What is dual enrollment?

How does dual enrollment work?

The course is a college course. College syllabus, college pace, college grade. The college records it on a college transcript, and the high school counts it toward graduation, so one course lands on two transcripts.

Where the class meets varies. Some students drive to campus or take it online alongside enrolled college students. Others take it in a room at their own high school, taught by a teacher the college has approved, which is what most states mean by concurrent enrollment.

A college grade earned at sixteen stays on the college record. A C in that first course is still there when the student applies to graduate school at twenty-four, which is the fact families most often learn too late.

Dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment, PSEO: what's the difference?

The names change by state and the programs overlap. These are the ones parents run into.

Dual enrollment

The umbrella term. A high school student enrolled in a college course for credit, on a campus, online, or at the high school.

Concurrent enrollment

Most often, a college course taught inside the high school by a teacher the college has approved. Same course, same credit, no commute. Some states use the term for all of dual enrollment.

Dual credit

What several states call dual enrollment when the course counts toward both the diploma and a degree at once.

PSEO

Postsecondary Enrollment Options, Minnesota's name for its program. Running Start in Washington and College Credit Plus in Ohio are the same idea under different statutes.

Early college

A whole-school model where the high school itself is designed around earning college credit, sometimes a full associate degree, by graduation.

AP

Not dual enrollment. Advanced Placement is a high school course that ends in one exam; the college decides later whether the score earns credit. AP, IB, CLEP, and dual enrollment side by side.

Is dual enrollment free?

It depends on the state, and only on the state. Some states pay tuition, fees, and books for every eligible student. Some split the cost with the district or the family. Some leave it to a local agreement between the high school and the college.

The same course can be free on one side of a state line and a bill on the other. The state pages below list who pays in each state, with the statute or the department page it came from.

Who is eligible?

Usually a grade level, plus one of a GPA floor, a placement test score, or a counselor's sign-off. Most programs open in 11th grade and some in 10th or earlier for specific courses. The exact rule is set by the state and sometimes tightened by the college.

Does the credit transfer?

It depends on the college. Public colleges inside the same state usually take it best, often as the exact course. Out-of-state and private colleges decide course by course, and some will accept it only as an elective.

General-education courses, the composition, math, science, and social science requirements every degree shares, transfer most widely. The credit only takes time off a degree when it lands as a requirement, not an elective, at the college the student actually attends. Checking that in advance is most of the work of a good plan.

Dual enrollment or AP?

AP ends in an exam; dual enrollment ends in a transcript grade. An AP score can be declined by a college; a dual enrollment credit is already earned and the question is only how it counts. AP is recognized everywhere; dual enrollment is strongest in-state. Many students do both, and the right mix depends on where the student is likely to go.

IB and CLEP belong in the same decision, and all four paths sit side by side here, with what each one costs, how the credit is awarded, and where it transfers best.

What can go wrong?

Most of the problems we see fall into three groups. A student who wasn't ready for the pace carries a permanent low grade. Credits that were meant to shorten a degree land as electives and shorten nothing. And a schedule built around what the high school happened to offer, rather than what the target college needs, fills two years with courses that don't add up to anything.

Each of those is avoidable if you start from where the student is going and work backwards to what to take, which is the order this site is built around.

How to start

1. Read your state's page. Cost, eligibility, and deadlines change at the state line. State programs
2. Decide whether your teen is ready for one course. The checklist takes ten minutes. Is my teen ready for dual enrollment? A checklist
3. Bring the counselor questions to the meeting. Fifteen questions, and the answers that should worry you. Questions to ask your counselor before signing up
4. Map the courses against the colleges your teen might attend, before registering. The 30-credit worksheet

If you'd rather have the plan built for you, this is how we do it. It starts from the careers your teen is curious about and works backwards to the courses.

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Frequently asked

Is dual enrollment the same as AP?

No. AP is a high school course that ends in one exam, and the college decides later whether the score earns credit. Dual enrollment is an actual college course with a transcript grade, so the credit is already earned and the question is how it transfers.

Does dual enrollment affect high school GPA?

Usually yes. Most high schools count the college grade toward the high school GPA, and many weight it like an honors or AP course. The grade also sits on a permanent college transcript.

Can a 9th or 10th grader take dual enrollment classes?

In some states, for some courses. Most programs open in 11th grade. The state pages list the grade rule for each program.

Can dual enrollment be done online?

Yes. Many colleges offer their dual enrollment sections online, and some states run whole programs that way. The credit is the same; the workload management is on the student.

Does dual enrollment help with college admissions?

It shows a student handled college work, which admissions readers value. It does not by itself earn admission, and a weak grade can hurt more than a strong one helps, because the transcript follows the student.

What does dual enrollment mean?

It means a high school student is enrolled in two places at once: the high school and a college. The college course counts toward the high school diploma and goes on a college transcript as earned credit.

What is a dual enrollment class?

A real college course, taught by college faculty or a credentialed high school teacher, with the college's syllabus and grading. It might meet on the college campus, at the high school, or online, and the credit is the same in each case.

How does dual enrollment work?

The state sets who qualifies and who pays. The student applies to the college, usually with a GPA or test-score threshold, gets the high school's approval, and registers for a course. The grade goes on both transcripts.

How do you do dual enrollment in high school?

Start with the counselor in the winter before the year you want to enroll, read your state's page for the notice deadline, apply to the college, and choose courses that match what your teen's likely college will accept. The step-by-step guide covers each of those.