Advanced Placement or Dual Enrollment Classes?

Last Updated on December 12, 2023 by Jill Schwitzgebel

Advanced Placement versus Dual Enrollment…this is a debate that I knew almost nothing about when my older kids were college searching.  Dual enrollment, or dual credit,  just was not something students did much at their high school.  Dual enrollment, where a student takes a class and receives both high school and college credit simultaneously seems to be much more popular in some states than others.  So when I heard about it at Kid #3’s 8th grade HS orientation meeting in a new state, I had to do some research.

I began my research that night by speaking to the high school assistant principal after the meeting.  Initially, I had the impression that the school was advocating the Dual Enrollment (DE) path.   But instead, he told me that if we were not 100% certain that Kid 3 planned to stay in-state and go to a state university, he should be taking Advanced Placement (AP) classes rather than DE courses.  The big reason for that is clear – colleges outside of the state where the student goes to high school may not accept those DE credits and private colleges may not accept them either.  However, AP credits are universal (sort of…more on that later).

Continuing my anecdotal research, I asked admissions counselors at each college that we visited whether they would prefer to see DE credits or AP credits on a student’s transcript?  Every one of them said without hesitation that they prefer to see AP credits.  I should note that none of these colleges were our in-state public universities though.  And I believe THAT is the factor that makes the major difference.

Dual Enrollment

If you think about DE credits from a financial perspective, it is easy to understand why a college may not wish to accept them – any class that they give you credit for from another college is money out of THEIR pocket.  My cynical self says that’s just one less class you’re paying them for and they don’t like that.  Officially, their reason is that they cannot be assured that the student covered all the concepts in the same way that they are covered in their equivalent class at their college. Therefore, they believe it is possible that the student may not be ready to take the next class in their course sequence or that the student’s knowledge from the class is not as in-depth as they want it to be.  Contrast that with an AP class, in which the AP curriculum is standardized.  In theory, the college can be certain of what material was covered in that class.

Another DE credit consideration is that if a student comes in with “too many” credits, it can take away scholarship opportunities.  It means that the student is coming in more as a “transfer” student than as a college freshman, which will take them out of consideration for typical freshman scholarships.  Now, it is possible that won’t matter to you if it can save you a year’s worth of college tuition, which may be worth much more than the scholarship was!  But it’s something to take into consideration.  At some colleges, it creates housing problems too.  If a school only guarantees on-campus housing to freshman (fairly common at many major universities), it may mean that your child is not guaranteed campus living.  This is something I would definitely research as your child is doing their college search.

Before taking a class as dual enrollment, I would recommend a call to the Admissions office of any college where you think your student may want to apply, and ask them if they will give full credit for the course.  I called about one course and learned that yes, the university would give credit, but only 1 elective credit, which means the class was virtually useless – an average college class is worth 3-4 credits.  Often large universities will have a page on their website dedicated to listing transfer course equivalencies from colleges and community colleges around the country.  As an example, this screenshot from a state flagship university shows a community college course in one state in the left column and the university’s (in a different state) equivalent on the right.  Note that while different Biology courses will transfer, the usefulness of those biology classes will vary.  For instance, if the student takes BSC 1005 at the community college for DE credit, they need to be sure that BSC 197 is the correct Biology that they will need for their four year degree.  If it turns out that they need BSC 114 for their major, then that BSC 1005 from community college will not be much help to them!  Often, nobody mentions that until it is too late.

Math and Dual Enrollment

It might make sense to take a college dual enrollment class when a student is accelerated in math.  For instance, if a student has taken Calculus prior to their senior year, and is out of advanced math options to schedule, their only choice is likely a college calculus class for DE credit.  However, if a high school offers it, and the student has yet to take it, AP Statistics could be another advanced math option.

One More Consideration with Dual Enrollment

Grades!  If your child takes a class for Dual Enrollment and does not earn the grade they had hoped, guess what?  That grade will now be a part of their college transcript.  This may mean that your child starts college with a 2.0 GPA, if they received a C average in their dual enrollment courses.  Obviously, it is much nicer to start college with a clean slate.  If a student happens to get a C in an AP class, that grade will not follow them beyond high school.  So before signing up for that DE class, be certain that your child is willing to do the work necessary and understands the consequences.

Advanced Placement

Advanced Placement classes are more universally accepted, which makes them a safer bet overall.  However, it is becoming increasingly common that colleges will only accept those AP credits in lieu of the class if the student receives a 4 or above on the tests.  And some colleges will only accept AP credits if the credits are not in a student’s major.  For instance, they may accept an AP Calculus credit in lieu of a math class for a student who is majoring in sociology, but might not accept it if they are majoring in something math-intensive, like engineering.  When looking at colleges, this can be something worth considering – how many of those AP credits can your student use?  Sometimes, the AP credits will allow a student to graduate a semester or two early, which can be a big savings!

Above is a sample from a fairly generous university showing the AP test score required (Minimum Score) and what those scores will replace (Equivalent) and how many credits the student can potentially receive.  One thing you can see is that those AP scores are a bit more versatile than the DE credit might be, especially depending on the student’s score.

Many of the more highly selective colleges will not accept any AP credits at all.  BUT, if a student didn’t take AP classes (assuming they were offered at their high school), a student is not likely to even get into those highly selective colleges either.  There is an expectation at those colleges that the students did have AP classes in high school, and many of their introductory classes will be taught accordingly.  These competitive schools will make it clear that they want to see AP scores on your student’s transcript when they are applying, NOT just DE grades.

A Final Note

If your child is looking at potentially going to medical school right out of college or thinking about grad school for a STEM PhD, your student should probably forego any DE or AP math/science credit offered by the college and take the introductory level class instead.  The GPA requirements and the number of math/science courses required to apply to those upper level programs means that it is almost always better to take those introductory science and math classes as GPA boosters and to have them on the college transcript.  Many medical schools will not accept an AP Biology class in place of say, Biology 101. In that case, don’t feel that those AP classes were a waste of time – they gave your student some insight into whether that medical or STEM major was right for them AND will make those early “weed-out” classes much easier for your child.

Debating AP vs IB vs AICE vs DE?  Read this!