For high school students eager to get a head start on college, early college programs offer an opportunity to earn a diploma and sometimes an associate degree at the same time.
More than 1,000 high school early college programs have taken off across the U.S. since several foundations collaborated to create the Early College High School Initiative in 2002, according to American Institutes for Research, which has studied early colleges.
Before signing up for a program, students and their families should know what’s required.
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The Difference Between Early College and Dual Enrollment
While Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses and dual enrollment offer high school students a chance to earn college credit before they graduate, early college programs provide support to handle college-level material and allow students to take college courses as part of their high school curriculum.
“All early colleges are dual enrollment, but not all dual enrollment is early college,” says Alex Perry, coordinator at the College in High School Alliance, a coalition of organizations that supports both dual enrollment and early college programs. Early college is a “structured program that provides a specific set of students, typically underrepresented students in higher education, a set of supports to help them complete college courses in high school.”
Dual enrollment, on the other hand, allows students to take college courses either online or on a college campus while being enrolled in their high school classes. Unlike early college programs, dual enrollment typically doesn’t provide extensive academic or personal support.
“We design the specific classes and the supports for the age group as opposed to having the students do the work that was designed for another age group,” says Dumaine Williams, vice president and dean of early colleges at Bard Early College, a network of early college U.S. high schools run by Bard College in New York.
Benefits of Early College Programs
High school students who participate in early college programs are significantly more likely to complete a postsecondary degree sooner than their peers after graduating high school, according to a 2025 report by AIR.
“Our work does show that early college students were more likely to earn more college credits during high school and were more likely to earn college degrees during and in the first few years after high school,” says Kristina Zeiser, a principal researcher at AIR.
These programs save families money, in some cases, as they can reduce the time to degree. However, it’s important to be thoughtful about course selection to ensure that credits transfer, experts say.
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“Work with your counselor to pick things,” Perry says. “They’re going to give you the most flexibility possible in terms of what comes next.”
Early college programs are “designed to meet that student where they are,” says Rita Jones-Hyde, interim vice president of academic affairs at Massasoit Community College in Massachusetts, which has an early college program.
“We offer wraparound services for our students, not only as the early college partners, but also to get them immersed in the college experience,” she says. “It’s one of those areas that is your point of pride often at the college. You can feel the excitement when they come on campus. I love seeing them participate in our student life events.”
Early college programs also help students when it’s time to plan post-high school pathways, whether that’s applying to college or entering the workforce, experts say.
Is an Early College Program the Right Fit?
Early college programs serve many different students. When trying to decide if a program is the right fit, experts advise students to discuss their interests with the college to see what resources are offered.
“Know that you have access to those resources and use them,” Perry says, “because it’s really important to have a sense going into taking college courses in high school of what you’re trying to get out of it. (That) will help inform what kind of college courses you should take.”
The students that “thrive the best are the ones that appreciate a good challenge,” Jones-Hyde says. “They are excited to try something new.”
Early College Programs: Outlook and Growth
Early college programs continue to evolve to ensure that students get the most out of their experience.
“I would say that a lot more programs are considering this combination of career readiness and college readiness at the same time, and making sure that students are on intentional pathways when they are taking college courses during high school,” Zeiser says.
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Students should select credits wisely to ensure they can achieve their educational goals in a cost-effective way after high school, she adds.
Experts expect the number of early college programs to continue to grow over the next few years as demand for these opportunities rise.
“I would love to see more work done on that collaboration between two-year and four-year colleges to make sure those credits are not just transferred, but apply toward majors to make sure that students are getting the cost savings they were expecting when they applied to the early college program,” Zeiser says.
A priority is expanding access to college and preparation for it, particularly for historically underrepresented students. Perry says that while dual enrollment opportunities exist for many students, there are still too many who lack access.
It’s important for educators to be “really thoughtful about how we make this more accessible for low-income students,” he says.
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Early College Programs: What to Know originally appeared on usnews.com
