How to Get College Credit in High School: Take College Classes Taught by Your High School Teachers

imilar to AP classes, another option to get college credit in high school is through classes that are offered directly by a university in your state but are taught by your high school teacher at your high school. Wait, what? College courses taught by your high school teachers? Yes, it’s a thing. The syllabus, the grading system, the curriculum, and even the exams for these courses are identical to the ones given at the university. And most importantly, these classes are free since you’re also fulfilling your high school graduation requirements by taking these classes.

In Minnesota, the program that offers these college classes in high school is called College in the Schools (CIS) and is offered in partnership with the University of Minnesota. To learn if your state offers a similar program, your best bet is to check with your guidance counselor or utilize your google-fu.

I took CIS Psychology and CIS Microeconomics my senior year and absolutely loved it. Really, the teachers that are allowed to teach CIS classes have to have additional qualifications and are truly top-notch educators. The exams that were administered were exactly the same as those given to the college students taking the class at the University of Minnesota directly, so I knew I was learning and being evaluated on the same content as the college kids on campus. And at the end of the semester, I earned 3 college credits per class.

Things to Consider

One of the benefits of a College in the Schools-like course is that you are guaranteed to get college credit. This is in contrast to the AP courses, where you must score at least a 3 on a single exam at the end of the year to get any credit. Which means if you have an off day and don’t do well, you don’t get a second chance for college credit on an AP exam. For CIS-like programs, you’re doing homework and taking test throughout the semester, so you can know your approximate grade at any point during the semester. As long as you pass the class, you get the credit — no high-stakes testing involved.

Another benefit that shouldn’t be overlooked is that you get guaranteed college credit while staying fully immersed in a true high school experience. You don’t have to drive anywhere, you can still see your friends during lunch, you can study together, all while getting college credit.

When you take a CIS class, you’re taking a rigorous college-level classes, which is an asset to your college application in general. The drawback to this type of class, however, is that you’re taking a rigorous college-level class, which means the grade you get is going on your permanent college transcript, regardless of how well you do. An F? It’s permanent. A C? It’s permanent. I can’t stress this enough. Should you fail the class, it’s not just going on your high school transcript — that F or D or C, even, is going to permanently stay on your college transcript and impact your undergraduate GPA forever. Not to scare you off, but you’ve got to be responsible with these types of classes.

Still, for students who take these classes seriously, a program like College in the Schools offers an excellent chance to take college classes and earn college credit. And remember — one more college class that you take in high school is one less college class that you have to pay for in college.

Do All Colleges Accept These Types of Classes?

This depends on the university you choose to attend after high school. Some universities like Harvard want students to experience the classes offered by their own faculty and don’t accept college credits from other institutions. They’ll still want to see applicants who successfully complete rigorous coursework, but these universities will still want you to take all 4 years worth of courses at their own institutions. 

Ultimately, whether your credits are accepted is going to be up to reciprocity agreements between the university that offered this program and the university you attend. In general, most places that accept AP credits will accept classes from college in the schools types programs. I’d recommend looking at transfer credit policies to better understand whether any college classes you take in high school will be accepted.