Author: Jennifer Cook-DeRosa, M.S.

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!

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.

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.

🎉 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.

Did your teen have a dual enrollment class later demoted to an “elective” at their target college? If you’re upset, I have 3 reasons you should reconsider your anger.

Graduation is a moment worth celebrating – and a homeschool graduation is extra special! As an HS4CC parent, you have guided your teen through an incredible journey, not only completing high school but earning college credit along the way. That is no small achievement. The HS4CC Honor Cord exists to recognize exactly that kind of excellence.

Public and private schools determine their grading scale, and so will you. Whether advanced courses receive extra weight, and whether they report a weighted or unweighted GPA on the transcript, these are all decisions you’ll make as you assemble your teen’s transcript and set up your “policy” for your school. There is no national standard. There is no universal formula. GPA policies vary widely from one school to the next.

College classes are part of an adult academic system with clear legal, professional, and even cultural boundaries. For homeschoolers, especially those of us who have teens who have never “been to school,” this is an enormously stressful new dance between the parent and the professor. Turf wars are real. Academic records are forever. Dual enrollment is expensive. We need to talk about this more.

Could your Homeschooling for College Credit program use $250? HS4CC is giving back $250 to one lucky member in February. Click to enter.

🎉 January HS4CC $250 Gives Back Winner Announced! 🎉

We are excited to announce that Michelle Jones is our January HS4CC $250 Gives Back winner! Michelle homeschools four children in Missouri, with two already graduated and two still in school. She is currently planning her daughter’s first year of high school, making this award especially timely as her family enters an exciting new season.

When Michelle found out she was the winner, she shared with us, “I have never won anything!” 💙
We are thrilled to celebrate her and happy to help her get started with Homeschooling for College Credit.

Want to be part of the next drawing?
Our February HS4CC Gives Back drawing is coming up soon, and we’ll be giving away another $250 to one of our members.

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

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

For years, families have been told that college is always the safer bet. HS4CC is all about the inevitability of going to college! The Class of 2026 now has a level of transparency not previously available to students choosing their college. We will now know in advance if a student graduating from that institution is likely to earn more money than a high school grad without a bachelor’s degree. List included.

Each year, we see programs come and go. I work hard to stay on top of this because Internet archives can send you to dead ends. In this post, I want to list the programs and courses we LOST in 2025, because you may still find outdated websites or posts that reference them. This is my effort to keep everyone up to date.

Could your Homeschooling for College Credit program use $250? We can help! Only 35 percent of our members live in a state with free dual enrollment and most families still pay out of pocket for dual enrollment, textbooks, AP classes, and other homeschool resources. Because of huge financial savings linked to earning college credit during high school, I wanted to create a simple way for our community to help each other.

Even though it’s not advertised, 1,580 colleges and universities in the USA offer “open enrollment” to everyone who qualifies. Qualifying is defined as graduating from high school (homeschool). Would your homeschool program be more enjoyable and with less pressure if you were confident that your teen would be accepted? I’m sure it would.

If your teen is considering cosmetology school, or just has a passion for beauty, I’ve created this 1 credit high school course for your homeschool using 2 great resources, one of them free, the other is super-affordable. This is a good online learning option for your homeschool curriculum that work for high school credit.

At Homeschooling for College Credit (HS4CC), student safety and privacy are always our top priorities. If your college credit earner is under age 13, please note: we do not allow posts, photos, or discussions that identify students under 13. Please read.

If your teen is even thinking about pre-med, it is easy to feel excited and load up their high school years with college-level sciences. Many parents wonder about using AP vs dual enrollment, and most want their teens to complete as many college-level sciences as possible during high school. In reality, your student has to complete high school and a bachelor’s degree before they begin medical school, so the on-ramp is long.

More families than ever are discovering how to earn a low-cost bachelor’s degree in high school, but some are being sold the idea that it’s just a placeholder. “Get one now to check the box,” they’re told, “then earn your real degree later.” It sounds efficient. It sounds strategic. It’s not. Pursuing a second bachelor’s degree isn’t a clever backup plan. It’s a costly detour filled with financial aid restrictions, lost opportunities, and admissions roadblocks your teen may never recover from.

What if your teen fails a class that generated a paper trail? Prior public or private high school attendance, dual enrollment or others? If your teen earned an “F” you might be tempted just to leave it off their homeschool transcript, but here is how to carefully record it so it won’t come back and cause them any trouble.

Would you like your homeschool graduate to have a little extra bling on their diploma or transcript?  If your student has done extra work in a single area, you might want to request an endorsement for their diploma!