College Credit: Dual Enrollment, AP, and Beyond
- Missy Fox
- Jan 21
- 8 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
When our friend Andy climbed the stage to accept the top academic excellence award at his community college graduation, almost no one in the applauding crowd knew that he was homeschooled. Or that he had just finished high school two months prior.
Behind Andy’s success were a mom and a dad who encouraged him to start earning college credit young. As homeschool parents, we are our kids’ guidance counselors; we have to figure out if and when college level work may be right for them, and which pathway to credit is best. Some methods are good for test-averse students, others are more commonly accepted by colleges, and still others are quick credit paths that aren’t well known.
Earning college credit in high school isn’t for everyone. Some students should instead be investing in an area of passion, such as serving in a nonprofit or developing skill on the cello, instead of focusing on more advanced academics. But for others, pursuing college credit early makes a lot of sense.
WHY PURSUE COLLEGE CREDIT NOW?
Quicker Degree
College credit in high school opens the door to a faster and cheaper college degree. A teen could get her associate degree and be done, or she could transfer credits to a four-year college and save money by graduating early.
Or, completed credits could free up room in her college schedule to take electives, a minor, or even a double major. One friend in my electrical engineering classes had enough space in her degree program to squeeze in four years of Japanese and multiple semesters of art. Not many engineers get that opportunity!
Intellectual Challenge
Perhaps even more important than speeding up a degree, early college work stretches a student. The Bible reminds us that trials produce endurance (James 1). Some kids may need challenge beyond what a co-op or standard curriculum offers.
If your gifted student can whip off a paper the night before or throw together a presentation semi-impromptu and still get an A, he may need to learn how to sweat a little. His future academics might not be as easy, so help him build his work ethic and academic muscles now – challenge him with college level work!
Strengthened Transcript
Advanced coursework shines on college and scholarship applications. When the National Association for College Admissions Counseling asked admissions officers which factors were of “considerable” importance to them, 64% mentioned strength of the high school curriculum, compared to only 7% for extracurricular activities and 5% for SAT or ACT scores.
College credit on the transcript demonstrates rigor. Rigor opens doors to selective college admissions and scholarship money.
College credit is also an outside verification of a homeschooler’s ability. If anyone is tempted to be skeptical of “Mommy grades” on the transcript, an AP test or a community college grade evidences that yes, Johnny legitimately did learn something here! Mom’s telling the truth.
So where are the best places to earn early college credit?
COMMUNITY COLLEGES
We are blessed in North Carolina with access to a tuition-free dual enrollment program, Career and College Promise (CCP). High school students can take online or in-person classes from any NC community college starting in eleventh grade, or as early as ninth grade if they meet gifted criteria.
They can even earn a complete associates degree during high school, like our friend Andy.
In addition to offering extra challenge, stronger applications, and quicker college degrees, dual enrollment gives our kids a real college class experience, with outside-the-home deadlines and accountability. They can practice attending office hours with questions and interacting positively with a new set of peers.
Think of it as easing into the college swimming pool slowly instead of diving into the deep end as an incoming freshman, while simultaneously trying to navigate homesickness, roommate drama, and not ruining laundry.
Some Tips:
Ask around for recommended professors. You want your child to have a positive first taste of college. Online tools such as RateMyProfessors may be of some help, but realize that students often rate more on difficulty level than they do quality of teaching.
Save the syllabus from each class. Subsequent four-year colleges may require it to transfer credit.
Keep track of your student’s ID number and login so you can order transcripts (which future colleges will request).
A Few Cautions:
Grades are permanent. After a certain mid-semester deadline, the grade cannot be removed, and later four-year colleges will want those transcripts. Ethically, you have to provide them. Therefore, make sure your student is ready for the challenge of dual enrollment before he begins.
Credit transfer is uncertain. A few colleges, like NC State, have transfer databases of how they treat other colleges’ credits, but many don’t. Credit sometimes comes in as open electives, rather than fulfilling degree requirements, which means it may not actually save students time or money. The receiving college perspective may be, “We’ve never heard of Unknown City Community College; are the courses rigorous? Are they comparable to ours?” If they aren’t sure, the student may have to take the course again.
The reasons we chose homeschool over public school may still apply to community college. For example, teaching is aimed at the group rather than the individual, instruction is secular, and the student body (and professors) are often godless. As one homeschooled teen told me, “The other students have such a limited vocabulary…the only adjectives they know begin with either D or F.” He described peers casually discussing their sexual activity. As our kids get older, perhaps they will be ready for such exposure, but it’s worth a cost/benefit analysis. Consider, in particular, the worldview perspective of humanities courses, like psychology and literature. Do you have access to options that are richer educationally and spiritually?
CHRISTIAN COLLEGES
While not free, many Christian college classes are significantly discounted for high schoolers. For example, as spring 2026:
Judson College at Southeastern in NC offers in-person dual enrollment for $345, much less than the regular tuition of $1,716
Patrick Henry College has intellectually rich online dual enrollment at a 60% discount
Cedarville University - 80% off
Plus big discounts at Liberty University, Bluefield College, Bryan College, and Belhaven University ... the list goes on!
