Take college courses in high schoolDual enrollment is a state-run program that allows students to take college-level classes, often through a local community college, while they are still in high school. As many as 3 in 10 community college students are in dual enrollment programs, according to the American Association of Community Colleges. Unlike Advanced Placement, the program in which high school students take courses and exams that could earn them college credit, dual enrollment credits are more likely to transfer. Over four years, early college programs cost about $3,800 more per student than traditional high school, according to one study. Try course sharingIf you are already enrolled in a four-year school, tapping community college courses can still be a worthwhile way to cut costs, a strategy known as course sharing.

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