How Homeschooled High School Students Can Earn College Credit

Are you looking for easy and actionable tips on how homeschooled high school students can earn college credit? These simple answers below can help! Learn how to get credit for homeschooling easily. 

One of the many benefits of attending public and private schools is that your kids have access to a variety of classes that they can take to earn college credit while they’re still in high school. When you were making the decision to homeschool your children, you may not have given much thought to college just yet. Now that your children have started approaching or are in high school, it might be at the forefront of your mind.

How Homeschooled High School Students Can Earn College Credit: Homeschooling for college credit 

There are many college credit options for high school homeschoolers. Here is how homeschool students can still earn college credits without being in public school.

Joint enrollment

Many colleges allow high school students to participate in something called joint enrollment. This means that they can take college classes at the college and earn credit toward their college education. You don’t have to take college credit courses at the university you plan to attend either, which can be a great way to get a competitive edge during the admissions process.

The best place to start for dual enrollment is with your local community college. While you will likely have to pay out of pocket for these classes, community colleges will be a lot cheaper and offer the same benefits as a university.

Take online courses for college credit

There are many sites out there that will allow your child to take online courses that they can use to build college credit. From Algebra to Intro to Sociology, you can have your children take classes that will be useful when they enter college and help reduce the cost of tuition. Before having your child take a college course for credit, make sure that the credit will transfer to their university of choice. 

You may be able to do dual enrollment online in order to earn college credit. This can be done through a university or community college, so it’s worth looking into as well.

AP Exams

The College Board has more than 30 AP courses that students can take in college that will allow students to earn college-level credit for passes the advanced placement (AP) exam. If you contact your local school district, you can register for your child to take the AP exam in a subject of your or their choice. A few things that you will want to know about AP exams are that you can take an AP test without actually taking an AP class. This means that even though these exams are all done through your school’s district, you can teach them the subject at home and still have them take the test.

CLEP Exams

CLEP stands for College-Level Examination Program and is widely known. They have over 1,800 different testing centers that can allow your children to earn college credit. These exams are designed to correspond with a semester-long course that will allow your child to place out of certain classes in college.

No matter what college your child is looking at, having college credit under their belt can be a huge asset when they reach university level. I hope that these tips have given you some ideas on how you can start building your child’s college credit while they’re still in high school.