As you know, most colleges want dual enrollment teens to be in high school, but here are a few options if you have a middle school (or younger) student ready for college classes. Colleges on this list are regionally accredited, offer distance learning, and are open to students living in any state.
Special Notes:
- Florida homeschoolers may participate in free dual enrollment starting in 6th grade and should contact their local colleges for information about enrollment orcan ask questions in the Homeschooling for College Credit Florida group.
- Ohio homeschoolers may participate in free dual enrollment starting in 7th grade and should contact their local colleges for information about enrollment or can ask questions in the Homeschooling for College Credit Ohio group.
8th Grade or Higher
University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania)
Public 4-year university
Program Name: Outlier
Cost: $600 per class, 14 week classes, alternative online format using Outlier partnership courses, course and grade will be recorded by University of Pittsburgh identically to students who took the course through the university, books are included, 8th grade or higher, no SAT/ACT, placement tests for math and English if choosing those courses, no high school transcript required. Do not enroll through the university’s website, use the Outlier partnership page. (Note the university’s “in house” dual enrollment program is only available to local students in 12th grade)
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Roger Williams University COLLEGE (Rhode Island)
“Community College” section of the Private 4-year university
Program Name: University College
Cost $1,300 per class, discounted rate of $750 per class for students who live in specific towns in RI or are members of ENRICHri (homeschool group), ages 13+ can take online classes, and students 16+ can take online or in-person classes, extensive list of courses (these are the UC courses ONLY, not the RWU University courses)no pre-testing requirement, in-person, hybrid or online (synchronous and asynchronous),
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7th Grade or Higher
Franklin University (Ohio)
Private 4-year university
Program Name: Pre-College (out of state) College Credit Plus (in state)
Cost $166.55 per credit for out of state students (in-state students eligible for free tuition under CCP), grades 7-12, GPA 3.0, assessment (Accuplacer, ACT or SAT), In-person and online. Students who complete 1 course during high school are eligible for a 20% discount on tuition for the rest of the degree after high school. Students with less than 15 college credits have access to a restricted list of courses, while students with at least 15 college credits can take any course including upper level. Partnership with Sophia and Straighterline.
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No Grade Level Minimum
Brigham Young University (Utah)
Private 4-year *religious university
Program Name: Independent Study (NOT the “high school students” program)Cost $212 per credit, books extra, no age restriction, no placement testing, courses are self-paced, take any course from the Independent Study catalog. Note: If you live local, you can enroll in the concurrent program.
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Arizona State University (Arizona)
Public 4-year university
Program Name: Universal Learner
Cost Pay $25 to register but $400 after the class only if you want the college credit on an ASU transcript (optional but necessary for transfer credit), any age/grade, no placement testing. Teacher-led or self-paced options. Restricted list of classes to choose from. Open to adults as well as teens.
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Other Ways Young Students Can Earn College Credit
Wescott Courses (Credit laundering with letter grade to UMassGlobal) Register for the courses through Wescott. When complete, the student’s grade is sent to the University of Massachusetts Global and added to an official college transcript. These are GRADED courses (not ACE courses)
College Level Exam Program (CLEP) (credit by exam / testing out of a class) Using whatever curriculum you like, you independently prepare for a standardized multiple choice exam. Passing the exam results in college credit at almost 80% of all colleges and universities in the United States.
