As the homeschool year is entering its fourth quarter, you may be considering the curriculums you’ll be using next year, if you haven’t purchased them already. And for some of you, you may be looking into options for your homeschooled high schooler. Maybe you plan to explore dual enrollment as I did with my oldest daughter this past year? If so, I’m here with ten tips I wish I had known when I first began looking into dual enrollment.

Before getting into the tips, let’s define “dual enrollment”. Dual enrollment means being enrolled in college while in high school. So your child is still earning high school credits but he or she is also earning college credits because your child is taking a college-level course. That means for one class, your child is earning both high school and college credit. For example, your child won’t take a separate college English course and a separate high school English course. Instead, the college English course counts for both college and high school credit. Dual enrollment is usually available through state colleges but some private colleges offer it as well. It is typically offered to Juniors and Seniors in high school.

#1 - Start your research early.

There are a lot of reasons to look into dual enrollment, but it helps if you start researching earlier rather than later. Spend time looking into different schools, the cost of courses, and the time commitment that will be required. All these things and more are important when deciding if dual enrollment is the best choice for your child and your homeschool.

#2 - Be organized.

Having all your documents in one location is helpful. Make sure your child’s transcript for high school is up to date with accurate classes and grades. It’s much easier to have those records already in place rather than racking your brain trying to remember what grade your child got his or her freshman year of college for Language Arts or Math. I highly recommend keeping track or your child’s high school classes the year they are taking them and recording the grade at the end of the year. I use my high school record-keeping printable. When it gets time to dual enroll, it pays to have these records when you need to create a high school transcript to submit to the college.

#3 - Have your transcripts prepared.

This goes back to Tip #2 because it is THAT important. You need to have your child’s transcripts prepared so that when it comes time to apply for the dual enrollment status, you have the transcript ready to go. Make sure your child is adequately prepared before going this route because most colleges require the child to pass a placement test to get dual-enrolled in a course.

#4 - Using online formats to prepare your transcripts.

There are so many transcript services available online. Don’t get overwhelmed. Just look at the different options and pick the one that best fits your style. For me, I didn’t want a ton of PDFs to download and fill out, I just wanted something simple that I could enter the information right from my high school record-keeping sheets. I use FastTranscripts.com and it’s been very easy to navigate and create a transcript.

#5 - Your child will need his or her own email account.

The college where your child is dual enrolling will require a personal email address for your child for communication. So if your child has never had an email account, you may want to create one and have your child practice writing emails to you so he or she knows how to navigate the platform of choice.

#6 - Build your child’s independence.

It is very helpful to build your child’s independence during their middle school and early high school years, before being dual-enrolled. Dual enrollment courses will have deadlines, homework assignments, and more. It will be an adjustment for your child, who has had YOU to hold his or her hand and guide him or her through the school day. Take time to give your child more responsibility and ownership of his or her own learning so that by their Sophmore or Junior, they can navigate the responsibility of learning mostly on their own

#7 - Allow time to get registered.

It’s important to allow yourself adequate time to get registered for dual enrollment. There is a lot of back and forth that takes place from completing the registration to getting your child set up on the online portal. It can be A LOT. So allow yourself time to get these things set up before classes begin so that your child is prepared.

#8 - Speak to the dual enrollment counselor

Let me preface with saying that not every college that offers dual enrollment has a counselor designated for that, but there are in general specialized counselors for admissions of dual enrollment. Make sure that you are communicating with the right person.

#9 - Do a Trial.

I would recommend doing a trial of ONE or TWO dual enrollment classes versus doing a whole course load through dual enrollment. Consider doing a main course, such as English or Math, then doing a second course like an elective. That will give your child a nice balance and won’t be too overwhelming the first time. After you go through the courses, reassess and see if it’s a good fit still.

#10 - Lead the communication

Don’t wait around to hear back from the college advisor. Sometimes they have a lot going on and you may need to reach out as a follow-up to a previous communication you had with them. Be on top of it for your child. It’s an important skill to teach them. Taking the extra step to call or email someone to ensure they are seeing your information or application is important.

This is just a snippet of what I shared in my recent video which was filmed in Sept 2023 and made avaible to all to view as of today, so if you want the full thing check out the video below.

As I stated above I filmed that video in September of 2023. I truly didn’t know if our dual enrollment experiment would work out? I was sharing in real time. As of the posting of this blog I am happy to report it’s been a very very good and almost seamless experience for my daughter. We will be continuing on this path as we begin her senior year next year. I am so thankful for this amazing opportunity for homeschooled highschoolers!

Until next time!

10 Tips for Dual Enrollment - What I Wish I Had Known!