No matter where you are in the high school process, just beginning or nearing the end, there are a lot of misconceptions in how you earn college credit while in high school and what that means for your college academic path. Not having the correct information can be both costly and problematic for students when considering different colleges or for academic planning.
Students need to understand that college credits are not equal, especially if you are coming from programs like Dual Enrollment, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or Cambridge AICE. Here in Florida, your transferring of your college credit is dictated by the Florida Department of Education which has laid out clear guidelines to post-secondary institutions, such as Florida SouthWestern State College and Florida Gulf Coast University, on how credit will transfer. If you choose to go out of state that will be dependent on each college.
Through academic advising, families should know these state guidelines to better guide students in which course(s) or program is best for them to meet their long term goals. Here are four easy steps in determining how your credits will transfer and which courses you should take.
First Step: Determine your high school graduation credits. Begin asking your school what are the required high school graduation credits that can be earned through college credit. Courses such as dual enrollment Economics (FSW- ECO 2013 or 2023) and Government (FSW- POS 2041) can be used as both high school graduation requirements and as the Social Science requirement for general education credits at any public institution, a true win-win for a student. Finding which courses can meet both requirements saves time and money as the student will only need to take it once.
Second Step: Determine potential colleges and their requirements for your degree program. For example, if you are considering being a business major at University of South Florida, it is best to review their USF College Catalog that clearly defines what courses are needed for each program. Areas to consider are general education courses (first 60 credits of any Bachelor’s degree), prerequisites (courses needed before other courses), and major specific (needed to complete a degree specific to a field).
Third Step: Once you have determined the courses you will need for your degree, discuss with your school counselor what college level courses you are eligible to take. For dual enrollment purposes that is a 3.0 unweighted grade point average for juniors or seniors and college-level testing scores through the PERT, ACT, or SAT that defined by the state. More students are mixing and matching college-credit bearing programs. However, be sure you are not taking the same course through two different programs. For example, Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology will give you the PSY 2012 college credit, so taking this class through dual enrollment will not help. Come up with a plan when and how you should take these credits. A great resource that is clear and easy to use is in the FSW College Catalog under “Degree Acceleration and Honors” Program that breaks down how college-credit bearing exams translates to actual credit than go back to Step #2.
Fourth Step: It is best to map how and where you will be taking your courses. Certain courses have prerequisites before you can enter, so working with your counselor and college academic advisor to make sure they are sequenced appropriately is very important. As well, different programs have different deadlines because of your high school scheduling and textbook distribution. Be sure to know what is needed to be enrolled in those courses and the deadlines to do so.
The key is to ask questions throughout a student’s academic career about all the options available to them through their high school and post-secondary institutions. What many families get wrong is not discussing how that credit will transfer and what it means for their college degree programs. Without doing this students could potentially be taking unnecessary credits or courses that do not fulfill requirements.