Dual credit means earning college credit and high school credit for the same course. A one-semester college course equals a full-year high school course. If your child completes a college math course in one semester, it means they get one credit for math for their high school transcript.
I have had two kids so far get college credit in high school. My daughter took two Arabic courses online, a theology course, and a writing course from the local community college. She did them all online. She also got credit from the school she ended up attending by taking a summer intensive they offered for high schoolers for one credit. She ended up with 18 credits. Because of that writing course, she was able to skip her first semester writing course which enabled her to have a three-day weekend all semester. That was extra great because she goes to school just a half-hour away, so she spent her weekends at home with us!
My sophomore is taking German online. He’s also taking a dual enrollment business course through the local community college. He’s doing it all online. He gets college credit, and he stays home with us.
At our area community college, high-schoolers pay only 75% of the course cost! It’s college credit at a huge discount. I kind of wish I started him his freshman year. He did have to go in and take a placement test, but I sincerely think he would have been fine taking it a year ago. Community college courses aren’t known for being that hard. I think most EP kids would be able to excel in them. It’s mostly about doing the work.
Benefits of online college courses:
- college credit at a discount if using a local community college dual enrollment program
- courses you can’t offer easily at home (business, accounting, computer programming, graphic design, foreign languages…)
- show colleges that your child can handle college-level work
- practice at working with assignments, deadlines, other teachers’ expectations and grading systems
- some high schoolers really pursue this and get their associates degree by the time they graduate high school
- could be used to finish high school early since a year’s worth of high school material can get covered in a few months
Cons of online college courses:
- We haven’t experienced any cons really. There are warnings about what materials your child might use. If you are concerned about content, then stick to courses where that wouldn’t matter. In a similar vein, there are concerns about group chats for classes. We haven’t experienced those either. That’s something you could sit in on and watch the conversation, or again, avoid courses that use that if you are concerned.
- They are just a few years away from being out in the world. They need to know how to be in it and not of it. Maybe learning the discernment over content of books and conversation is something you want to work on while they are at home with you and not necessarily something to avoid.
Are y’all a free on line school. Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
We’re not a school. We’re a curriculum. You are your children’s teacher. It is all free.
Online college is a wonderful opportunity for college students and extremely self-motivated high school students. In my experience, students who attend high school full time and take online courses find it challenging. We have a full slate of dual enrollment courses taught on premises by college professors. This is offered to our juniors and seniors (by the request of the colleges that we have concurrent enrollment agreements with). The result has been amazing. More than half our graduating classes leave our school with anywhere from 6 to 21 college credits.
Some places don’t make you wait until your junior year. Some places have an age requirement of 14. Ours will let you start even before you start high school. You just have to take a placement test.
how do i find the ones that do this? we are in Nashville Tn?
Asking someone in your area would probably be more helpful. We have 4 different facebook groups for Tennessee. They are listed on this page https://allinonehomeschool.com/facebook-groups/
I have one child about to complete the following plan, and twins starting it next year. I have my homeschooler complete their Junior and senior year of high completely at our local Junior college. They graduate with their associates degree and high school diploma at the same time. For my oldest, this will happen before his eighteenth birthday, only by a couple of weeks. I am not sure why all homeschoolers do not take advantage of this plan if they have a local Junior college. It buys them 2 years of life. I am giving my kids the option of taking a guilt free gap year or directly continuing with their college education. Or maybe working for 2 years to be assured of what path God has for them. It just opens up options for them that public school four year high school plans do not.
Regarding why some homeschoolers don’t do dual credit, I can tell you why we didn’t do it–
a) we didn’t want to “rush” our daughter’s education..she was already a year ahead
b) we wanted/needed to continue homeschooling independently through high school for maximum flexibility and choice
What colleges will accept these credits?
For the most part schools accept these credits. This isn’t like testing to get credit; these are courses. They may have a limit as to how many they will accept, but it would be unusual for a school to not accept them. If you have a particular school you are aiming for, ask about their transfer rules. Most schools would be familiar with the local community college courses and already have it in place which CC courses would be accepted as substitutes for which of their own courses.
When you earn a college credit at any accredited college in the nation, it will be accepted at any other accredited college in the nation, community or university. Some class credits may not work with your future college’s degree plan, but that has nothing to do with the credits being accepted. That has more to do with how you use earned credits toward earning a particular degree. That is why it is a good idea to obtain the university degree plan you are aiming towards first, then take the classes you can at a community college. Saves money and you still get a valid degree from the university you choose.
When student earns dual credit, they are not earning Continuing education or work force education credits, they are earning REAL college credits that will go on a REAL college transcript. You are simply gaining the advantage of earning the credits at the college in such a way that they can be used for college and in high school credit. Hence the name, Dual Credit. Likewise, be sure that if your student does not do well, those classes are a part of their permanent college transcript that will follow them. So this works both way, positively and potentially negatively.
I have only worked in the registrar’s office at state community and university, public and private, campuses. If someone is wanting to transfer community college credits to a state college, I have never seen that be an issue. But, I have never worked in a Ivy League school’s registrar office. I could not speak to their policies for accepting community college credits.
I know this is long, but I hope it helps.
When doing dual credits for a freshman, are they eligible for financial aid or does the tuition have to be paid for out of pocket? My daughter is a freshman in public school, taking ap courses. I am wanting to home school her now. I’m extremely new to this and of course want her to have the best opportunities. There for, I want her to continue with her college courses so that she is able to graduate high school with get diploma and associates degree. How goes this work?
It sounds like visiting your local community college and talking to them about the possibility of financial aid and working with your daughter to see if there is an associate’s degree that makes sense for her. Ours does not offer financial aid, but the courses are 75% off for high school students, so that seems like a very fair gesture to help students take the courses.
Are there dual credit classes on this site??
No, they are taken through your local community college.
Can you take them at home? (We live in Ga and Homeschool)
My children have taken them all at home by using online courses. You’ll have to see what your local community college offers. I would think most have online classes by now.
We’ll def check and see, thank you!
How do you record the college credits? We’re new to this all and if someone could help, it’d be really appreciated!
On the transcript you make you would just write the name of the course and it would be 1 college credit. You could mark it with an * or something with a note at the bottom of the transcript that * means they received college credit for that course. The college keeps track of the official college credit.
Do you know of any colleges in Illinois that my daughter could do dual credit through? I am checking with our local community college right now but they haven’t gotten back to me yet.
Do they have a website you can check? Otherwise, keep trying to talk to someone and don’t wait for them to get back to you. The local community college is usually what offers it. I wouldn’t know anything about schools local to you.
I live in Illinois and just enrolled my freshman in our community college program! He is set to graduate highschool with his associates degree! It’s all set up online(unless you want to come in which they will accommodate)and they have been so helpful! Feel free to email me! lytcasue81@yahoo.com
how to enroll
How to enroll for dual credit? You enroll at your local community college or go to our resources for teens page and use a place like Ed4Credit or Study.com to get credit.