Dual enrollment.
In plain English
Dual enrollment lets a high school student take actual college courses and earn college credit while still in high school, often through a local community college or a partnership program. Because those credits can transfer, a student may enter college with a semester or more already done, shortening time to a degree and cutting tuition, sometimes sharply if the high school or state covers the course cost. The main caveats are that credits do not always transfer to every college or program, and taking college-level work early is a real academic step up.
01Why it matters
Every college credit earned cheaply in high school is one fewer to pay full price for later, so dual enrollment can meaningfully lower the total cost of a degree, as long as the credits transfer where the student lands.
02The math, step by step
A student takes several dual-enrollment courses in high school and enters college with a semester of credit already in hand. That can trim a term or more of tuition, though only if the destination college accepts those specific credits toward the chosen program.
03What this is NOT
It is not the same as Advanced Placement. AP awards college credit based on an end-of-year exam score, and each college sets its own cutoff. Dual enrollment is taking an actual college course for credit, with transfer depending on the receiving school.
04Receipts
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