They are earning college credit while still living at home.

It is best to choose basic college classes which can easily be applied to dual credit. For example, freshman college English can meet the requirement for English III or IV in most high schools. Also, a student wants to ensure that the college credits earned will transfer to whatever institution he chooses to attend in the future. Many of the public colleges and universities in some states, such as Texas, have made many of the basic college courses uniform, so they will easily transfer. A high school counselor can guide a student through this process and save wasting time and expense.

Also, most colleges require that an underage student be in good standing in high school and pass a college readiness test before taking college courses. Many high schools provide support and tutoring help for dual credit students. High school students who are not academically prepared for college classes should not take them; to do so sets up the student to fail and can be counter-productive in the long run.

Dual credit courses may require that the high school students travel to the college campus for instruction, but more and more dual credit courses are being offered in an online or distance learning format. This is not necessarily easier; online courses require more discipline on the part of the student and lack the face-to-face interaction of a regular class. However, online classes save transportation costs and give even rural schools access to dual credit courses.

Even a small number of college credits give a high school graduate a boost when she goes to college. She can take a lighter load in her first semester or two while adjusting to college life, or she can graduate from college earlier. Whether a student wants to simply try his hand at a college class or two, or stockpile a considerable number of college credits for the future, dual credit courses open the door to continued education while still in high school.

Learn more about this author, Joyce Gray.
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