On this page
It is free in many states and not in others. In a lot of states dual enrollment costs nothing or close to it, because either the state or your local school district pays the college tuition for you, while in others families pay a per-credit rate out of pocket. Even where tuition is fully covered, you usually still buy the textbooks and cover a few course fees.
Whether it costs you anything depends on your state, your school district, and the specific college your teen takes the class through. Below is how to find your family’s number.
Who pays for the tuition?
There are three setups, and which one you’re in decides most of the bill.
In some states the state itself picks up the tuition. North Carolina is one of those, because the state pays for dual enrollment for eligible high schoolers and the family sees a $0 tuition line.
In other states the bill goes to your local school district. Florida and Wisconsin work this way. Your district pays the college’s tuition rate on your behalf, and in Wisconsin the district is also on the hook for fees, books, and required supplies.
In a third group of states, families pay it themselves. Connecticut is the example here, where the student is responsible for the college tuition.
Because of this, two families one state line apart can have completely different bills for the same class.
What does it cost when you do have to pay?
When families are charged, the most common model is a discounted per-credit rate rather than the full sticker price an adult would pay.
There’s no single national price, but Virginia’s legislative audit agency (JLARC) studied its program and found that when students are billed at all, they pay about $33 per credit hour on average, roughly $300 for a typical year of three three-credit courses. In that same study, 63% of dual enrollment students paid nothing.
The spread is wide, though. Two examples:
- College of Southern Nevada charges $92 per credit for dual enrollment, discounted to $62.50 per credit for students in the free/reduced lunch program (plus an $11.50-per-credit technology fee either way).
- Colorado State University’s extended-campus dual enrollment runs at the community college rate of $153.35 per credit hour, set by a policy change that deliberately matched the two.
So depending on the program, paying for it yourself can mean a couple hundred dollars or well over a thousand for a heavier load. Get the per-credit number for your specific college and multiply it by the credits your teen plans to take, and you have your ballpark.
What else costs money when tuition is free?
Even when tuition is free, a few line items are usually still yours.
Textbooks are the largest of these. In most programs the family buys them unless the state specifically covers books, which some do and most don’t.
Course fees come next. Lab science classes, for example, often carry a materials or lab fee that the tuition waiver doesn’t touch.
A few programs also charge registration or technology fees, which are usually small.
None of this is a reason to skip dual enrollment, but it is why a program that advertises free tuition can still send you a bookstore bill.
How do you find out what you’ll pay?
Two phone calls will get you the number.
Call your high school counselor first and ask whether the district or the state covers dual enrollment tuition, and whether that depends on the course being on an approved list. Then call the admissions or records office at the college that offers the class and ask for the per-credit dual enrollment rate, the course fees, and whether books are included. Ask both, because each one only knows their half.
If you want to check your state’s policy yourself before you call, the Education Commission of the States keeps a dual enrollment policy database you can search by state.
FAQ
Is PSEO free? In Minnesota, PSEO (Postsecondary Enrollment Options) covers tuition, fees, required textbooks, and even consumable class supplies for eligible students, so families typically pay nothing for the course itself. It doesn’t cover general supplies like notebooks or on-campus housing. Transportation is usually the family’s responsibility, though families below the federal poverty guidelines can apply for mileage reimbursement through the school district.
Do you have to pay if your teen fails or drops the class? In some districts, yes. Where the district paid your tuition, some require the family to repay the cost of a dropped or failed course, so ask your counselor about your district’s policy before your teen registers.
Are dual enrollment textbooks your responsibility? In most programs, yes, unless your state specifically covers books. Budget for them separately from tuition, and ask whether the college library or program lends any.
Is dual enrollment cheaper than AP? It can be, but the two are different purchases. AP charges an exam fee per test, while dual enrollment may cost per-credit tuition or nothing at all, depending on your state. The bigger difference is how the credit gets awarded, which is its own question.
Does free dual enrollment mean it’s lower quality? No. Free here means the state or your district is paying the college instead of you, and the course is the same one other students pay for.