When admissions officers look at your high school transcript, they are specifically looking to see that you have pushed yourself academically, taking the most challenging courses available to you. After all, top colleges pride themselves on their academic rigor, and want to admit students who are actively seeking out those kinds of academic experiences. This leads high school students to want to take the hardest and most advanced classes possible, and here a question often arises. Both AP and Dual Enrollment classes are used as stand-ins for collegiate work, are among the hardest classes possible to take, and offer the chance of earning college credit. But how do they really compare, and which looks more impressive on your transcript? In this article, we’ll compare these courses, and how admissions officers review them. We’re specifically going to look at some examples in Texas, but this will hold true to some degree across the country. Let’s get started!
What’s Different About AP and Dual Enrollment Courses?
Both AP and dual enrollment courses are more advanced than regular high school courses, but have some key differences. To help compare them, here’s a table to help compare and contrast:
| AP Courses | Dual Enrollment |
| Are taught at the high school | Are taught either at the high school or on a college campus |
| Are taught by a high school teacher with a special certification | Are taught by a college professor or a specially certified high school teacher |
| Have a final culminating exam for AP credit | Have tests and finals only |
| Are overseen by the College Board, which sets standards for all AP courses | Are overseen by the high school’s college partner, which has its own standards |
| College credit depends on your score on the AP exam | College credit depends on passing the course |
| Offered at both public and private high schools | Only offered at public high schools |
These programs also have a number of similarities; both often require an additional fee, they generally require counselor approval to register for, and the exact courses which are offered depend greatly on the high school in question. In addition, the level of work is expected to be higher than is generally required of high school students.
Texas school districts are required to provide students with some way of earning college credit by law, however, this may be done through AP courses, IB courses, dual enrollment, or some combination thereof. Most high schools in Texas offer both AP and dual enrollment courses, though this is not universal. See our guide to finding the right high school for more information on evaluating the offerings of different schools, and seeing if they’re right for you.
A Note on Mechanical and Structural Differences
As a final note, AP Courses are at their core high school courses. They are meant to offer material at a similar level to an introductory college course, but they are still high school courses, with all that brings (as we’ve covered before). Dual enrollment courses are college courses, and have a different set of structures and expectations.
These do not make one inherently better than the other, but can be a bit of a shock to experience if you aren’t expecting it. Dual enrollment courses generally have higher expectations and requirements for late or make-up work, offer no extra credit, and expect the high school students who enroll in them to comport themselves like any other college student in the course. This early taste of a collegiate experience can be extremely beneficial, but be aware of what you are in for.
College Credit for AP and Dual Enrollment
One of the primary benefits of either of these classes, and why they are favored by the state government in Texas, is that they allow students to earn college credits while still in high school. This not only helps prepare you for college, but can enable students to graduate faster, possibly accumulating less debt align the way. How colleges handle these credits differs greatly, however; we’ll look at the differences now.
AP Credits
AP credits are accepted by most US Colleges; a full list is maintained by College Board. All of these colleges, however, have score requirements; you must get at least a 3 to earn credit, and many require you to earn a 4 or even a 5 to receive any. While the exact policies differ by school, there are some common trends to this pattern:
- The more competitive a college is, the higher their requirements for AP credits
- There are caps on how much total credit you can earn from AP courses
- AP credits may not be used for major-required courses, though in some limited cases may stand in for pre-req coursework; this usually requires you to also take a qualifying exam at the college however
- AP credits may or may not count for general education requirements; mostly, they count as elective credit
Thus AP credits can earn you some credit, but it’s rarely enough to graduate early, even by a semester, unless you also take very heavy courseloads your entire time in college. They are still useful, and the extra credits can give you more flexibility, but the benefits, especially at top colleges, are often overstated.
Dual Enrollment Credit
Dual enrollment credits come from the college awarding them, and are thus generally treated as transfer credits by universities. This can get messy quickly, as each college has their own policy for transfer credits. In many cases, however, this works far better when you stay in the same state.
In almost all cases, dual enrollment courses are provided by a local community college. These colleges are generally already well known by public universities in the same state, which see many transfer applications from students going from two-year to four-year degree programs. They are very likely to know all of these courses well, and have set credit equivalencies.
Going out of state becomes dicier; not impossible, but you may receive less generous interpretations or less credit. This, however, depends entirely on the college in question, and how they end up interpreting the courses offered by the community college.
As transfer credits, these can often offer far more flexibility than AP credits if they are accepted, standing in for required pre-requisite courses or general education requirements. This does depend a lot on the college in question however, since each has their own credit policies. In general, however, you see slightly more flexibility with these credits. There is still a cap on the number you can enter with, especially as a first year, but it is higher than the cap on AP credits.
AP Courses, Dual Enrollment and You
Now that we’ve covered what these different options are, and how they apply to colleges, it leads to an obvious question: which of these different course types is the right choice for you? This depends on several different factors, which we will go through in turn.
What Your School Offers
Texas high schools are required to offer courses which can award college credit. These can be AP courses, dual enrollment, or both. They are not, however, specifically required to offer either. Thus your first point of reference should be whether or not your school offers these courses.
If you are currently choosing between high schools, then their offerings of AP courses and dual enrollment courses can impact whether or not you choose to attend a particular school. It likely won’t be the only factor, but is definitely worth taking into account. Most top-performing public high schools in Texas offer both AP and dual enrollment courses.
Course Variation
There is also generally a divide in the courses that are offered as dual enrollment, and those that are offered as AP. Clements High School in Houston, for example, is a good example of this. They offer many more AP than dual enrollment courses; there is some overlap as well, but many subjects are only offered as AP. There is only one dual enrollment history course, for example.
When you have a choice, as at Clements between dual enrollment US History and AP US History, you should take whichever course you feel best equipped to succeed in. Both courses are seen by colleges as a way for students to push themselves academically; thus the major difference to admissions officers is how you perform in the option you choose. For more on course selection, see our guide here.
Your Future Plans
If you want to graduate college early, and are looking to stay in state and minimize the cost of college, then dual enrollment courses are a great way to do so. They simply offer more flexibility with course credits, and do not face the same caps that AP courses often do. If you are less certain about your plans, then AP courses can fill a similar niche, even if not as well.
Final Thoughts
The courses you take in high school matter for college applications, all the more so when those courses offer the chance to earn actual college credit. The two most common ways students have access to this are through AP courses and dual enrollment courses, and we hope this article has given you clear insight into how these different options work, and which might be the right choice for you to pursue.
We focused on Texas examples for this, but we work with students from across the country; if you’re looking for help navigating your local schools, or advice on your particular high school options, then we can help. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more; we’re always happy to help students achieve their educational goals.
