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College-Credit Courses

Overview

There are many great reasons to take a college-credit course while you are still in high school:

Find a Course

There are literally hundreds of college-credit courses—in dozens of subjects—that you can take as a College Now student.

You can search for a college-credit class by subject area or by college.

  • You find out what to expect in college.
  • You will learn new and interesting things outside the usual high school curriculum.
  • You can save money by earning college credits for free. (Up to 16 credits over the span of your College Now career)

 

Be aware, however, that college classes are a serious commitment and require preparation. If you get a poor grade in a college-credit class, that grade will appear on your transcript. (A transcript lists the courses you took, along with the grades you earned.) You can expect to spend time outside of class completing assignments or conducting research.

Enrollment Qualifications

To make sure that a college-level class is a good match for you, College Now has minimum eligibility requirements for enrolling in college-credit courses. Please note that these are the minimum requirements. Some programs may require additional qualifications or even prefer that you complete a College Now noncredit class first.

College Credit Q & A

Q: Are these real college classes? Will I be with real college students?

A: Yes, these are college classes. Who your fellow students are depends on whether the course is a College Now section or an undergraduate section. Keep reading.

Q: What are College Now sections?

A: All students in a College Now section (also known as a "cohort course") will be high school students like you. The class will take place either at your high school or on the campus of the college offering the course. College Now sections are college courses; they meet the academic standards set by faculty at the college.

Q: What are undergraduate sections?

A: By contrast, the majority of students in an undergraduate section (also known as a "waiver-funded course") will be current college students. The class is held on the college campus. Some CN programs refer to these classes as "waiver-funded" because your tuition is waived; College Now pays it for you.

Enrollment in undergraduate sections is extremely limited. There are few spots available and enrollment is often limited to students who have successfully completed a College Now section.

Q: When are these classes? Are they taught by professors?

A: Our courses generally take place outside of regular school hours and are taught by college faculty or by qualified high school teachers selected by the colleges.

How Do I Enroll?

  1. Determine:
  2. If your high school has a College Now partnership, contact your school's CN liaison to find out what courses are currently available, when they are held, and what requirements and/or deadlines you need to meet.
  3. If you are eligible to participate BUT you do not attend a high school with a College Now partner (or you want a course offered by a different college), contact campus-based staff at the college offering the course. They will fill you in on course details and decide whether you can take the course based on seat availability and your qualifications.

Reasons to take a course not offered by your school's college partner:

  • College Now summer programs. These programs recruit citywide. If you meet the eligibility requirements for a specific program, you are welcome to apply regardless of your school's partnership status.
  • Courses in a specific subject are not available through your school's CN partner. Let's say you are absolutely passionate about astronomy, but your school's partner college does not offer an astronomy course. By consulting our course listings, you find that astronomy is offered through CN at a different college. Contact the CN office at that college and they will tell you if you are qualified and if there are spaces available in the class.