Dual enrollment

Dual enrollment programs have expanded rapidly, allowing high school students to take college courses on their high school campuses and jump-start their college careers. The following guidance is relevant for both California high school and community college counselors advising dual enrollment students.

Understanding dual enrollment

Dual enrollment programs are not new, but they continue to generate many questions about how dual enrollment coursework is reported on the UC admission application and how it is used to meet freshman admission requirements. Please keep these points in mind:

  • College courses are college courses, even if they are taught on the high school campus by an approved high school faculty member. 
  • Students must report dual enrollment college courses under the appropriate college name on the UC application for undergraduate admission. Dual enrollment courses cannot be reported on the application as high school coursework. 
  • California high schools cannot add California community college courses to their UC approved A-G course lists, even though instruction may happen on the high school campus with a high school instructor. 
  • UC-transferable college courses that fall within the A-G subject areas, including those completed through dual enrollment, will earn an extra point in the UC freshman admission GPA calculation - within our maximum honors points limitations - if completed with a letter grade of C or better. Refer to the Quick Reference Guide to UC Admissions for more information about honors points and the GPA calculation.

Note: one college course earns one grade and one honors point in the GPA calculation, even though the single course may meet one year or more of a high school subject requirement. 

  • Students who are offered admission to UC are required to submit an official college transcript for all college courses completed, including courses completed through a dual enrollment program. This is in addition to the final official high school transcript. 
  • The high school, not UC, decides what to include on the high school transcript. However, even if dual enrollment courses are reported on the high school transcript, students are still required to submit an official college transcript for their college coursework. 
  • If the high school chooses to report dual enrollment courses on the high school transcript, clearly indicating which courses are college level is helpful to UC.