Earn College Credits Before You Set Foot on Campus
After enrolling in college, you can attend classes at any time, including spring break, winter break , and summer . But you can also get a quick head start in your college credits without even starting your first traditional semester. In high school, you have a few opportunities to earn college credit by taking double-credit courses or taking standardized tests that, with high enough scores, exempt you from some common subjects, but even if you didn’t do so in senior year, you still have a few options for the summer.
Sign up for courses at a community college
This works for both existing and new students if you do it right: you can take courses at a local college in the summer and then transfer the credits to your school in the fall.
There are several things to consider here. First, you really need to get into two schools, which is a bit burdensome. Secondly, you must ensure that the local college loans will transfer and meet the requirements of your school for the generals you are taking. Thirdly, your transferable credits will not count towards your GPA; they will only count as credits for your degree, so if you get all A’s, don’t expect a significant increase in your average. Don’t be complacent, though, because you’ll need high enough scores in your courses to get credits when it’s time to transfer.
This is a fairly common practice, so check with your local college’s transfer department to find out. I did this back in 2011 and it’s become an even bigger trend ever since . This is an easy and affordable way to knock out some generals, as the required class of 100 or so level will be pretty much the same from institution to institution – it will just cost more and take longer if you do it at the age of four. school.
A community college can also be a useful liaison with your university, but you also need to liaise with them to ensure that the classes you choose meet the requirements of your program.
Use an online program
Community colleges in your area are one option, but this is the digital age, baby, and there are online services designed to do the same. Study.com supports the College Savings program , which promises that its online courses are “easy to transfer” to your more traditional school. They have over 220 classes in standard general education subjects, from business (74 courses) to psychology (16) and science (34).
They partner with universities such as the University of Arizona Global Campus, St. Joseph’s College of Maine, and Thomas Edison State University, among others, and can transfer loans to over 1,500 accredited colleges and universities.
It’s also simple and transparent: You pay $235 a month, watch short videos produced in collaboration with professors, and take supervised quizzes and exams to earn your credits. Again, you should contact your school to make sure they accept courses recommended by the American Board of Education and/or the National College Loan Referral Service, which are the main types of courses offered on Study.com. Using this service or a community college will save you money, but only if you take courses that your school will actually accept and won’t force you to retake later.