While dual enrollment is a wonderful way to save time and money by getting college credit in high school, it can be a real hassle trying to have your classes recognized by another institution when you go to college full-time. But it’s well worth it to get your courses transferred despite the struggle—so use this handy guide to cash in on your hard-earned credits at your new college!
Gather your paperwork
The first step to collecting your credits is to get your paperwork in order. Gather all your transcripts and test scores, and be sure you have usernames and passwords to relevant websites in order, as well as contact information for counselors and admission teams at the high school and college you’ve attended. Once you have these papers in order, look for paperwork from your prospective college or any schools of interest that accept dual credit classes.
Related: How to Get Ahead in High School With Dual Enrollment Credit
Reach out for quick analyses
I took dual enrollment courses at Green River Community College in Washington State while in high school before applying to the University of New Mexico. UNM had a list of classes they accept from Green River’s dual enrollment program. However, there were very few classes that had been evaluated, and I had better luck comparing the classes I took at Green River to classes accepted from Central New Mexico Community College, an in-state feeder school. If you gather extra evidence that your classes are similar, you can reach out to academic advisors at your college(s) of interest and ask for a quick and easy evaluation. For instance, if your class was a level-three math with a final involving a hefty essay on a convention of high-level mathematics, you may find a class that is comparable to one they accept and be able to expedite your credit transfer process. If there’s nothing similar listed or if the advisor says you need to fill out a form to request a transfer course evaluation, move on to this next step.
Request transfer course evaluations
For more complicated transfers—those with a lack of similar course offerings—you’ll likely need to fill out paperwork requesting someone in admission at your prospective college to evaluate the course and decide if and how the transference of credits will work. Will it transfer to your new transcript as if it were a class at the new university? Or will it transfer as an elective? Will it count as three or five credits? Will it be graded on the same scale or will it appear as a no-credit course? This paperwork will require you to provide transcripts but also may ask for assignments from the class and the contact information of your professor and academic advisor(s) from your previous college.
Related: Transfer Troubles: 3 Ways to Prevent Credit Leakage
Other things to consider
There are a few other things you should be aware of as you’re conducting this process to complete it easily and more efficiently.
Timeliness
It’s important to get these transfers out of the way as soon as possible! Your dual enrollment classes might help you bypass prerequisites and gen ed classes at your new school. And there’s always a chance the professors in charge of the classes you’d like to pull credits from will have moved on or retired and may no longer be able to help in the process of requesting analyses.
Elective status
You should be prepared to be offered a quick and easy solution to transferring classes without much paperwork: elective credits. It’s far easier for you and the advisement team if you accept this, but I wouldn’t recommend you accept all your dual enrollment credits as electives. If you can, fight for your classes to be recognized as full credit if they’ll count toward your major requirements.
Related: 4 Things to Consider When Choosing Electives in College
The paperwork for transferring credit from dual enrollment might be tedious or downright confusing. But getting everything in order early means you should be alright. Reach out to the admission team at your new college to start, and maybe even ask for a meeting so you can ensure you’re filling everything out correctly. Gather all the information you can regarding the classes you’d like to receive transfer credits for and reach out as soon as possible. This is for you and your wallet; don’t put it off or take the easy way out!
Find even more advice on transferring college credits in our Transfer Students section.
