Author: Jennifer Cook-DeRosa, M.S.

I’ve created a little mini-series newsletter called 10 Days of Creative College Funding! It’s totally free. You’ll find the first issue below.

Continue reading “10 Days of Creative College Funding” →

Most of us use ChatGPT for simple one-off tasks, but I want to show you how to turn your ChatGPT into a tool you can use again and again. In this video, I’ll show you how I used ChatGPT for a task I was working on and then used it to create a master prompt so we could do it again, and again, and again.

As fall planning is probably already on your radar, I wanted to bring you 30 college credits to choose from if your teen needs a fine arts or design credit. This list includes a mix of college courses and credit-by-exam, both Christian and secular. All options are available to homeschool students in any state, and they are asynchronous, so your student doesn’t have to be online at a specific time. All available with discounted tuition through Homeschooling for College Credit’s HS4CC Academy. Happy planning!

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The difference between homeschooling K-8 and high school is the requirement to keep a high school transcript. This is a big and intimidating process if it’s your first time, but it’s not our first time. We got you. Investing a half hour now will cover you for most of high school, and you’ll be SO GLAD you have this off your plate as your student begins high school.

If you’ve ever heard people talking about “degree plans” and didn’t understand what that meant, this post is for you. A degree plan is simply a list of very carefully selected courses that line up to a specific degree. This is usually done using very low-cost credit with the intention of enrolling later and having a good portion of the degree finished before starting. In this example, I wanted to use our new Scholarship from Google to maximize a degree that incorporates as much credit from Google as possible. I’m excited to show you what I landed on!

Continue reading “Management Degree: 75% for <$1000” →

Cynde’s story is already amazing because her son earned the allowable 90 college credits that Liberty University will accept towards a 120-credit bachelor’s degree (75%), but if you look carefully at this post title, you’ll see her son successfully brought in 101 credits, which is more than “allowed” and resulted in saving her family another $4,000. How did she do that? I’m glad you asked!

Continue reading “High School Graduate, 101 Successful Credits” →

This was a question I received via email today, and the perfect subject of a very important consideration when planning a course sequence for your student.

There are two times when choosing dual enrollment courses in a specific sequence really does matter.

(1) The sequence is tied to the level of difficulty

Course sequences can be tracked for level of difficulty. For example, a student who takes Calculus I at their local community college in 11th grade high school may encounter transfer problems if they take Precalculus at the community college in 12th grade. Since Precalculus is generally taken first, this “backward” sequence may be disqualified as a “duplication of credit” since the knowledge was “already demonstrated” when they passed Calculus I. So while these two classes are genuinely different and do not duplicate each other in a normal situation, taking them in reverse order may cause problems.

• Nuance #1: This is not true if the Calculus I course is a high school course and the Precalculus is a college course. High school and college courses do NOT ever duplicate each other for college credit.
• Nuance #2: There are plenty of colleges that don’t care about sequence and will give you college credit for every non-duplicating credit earned, and in any order.
• Best Practice: Follow a traditional progression where applicable.

(2) The sequence is a 2-part course

College courses, unlike high school courses, always run on a 1-semester cycle. While a high school course often takes a full year (2 semesters), this is not the case in a college schedule. All college classes take 1 semester, so when a course was written to cover a 2-semester scope and sequence, a high school student may not be advised to complete the sequence because they are not in a degree program. This is a small pitfall that leaves high school students at a disadvantage because a dual enrollment advisor won’t be mapping the student’s courses to a degree; they will just be managing the immediate enrollment needs of the student.

For example, General Biology 1 with Lab and General Biology 2 with Lab, taken through a college, are intentionally designed to cover the full scope and sequence over 2 semesters. These courses are usually taught using the same textbook, the same professor, and may even meet at the same scheduled time. These two classes “go together” and are intended to be completed in a set. If a student looks at the prerequisites for General Biology 2 with Lab, it very likely requires completion of General Biology 1 with Lab.

