Benefits of Dual Enrollment and Taking College Courses During High School

I am graduating college in 3 years instead of 4 simply because I took Dual Enrollment courses. Here are what I have found to be 5 benefits of taking college courses while in high school.

1. You save money! Saving money is the number one benefit to taking college courses during high school. Most high schools have a Dual Enrollment program that covers the cost of college courses for students as long as they are still enrolled in high school. This is a great benefit that allows you to get college credit while not spending a dime. If you do have to spend money, it typically would only be on the cost of books, however some Dual Enrollment programs cover the price of books too.

2. You save time. Saving time is the second best benefit to taking college courses during high school. Not only do you save time that you would be wasting in high school electives that aren't needed, but you also save future time. For instance, because I participated in High School Dual Enrollment, I am able to graduate college in 3 years instead of 4- therefore I am saving a year of time to do other things, such as start a career, or possibly pursue a higher degree.

3. Online college courses are available for you to take. This is a great benefit of Dual Enrollment because in some cases you may be too busy with your high school courses to take a college course on campus. However they have online college courses available that you can complete at your convenience. Most of these are offered through the Dual Enrollment program in addition to on campus courses, and also come at no charge to you. I personally took over 5 online college courses during high school and gained a ton of college credit.

4. Prepares you for the adjustment to college. The final benefit of Dual Enrollment is that you get a feel for college courses and this helps to prepare you for when you do go to college. You get to see how courses work, and the changes that occur between high school and college courses.