HOW TO HACK COLLEGE COSTS by Megan McGaha
College costs can be intimidating, especially when job prospects look slim. Fortunately, there are ways for academically motivated students to “hack” college; graduating faster, cheaper, and look more impressive by doing so.
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race Bush is the poster child for success with early college. The sixteen year old earned her high school diploma and her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice in the same week through Dual Enrollment. The Dual Enrollment program allows students taking approved classes to receive local college credit for courses they pass in high school.
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or some, these classes also happen to be Advanced Placement (AP) classes. AP courses are college-level courses taken in the high school in place of regular-level courses, and can be a huge time and money saver if passed. The 36 AP tests are graded on a 5-point scale, and the lowest score accepted by colleges is a 3. The good news for AP students is that if they fail the AP test, but excel in the class, they still receive Dual Enrollment credit. Alternatively, if they pass both, they can receive the same credit twice, cutting down on general electives in college.
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P tests cost $91 each, as of 2015, which may be a financial roadblock to students; though some schools offer discounts. Test-availability is also a deterrent. Some schools offer all 36 tests, some offer none. And even if they’re offered, stu-
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dents may be rejected from the course due to too low of a grade in a previous related course.
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ut this does not necessarily inhibit students from taking the tests. Regardless as to if the course was offered, students can self-study the material with test-preparation books and take the test. If the school is ill-equipped to provide the test, students may take the test at another school. For those willing to self-study at home, another option is to test out of college classes by taking CLEP tests.
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he College Level Examination Program (CLEP) test is designed for adults to test out of classes that teach the things they already know. There’s no age minimum on the CLEP, and students can take any of the 33 $80 tests at their local college if they sign up and arrange a test date through clep. collegeboard.org.
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ne little-known time-saving strategy is to take college classes while in high school. Students can take a course or two in the evening while still in high school or over the summer, and some high schools even offer to pay for these courses.