The thought of spending four years in college may not appeal to someone who has just spent four long years in high school. The good news is that you can get a jump on your college education before you set foot on campus. Most high schools will offer some sort of AP program that will offer college credits for classes taken while in high school. These credits can then be applied to your transcript when you get to school.
Get Some Core Classes Out Of The Way
Many advanced placement courses that you will take in high school will allow you to skip some core classes when you get to college. This means that you may be considered a second semester freshman when you first get to school.
You may then be able to take classes that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to sign up for without having those credits. This means that you can jump right into your major courses instead of wasting time taking electives. If you want to graduate early, taking advanced placement courses in high school will help you get started before you arrive at school.
Some of the courses that you take in high school may even get you out of elective classes that you wouldn’t have wanted to take at the college level. For example, taking a high school astronomy class may be much easier for you than taking a college level physics class if you are not good at math.
Take Online Courses Through A Community College
You may be eligible to take courses online at a local community college or other local university. This is a great way to get some courses out of the way before you are officially enrolled at a college. The only downside to this is that you may have to be at least a senior in high school to take these courses.
When you go to school online, you are able to finish certain courses much faster than you would if you took them at school. Therefore, you could get an entire semester’s worth of classes in just a few weeks. If you do this through a community college, you will save money as well.
Credits from online courses can usually be transferred to wherever you end up going to school. Make sure to ask the admissions office if your credits will potentially transfer before you take the class. Otherwise, you are simply taking the class for the sake of taking it.
That isn’t always a bad thing, but you don’t want to spend more time in school than you need to. Anyone who plans on going for any type of degree beyond just a four-year degree should certainly think about taking classes online due to their expedited schedule.
Your Employer May Offer College Credit For An Internship
Some employers will partner with area high schools to offer internships that award college credit. The good news is that these internships may actually allow you to get paid while you are working. The ability to earn a paycheck while also earning college credit is not something that comes along very often.
Therefore, you should ask your employer if there are any opportunities to get college credits. Another advantage to doing this is that you may put yourself in a position to get a job when you finish the program. Once you graduate from college, you will have that internship to put on your resume.
It may be what you need to gain an advantage over someone else who wants the same position that you are applying for. Even if you don’t work for your high school employer in the long-term, you will still get a lot of great hands-on experience in the world of business.
How Else Can You Get College Credit While In High School?
Talk to colleges in your area to see if they have any type of community service program that awards college credit. If this turns out to be the case, find out what the requirements are for credit. Make sure to find out if these credits apply only to that specific school or if they are part of some general program offered throughout the community.
Another benefit to doing community service is that you may also be eligible for scholarships connected to your service efforts. Therefore, you have another way to get college credit while also earning money toward the completion of your college degree. Anyone in the community can take advantage of community service credits.
Going to college is certainly something that most teenagers feel is an important step in their lives. However, you have to be able to finish your degree as soon as possible. The sooner your finish, the less money you will spend while in school. If you are thinking about going on for an advanced degree, getting your undergraduate work finished early means that you can get your advanced degree or degrees finished early as well.