About 1 in 10 college undergrads are in high school, racking up credits that help them save time and money toward earning a credential.
The prevalence of high-schoolers in college courses was a bright spot in fall enrollment data released by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center in January, as students aged 17 and under helped drive an increase in overall undergraduate head counts. They have been one of the fastest-growing groups of college students for at least the past five years.
The Education Department’s most recent accounting of dual enrollment programs, where students take college courses while still enrolled in high school, found there were 2.8 million participants in the 2023-24 academic year, a 12.7 percent increase over the prior year.
Although dual enrollment has existed in some form since the 1950s, it has expanded in nearly every state over the past two decades. The effort is drawing a mix of students — those who want to save money on college courses, some who are looking to stand out among a sea of college applicants, some who just want to explore an interest and others who are curious about whether postsecondary education is for them.
Students typically pay nothing for their dual enrollment classes because many school districts, colleges or states cover the cost. And with greater availability of these programs, some high-schoolers are even earning an associate’s degree while getting a diploma.
With dual enrollment’s immense popularity, The Washington Post asked current and former students how the experience has shaped them and what advice they have for would-be enrollees. Their insights reflect the triumphs and challenges of a complex, growing movement.
Smart Enough
Despite having a 3.5 grade-point average, Noah Meeker, 18, thought he wasn’t “smart enough” to get in and manage the workload of dual enrollment. Meeker never felt enthusiastic about school, and his chronic migraines often forced him to miss days that would set him back.
A counselor encouraged him to try. In the fall, Meeker was accepted into the Postsecondary Enrollment Options program at Minnesota State University’s Mankato campus, where he began taking criminal justice courses to go into law enforcement.
The pace of his courses and the focus on material that aligned with his interests changed his perspective on school from something that felt obligatory to something he really wanted to do.
When Meeker graduates from high school this spring, he will have 31 college credits and be a quarter of the way toward a degree in criminal justice at Minnesota State, where he plans to remain.
Meeker encourages students who believe they can’t cut it in a college-level class to keep an open mind.
“I didn’t even think that I could get in, but I still tried,” he said. “And I didn’t think that I would succeed, but I ended up with a higher GPA and better grades than I ever thought imaginable.”
Taking college-level courses was once a privilege for high achievers in wealthy school districts. But more high schools and colleges are trying to attract a wider pool of students with targeted outreach and robust advising, said John Fink, a senior research associate at the Community College Research Center at Teachers College of Columbia University.
Some states, including Florida and Ohio, have relaxed the use of standardized placement tests to determine eligibility for dual enrollment, which has increased access without any material change to course outcomes such as grades, Fink said. Connecticut, meanwhile, set a 2.0 GPA minimum for its CT State Dual Enrollment program, lowering a barrier for high school students who could benefit from college-level coursework.
“Getting into a college course that’s taught really well and has the necessary supports to be successful can really be a transformative moment for students,” Fink said.
Counseling is a must
For Esmeralda Hernandez-Esquivel, 19, the hardest part of dual enrollment wasn’t the college-level material but learning to manage her hectic schedule. During her junior and senior years of high school, Hernandez-Esquivel completed 90 credits at Midlands Technical College in Columbia, South Carolina, while on the track team at her high school.
“It was rough, but I had an amazing support system in the program and at school,” she said. “One of my advisers introduced me to a planner. I’d never used one before, and it became my best friend for time management.”
Hernandez-Esquivel said the teachers and counselors in her early college program, called the College Center, helped her gradually transition into advanced coursework with only a couple of college classes in her first semester. There was also an emphasis, she said, on stress management, even a couple of coloring sessions to decompress.
“You’d be surprised how much that helped,” Hernandez-Esquivel said. “You need that guidance to get through it all.”
The experience, she said, made her transition to the University of South Carolina “really easy.” Hernandez-Esquivel entered the university as a junior, having earned an associate’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at Midlands.
Higher education experts say structured advising in dual enrollment is critical for matriculation and degree completion after high school. Without it, students can rack up credits that they don’t need or become overwhelmed by the workload. While some students use dual enrollment as a way to simply explore their interests, experts say the programs can be most effective when there are clear paths to a credential.
The staggering growth of dual enrollment has led more policymakers to build out infrastructure to support programs at scale. Tennessee and Texas, for instance, have created models with a heavy emphasis on advising.
“Students and parents need clear guidance to understand how courses fit into graduation requirements, transfer pathways and long-term goals,” said Chad Uhiren, director of CTE and special programs for the Lakeland School System in Tennessee.
The Credit Gamble
There was no doubt that Jayla Watts, 20, was heading to college, but she had no idea what to study.
Watts completed four college courses by the end of her senior year at her Denver high school, including two psychology classes that inspired her current major at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia. Before enrolling in the private women’s college, Watts worried about whether all of her 16 dual enrollment credits would transfer. She had heard that private schools had a high bar for accepting outside credits.
She was relieved to learn her coursework aligned with the college’s curriculum and her credits would all transfer.
“It’s so important to ask lots of questions,” Watts said. “A lot of my friends who did dual enrollment found out after taking so many courses that a lot of them wouldn’t transfer. There are so many different rules at different colleges, and a lack of communication.”
Transferring credits from one college to another has long been challenging, in part, because schools want to ensure parity in the quality and rigor of the courses they accept, said Amy Williams, executive director of the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships.
“Transfer is a nightmare in America overall,” Williams said, but the acceptance of dual enrollment credits is high and transfer rates have gotten better in the last two decades.
Students often have success in transferring credits within their state’s public college and university systems, but it can be difficult to move credits from a community college to a private institution, especially a highly selective one. Higher education experts recommend that students reach out and inquire about the policies at the colleges where they plan to complete their studies.
Williams encourages students to take a look at the credit transfer database sponsored by the University of Connecticut’s Office of Early College Programs. The database tracks the likelihood of credit acceptance at nearly 1,000 colleges and universities, with links to each institution’s policy.
Although the database focuses on the transferability of credits earned through U-Conn.’s dual enrollment program, Williams said it is a good tool for students to learn about the credit transfer landscape.
Trade school students welcome
Jamie Noriega, 17, is good with her hands. After she changed the oil in her mom’s car at the age of 11, Noriega said her family was sure she would have a bright future in the trades. Her mom told her that welders made good money.
A teacher encouraged Noriega to sign up for the dual credit welding program at South Texas College. She has since taken four college-level welding courses, entered competitions and become a bit of a local celebrity for her skill with a torch.
“I know that after I get out of high school, I can get a job anywhere with my training, but I want to stay at [South Texas College] for the associate’s program just so I have better opportunities,” said Noriega, who is in her junior year.
To save some time toward that associate’s degree, Noriega plans to take dual credit classes that cover the community college’s general education requirements, such as English 101, before she graduates high school.
“There’s not one way to do dual enrollment,” Noriega said. “You can learn a skill and do the traditional types of classes.”
Fink at CCRC said there is a lot of momentum to include more vocational training in dual enrollment programs. At least 43 states allow students to take career and technical education courses through dual enrollment, according to the Education Commission of the States.
Uhiren at the Lakeland School System in Tennessee, a state with robust vocational pathways for dual enrollment students, said high school students interested in skilled trades or health care can use dual enrollment to reduce training costs and enter the workforce more quickly.
“Dual enrollment is really about expanding postsecondary opportunities; whether that leads to a bachelor’s degree, an associate’s degree, or a high-demand technical certification,” he said.
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