A great way to squeeze a little extra college credit out of this academic year is through winter break, ministers, or accelerated terms. You can expect that any regionally accredited college offering this option means excellent transferability for your teen.
We see a trend among colleges to fill each and every blank spot in their school year- especially since COVID propelled every college into remote learning and that changed the way many colleges looked at using that technology. You’ll see a mix of online and on campus options using these accelerated schedules.
One of my favorite college classes was offered as a minimester through my local community college. The class took place entirely inside of Christmas break. I completed a 3-credit course that I transferred back to my regular degree program at my 4-year university. The course lasted only 14 days! I didn’t find the workload impossible (brisk, but doable).
Double the Reward
When your teen takes a dual enrollment college course, they earn high school credit much faster than when they take high school classes. In the first table A, the student earned 1 high school credit in English after taking 32 weeks of high school English and 0 college credit. That is the typical schedule for a teen.
In the second Table B, the same student could earn 2 high school credits and 6 college credits in the same time period. This is a “normal” way dual enrollment accelerates high school and college completion.
In Table C, you can see how the use of the 8-week term option takes a little bit extra work with an amazing reward.
| FALL 16 weeks | SPRING 16 weeks |
|---|---|
| 12th grade Honor High School English | 12th grade Honors High School English |
| 0.5 high school credit | 0.5 high school credit |
| FALL 16 weeks | SPRING 16 weeks |
|---|---|
| English 101 | English 102 |
| 1.0 high school credit/ 3 college credits | 1.0 high school credit/ 3 college credits |
| FALL 1 8 weeks | FALL 2 8 weeks | SPRING 1 8 weeks | SPRING 2 8 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| English 101 | English 102 | English 201 | English 202 |
| 1.0 high school credit/ 3 college credits | 1.0 high school credit/ 3 college credits | 1.0 high school credit/ 3 college credits | 1.0 high school credit/ 3 college credits |
Buckle Up!
Just this year, my son’s community college started offering 4, 4-week classes per 16-week semester. Offered as Fall 1, Fall 2, Fall 3, and Fall 4, these 4 courses are worth 3 college credits, making it possible for a student to take 24 credits per year while only taking 1 course at a time!! Again, this will be a very fast paced course(s) but the flexibility is amazing.
| FALL 1 4 weeks | FALL 2 4 weeks | FALL 3 4 weeks | FALL 4 4 weeks | SPRG 1 4 weeks | SPRG 2 4 weeks | SPRG 3 4 weeks | SPRG 4 4 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English 101 | English 102 | English 201 | English 202 | History 101 | History 102 | Psych 101 | Psych 102 |
| 1.0 high school credit/ 3 college credits | 1.0 high school credit/ 3 college credits | 1.0 high school credit/ 3 college credits | 1.0 high school credit/ 3 college credits | 1.0 high school credit/ 3 college credits | 1.0 high school credit/ 3 college credits | 1.0 high school credit/ 3 college credits | 1.0 high school credit/ 3 college credits |
Accelerated terms, winter sessions, January sessions, Minimesters, or programs like these are excellent classes for homeschooled students. Local colleges generally provide the lowest tuition rate to members of that community (sometimes for FREE) but if your school doesn’t have any options, don’t hesitate to look outside your community.