As homeschooling matures, more and more credit options are appearing, with colleges establishing partnerships with homeschool organizations like Classical Conversations and The Potters School so that those homeschool groups’ classes may count for college credit.
Keep in mind when choosing a dual enrollment college:
Educational quality and difficulty vary between schools.
Course length: some meet over a semester, others in 8-week modules.
Regional accreditation (agencies abbreviated SACSCOC, MSCHE, NECHE, HLC, NWCCU, WSCUC, or ACCJC) makes work more likely to transfer. Ironically, “regional” accreditation is more recognized than “national” accreditation.
Wondering how to list college credit on a homeschool transcript?
See our Mastering Homeschool Transcripts video, starting at the 10:42 minute mark.
AP EXAMS
Advanced Placement (AP) exams are more broadly accepted than dual enrollment credits, because colleges nationwide know what an AP score means, whereas community colleges vary dramatically in their rigor.
This means AP tests offer entirely predictable credit:
If you search online under the name of a particular college and “AP credit,” you’ll find a chart showing exactly how different scores will translate to courses.
If you then search for the college’s course catalog to find the required classes for your student’s potential major, bingo! You know whether a particular AP exam will directly meet requirements for your student’s degree.
College Board, the creator of the SAT, offers 40 AP exams each May, in subjects from drawing to physics. Homeschoolers of any age may take a test for $99 (financial aid available).
You don’t have to take an AP course to take the AP exam; you can grab review books and study on your own; however, it’s much easier to get a good score if you’re working with an experienced teacher. They just know how to prep you for the test.
For any class, make sure to check out their record of past student scores.
Potters School and PA Homeschoolers have particularly enriching AP courses with strong results.
Note that if your student doesn't take an official AP course which has been reviewed and approved by College Board, you can't list it as AP on the transcript. Just list it as honors and include the AP test score next to SAT or ACT scores. (Alternatively, you as a homeschool parent can submit your syllabus to College Board - if they approve it, then you are allowed to list the course as AP as on the transcript.)
Be aware:
Good AP courses are rigorous. Expect to invest ten hours per week of study.
Credit is based on a single test offered one day per year. If your student struggles with test-taking pressure, she may prefer dual enrollment, which spreads out grades between homework, projects, and multiple tests.
The first tests to try may not be what you think.
In particular, note that AP Biology anticipates two years of high school biology before taking the test.
Same for AP Chemistry - 2 years prior study is assumed.
Want to try an AP with a youngish student? Look on the Potters School site or Exam Study Expert for suggestions of which to try first.
CLEP EXAMS
For about the same price as APs, College Board offers 34 different College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams. CLEPs are easier than APs but not as widely accepted.
For example:
NC State: awards credit for all 40 APs but only 14 CLEPs
Most NC community colleges do accept CLEP. If your student is working to earn an associate’s degree early, CLEPs may help them achieve that goal.
Search online to find credit-by-exam policies at any colleges that interest you.
Unlike APs, CLEPs can be taken anytime of the year at a variety of test centers around the state. If a student doesn’t pass, he can retest after a three-month hiatus.
Students typically self-study for CLEPs using review books or online resources such ModernStates or DegreeForum. The Free-CLEP-Prep site is helpful in figuring out which CLEPs are easiest.
LESSER-KNOWN CREDIT METHODS
As with all other credit paths, acceptance policies for the sources below vary by college. Some, like Campbell University and Thomas Edison State University, will accept all of these methods.
Straighterline’s self-paced online courses: one of the cheapest and fastest ways to earn credit. Many of their tests are open book with an online textbook, so by searching on the index and key words, some students can skip the course altogether and go straight to the exam, earning credit in one to three days, start to finish. Even so, 3,000 colleges accept their credits, according to their website. Look for coupons if you decide to try Straighterline.
Sophia: similar to Straighterline.
DANTES/DSST: similar to CLEPs but include more unusual topics, such as criminal justice or the history of the Vietnam War.
SAT or ACT scores may allow placement out of freshman math or English requirements.
Foreign language placement or credit: NYU Online Language Proficiency Testing, Avant STAMP tests, ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview, the BYU FLATS test, and Torah Accreditation Liason (Hebrew).
Institutional Challenge Exams: offered by individual colleges to place out of their own courses. At Liberty University, for example, you can test out of theology or Bible survey courses.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Your kids are unique. For some, earning college credit during high school could enrich their educational experience, stretch them, and offer external validation that impresses college admissions officers. Maybe the best solution is a mix of dual enrollment for a classroom experience plus credit-by-exam for predictable, widespread credit transfer.
Ultimately, The Bible reassures us that by trusting God wholeheartedly, leaning on him for wisdom, and acknowledging him in everything, “he will make straight [our] paths” (Prov. 3:6, ESV). Praise God that we can trust him to guide both us and our kids!
KNOW ANY CREDIT SOURCES WE MISSED?
Let us know in the comments below!
Comments