While high school is about fulfilling the specified requirements for graduation, many students have the opportunity to get a jump-start on their college careers while still attending high school.

One of the ways that students can obtain college credit is through a program called College Now, which is “a partnership between JCCC and many local high schools,” Amy Iwert, counselor, said. College Now allows students to fulfill high school requirements as well to earn college credit through concurrent enrollment.

In order to earn credit both for their high school transcript and their JCCC transcript, students must enroll at JCCC and pay the tuition for the class. Tuition costs for this school year are $91 per credit hour.

There are many pros and cons of taking classes through College Now.

“Earning college credit while still in high school allows for more flexibility in your college schedule and perhaps the potential for graduating early from college,” Iwert said.

Despite being one of the top community colleges in the nation with highly transferable credits, “it’s very important to check with the university you plan to attend on how courses will transfer in” because “not all courses will transfer exactly the way you expect,” Iwert said.

Another big factor is cost. The price per credit hour at JCCC is only $91, as opposed to $304.10 at the University of Kansas or $283.90 at Kansas State University.

In addition to cheaper prices, taking college level courses in high school shows colleges that a student is dedicated and has academic initiative. “This can make you a more attractive candidate to selective schools,” Iwert said.

It also gives students an idea of what courses will be like when they actually attend an institute of higher learning, but there is no pressure of big exams at the end of the course that likely determines if any credit is actually given.

Now, if one wants to earn college credit, but thinks that College Now isn’t for them, some classes offer Advanced Placement tests to receive college credit.

If someone is taking an AP class, there will be an opportunity at the end of the school year to take the AP test that corresponds with the class. The AP class is geared toward preparing students for the AP test, but they are not required to take it.

Each test is $91, so it is cheaper than paying $91 per credit hour at JCCC. For example, at KSU, scoring a 3, 4, or 5 on the AP Calculus BC test will grant eight credit hours for the course MATH 220 for $91. Taking the same class for College Now credit will only award five credit hours for $455. And the same credit hours at KSU would cost $2,271.20.

One of the risks in taking the AP test is that the score earned determines whether a student gets credit, despite taking the course. With College Now, all they have to do is enroll at JCCC and perform well in the class.

Different colleges accept different scores for different tests. Anyone planning on taking an AP test should go to the College Board website and check to see what score must be received in order to get credit at various colleges.

Anyone still contemplating whether to take College Now classes or AP tests with questions regarding either program can ask the counseling office is more than willing to help out students.