Depending on your high school, you may have the option to take “college” classes—and perhaps earn college credit—while still a high school student.
There are several different options that your school might give you. The most common ones are AP classes, the IB program, and “dual enrollment” classes with a nearby college. These options are fairly different from each other, but they offer some common benefits.
You can earn advanced placement. If you pass Intro to Psych as a “college” course while in high school, you won’t need to take it again in college. And why study the same subject twice, right? Depending on your future undergraduate school, such classes may also satisfy core curriculum requirements. Basically, you can free up your college schedule so that you’ll be able to take more of the courses you want to take.
You can earn college credit or even advanced standing. If your future undergraduate school awards credit—rather than just “advanced placement”—for these classes, you can apply this credit toward your degree. If you gain enough credits, you may begin college with advanced standing—i.e., as a sophomore rather than as a freshman. (Sophomore standing may qualify you for various perks, including preferential course registration, student housing, parking, etc.) Overall, these credits will shave time off of your college experience. College is usually far more expensive than any of these options, so this substitution makes financial sense.
Before you run out and sign up for every dual enrollment and AP class available (or take the IB program), take a minute to read a little bit more about each option.
AP and IB
AP is done by College Board, the same people who do the SAT. AP is offered in many different subjects. A high school may offer a specific selection of these AP classes, all of them, or even none of them. Whatever the case, you choose among the AP classes offered by your high school. (In the future, AP class options should increase at many high schools with online AP classes.)
If you expect to do really well in the non-AP version of a class, the AP version might be a good option for you.
IB is less common than AP—it is a full program of classes in a variety of subjects. If your school does IB, you will probably hear about it.
AP and IB classes are hard and, as such, they look good on college applications. Here are a few other things to consider.
- There is a special end-of-year exam for each AP/IB class that you take.
- You often need to get a high score on this exam in order to be awarded advanced placement or credit for the class.
- Because they are hard, these classes can add more stress to your high school years.
- If you struggle and don’t learn the material, it’s not good preparation for college. Don’t do AP or the IB program unless you expect to do well.
- After reviewing your exam scores, your future college will decide whether to award you advanced placement or credit. Different colleges may award a different number of credits for the same score on a given exam.
Dual Enrollment
Dual enrollment is a partnership between your high school and a college, usually one that is nearby. The partnership identifies specific classes at your high school. If you take these classes and pay a small fee, the college will award you a certain number of credits for passing the class. The class is at your high school and given by one of its teachers.
Here are a few things to consider about dual enrollment classes:
- They require no special exam—just the tests given by your teacher.
- They can give you confidence that you will be able to handle college work when you get there.
- On the other hand, because they are standard high school classes, they may not be as rigorous as the equivalent courses at your future college. If it is a course given in your intended major, you may end up “behind” your college classmates.
- Your future college will decide whether or not it will accept the credits you earned at the nearby college.
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