• Nuance #1: There are dual enrollment programs that offer part 1 of a course and not part 2, even when both parts are offered by the college or university. I don’t know why they do this, but if you see the course offerings and notice a broken sequence, you should ask if your student will have access to the second part. If they don’t, it is better to use a different dual enrollment program that allows access to both parts.
• Nuance #2: Sometimes a student earns college credit by exam (AP, DSST, CLEP) and the college awards credit for part 1 or part 2, but not both parts. You should try to close the sequence gap so your student ends up with credit for both parts, even if that means taking an extra class or exam.
• Nuance #3: There are plenty of colleges that don’t care and will award credit for one or the other even when both are not taken.
• Best Practice: Take both parts from the same college in the same school year.

Not a “Real” Sequence

There are plenty of examples of college course numbers that follow each other (102, 103, 104…), but are not actually a sequence. You’ll be able to identify these examples when the subject jumps from one to the next, or when they do not have prerequisites that dictate the progression. When this happens, this is not a real sequence, and you can disregard the need to take both parts.

Example:

• HIST101, United States History 1 (prereq: none)
• HIST102, United States History 2 (prereq: none)
• HIST 105, Civil War and Reconstruction (prereq: none)
• HIST 109, World History 1 (prereq: none)
• HIST 110, World History 2 (prereq: none)

In this history course catalog, you see that the numbers get higher, that there are a few “part 1” type of courses, but since none have prerequisites, this allows any student to take any of these courses in any order they like. This is because the prereq requirement (none) is telling you that the course does not build on content from an earlier course, and therefore it is NOT a sequence.

Best Practices vs Rules

In high school, while your student is still a few years away from heading to college for a degree, the guidance given by Homeschooling for College Credit is considered our “best practice” advice because it helps most students, most of the time, at most colleges. With 4,000 colleges and universities in this country, it’s not the same as getting specific advice for your specific situation. When your student has a specific college picked out, our “best practice” advice should now take a back seat to the actual rules and policies of that college. In that case, seeking specific advise for your specific situation becomes possible. In reality, it is the big mistakes that parents make, not the small, obscure loopholes, that prevent credit from transferring. Homeschooling for College Credit advice will always help you avoid big mistakes.

The AAMC reports that most doctors knew they wanted to become doctors as early as middle school! If that’s true in your home, and you have an aspiring doctor, there are some aspects of your Homeschooling for College Credit program that you’ll want to monitor closely so your student’s early college credit can be used later. I’ll give you the admissions requirements for med school as well, so you can begin planning.

Continue reading “Homeschooling for Pre-Med: Key Steps to Success” →

There isn’t a college degree that doesn’t require English credit! Whether your student is looking at an Associate (2-year) degree or a Bachelor’s (4-year) degree, chances are incredibly high that they will need 6 college credits of English Composition. The benefits of taking these courses now is that (a) it’s a fraction of the cost, (b) you can help them learn how to do college while still at home (c) this very time-consuming class will be finished by the time they start their degree! Here are 3 ways to do this in 12th grade.

Continue reading “3 Awesome Ways to Oursource English Composition in 12th Grade” →

It’s almost time for Advanced Placement testing! Here’s what you can expect from scores, whether you’re using AP for college credit or admissions.

Continue reading “AP for College Credit….or Admissions?” →

This exam is no joke. It has the lowest pass rate of any CLEP exam and is an extreme outlier. Most CLEP exam pass rates are 50-90%, but Chemistry is only around 25%, so when Homeschooling for College Credit mom Amy sent me an email that her son Daniel passed the CLEP College Chemistry exam and successfully transferred it to his university, I had to get the details of what they did. Here is exactly what they did.

Continue reading “CLEP College Chemistry” →

This year’s guide is jam-packed with hundreds (thousands) of college credits, all free for the taking. We lost some programs from last year, but picked up a couple of new ones this year. A resourceful HS4CC parent could build an entire Homeschooling for College Credit program using free college credits. If this sounds exciting, grab the guide and bring down the cost of college.

My #4 son knew early on that he wanted to be a welder. Before we even started high school, I’d gathered every possible industrial arts curriculum or program I could find (spoiler: there aren’t many!), but then I stumbled upon an amazing safety training company that offers **free** courses. I lost count of how many we used in our homeschool, but it was well over 10. And yes, I’ll show you how you can award high school credit for these, too!

