What is the best way to get credit for college during high school?

Question

I have heard of the APs, CLEP tests, and dual enrollment. Which one is better?


--------
www.BizClimber.com

Answer 1

CLEP offers far more subject areas, more credit, and are generally accepted by most regionally accredited colleges.

You don't have to take a class (like AP and IB) to take a CLEP test and some are pretty easy to study for on your own. Some are really really hard.

The cost is reasonable and most college testing centers offer them.

DANTES are similar but finding a testing center can be more of a challenge.

The 5 CLEP general exams are worth 30 semester hours of credit. That's a whole year of college. Provided you can study enough to pass them. The study guides online are sufficient to let you know if you know the material.

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/about.html

Careful though - some schools limit the amount of credit you can earn by examination to 30 hours.

Answer 2

AP and dual enrollment both have their advantages.

Dual enrollment is when you actually take the class at a college or university. It takes a lot of time, and you have to actually do the work. The good thing is that it's free, (even the textbook). Dual enrollment also looks good on a high school transcript.

AP tests are amazing! I took the AP French Language test without ever taking a french class (it's my native language) and scored a 5 on it, earning 8 credits in college (French 1, French 2, French speaking). That's like a year and a half of French, and I never even took a class! All for a 3-hour test! However, AP tests do not show up on your high school transcripts, thus not helping at all with college admission.

My advice to you is to take all the AP tests you can, in subjects you are skilled in and you have taken classes in. They are a great way to get a head start.

Answer 3

I had 33 college credits when I graduated high school. I did dual enrollment for Calc III and I took 29 credits worth of AP's. Both worked out for me. The Calc III was an evening course so I still took a full course load during high school. Most people don't do that though. Dual enrollment looks good on your application and transcript. AP's are helpful. Even if you don't pass the exam the experience of studying those topics helps you with your general education requirements in college and, for me, even some upper level college coursework.

Answer 4

I would definitely take the APs, but only if you are willing to apply yourself and work hard because colleges only give credit if you do well on the AP exams (score a 3 or above, at some a 4-5).
APs are the way to go! Dual enrollment credits don't transfer at some colleges. I have friends who learned the hard way.

Answer 5

Some colleges offer summer programs for high schoolers (Yale, NYU, Columbia, Cornell and many others). I did this in high school and it was a great experience. You can take 6 credtis (2 classes) and you get to take them with college students so it is also a great introduction to college.

Take the AP classes and then look at the CLEP exams you can take. You may be able to get a year's worth of credit, but probably not more than that.

Answer 6

TAKE AP CLASSES.......thats the best way in order to keep your schedule consistent.u can definitely do dual enrollment but it takes a chunk out of your day BUT EVEN SO u get a lot of credits for participating in a dual enrollment courses like a Technical class taken at a local college or even another high schools.....(example of dual enrollment: pharmacology, tech center for criminal justice, tech center for theatre and the arts) stuff like that.... dual enrollment if u dont mind a LITTLE inconsistency, AP classes fit right into your regular schedule so it's more consistent

Answer 7

Take AP classes and do well on the exams.