Continue reading “Teen Headed into Trades? Safety Training Available Now” →

I remember stretching my phone line across the hallway whenever I needed to plug my computer into the internet in 1994. I can’t even begin to explain all the ways technology has changed my life over the past 30 years, but if you’re close to my age, you get it. I admit, I wasn’t paying enough attention to AI in 2024-2025. Is it a robot? Is it like a better version of Google? Oh, so you’re telling me it can do math and write research papers? Wow, that’s going to make it hard for professors to detect cheating…. I had no idea.

Continue reading “AI Just Changed College Forever: What You Need to Know About Dual Enrollment ASAP” →

Each year we survey our Homeschooling for College Credit community to find out what families are loving (or not) and using to earn college credit. The results are always really exciting, and will be published at the end of the school year. Take a moment to let us know about your HS4CC program this year, even if you’re not up and running; your opinion matters. Take the survey.

This survey requires Google sign-in to ensure one response per person and protect the accuracy of our results. Your email address is not used for follow-up, marketing, or shared with any third party, and responses are combined into one report as a group.

Recording grades from multiple sources used different grade scales? This challenge can become even more complex if you want to streamline your entire transcript onto one scale. If your homeschooler has taken college classes, it’s likely you’ve encountered differences in how grades are assigned vs those you’ve already assigned. If that’s happened to you, this will help you clean up your transcript.

Continue reading “GPA Help: Multiple Grade Scales” →

Every year, I am honored to celebrate with families that have been in the Homeschooling for College Credit and are moving on to the next stage of their lives. Many go to college, some start a business, others go into service. When someone graduates, they usually leave our little community, and I am so proud! Before you leave, I invite you to leave a small legacy for those following in your footsteps. Your story is inspirational, and I would love to feature it in our Happy Stories section. There are a few of you with specific types of homeschooling situations that homeschooling parents need to hear from! (See below)

Continue reading “Graduating from Homeschool in 2026?” →

If your student uses alternative forms of college credit, like Study.com for your homeschool, you’ll want to check the list below. I count 10 courses that have final exams deleted, and I just received an email from their team that NO COURSES will require proctored final exams anymore. Studycom joins Sophia and Straighterline in this practice. What will that mean for content integrity and acceptance of courses moving forward?

Continue reading “Studycom Drops Final Exams & Proctoring” →

This year’s guide is jam-packed with hundreds (thousands) of college credits, all free for the taking. We lost some programs from last year, but picked up a couple of new ones this year. A resourceful HS4CC parent could build an entire Homeschooling for College Credit program using free college credits. If this sounds exciting, grab the guide and bring down the cost of college.

As some of you have teens planning to graduate at the end of the semester, the cost of college is getting real. I have compiled a list of 15 different states that offer a “last-dollar” or free-college programs. “Last dollar” programs mean the program pays your balance after your regular grants and scholarships are used – but it also means NO LOANS. If you live in one of these states, I hope it helps you get your teen out of college debt-free!

Continue reading “Class of 2026 Free Tuition Opportunities” →

No matter how many college credits your teen earns in high school, your teen will apply as a freshman. Earning college credit after graduation is how students become transfer applicants, so earning college credit during a gap year requires some consideration.

Continue reading “College Credit During Your Gap Year” →

10th grade is a great time to plan a CLEP if you have a teen who studies well and retains information.  While I consider 11th and 12th grades to be the “sweet spot” to homeschool for the most college credit, CLEP exams can be taken in any grade and at any age – and these two exams fit perfectly in almost every homeschool in 10th grade.

Continue reading “2 CLEPs to Take in 10th Grade” →

🎉 February HS4CC $250 Gives Back Winner Announced! 🎉

We are excited to announce that Dianna Kennedy is our February HS4CC $250 Gives Back winner! Dianna homeschools her kids in Kentucky.

Dianna says she’s been following the Homeschooling for College Credit community since 2023 and that it’s been an “invaluable resource to help our family incorporate college credit into the high school years without compromising our goals and values.”

We are thrilled to celebrate her and happy to help her get started with Homeschooling for College Credit.

It’s not too late to get in on our final HS4CC Gives Back drawing. It will be held on March 31, 2026. We will be giving away $100 to one lucky Homeschooling for College Credit parent to help support their homeschooling costs.

👉 Get in on the March drawing by joining HS4CC Gives Back here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hs4cc

Or, send us an entry by mail! No purchase necessary.