Undergraduate Programs

College Coursework In High School

It's important to keep in mind that our curriculum is sequential. Subjects build upon each other from course to course. For example, a student needs to master the content in general chemistry before moving on to organic chemistry.

This means that, in general, college coursework completed during high school doesn't necessarily shorten a student's time to graduation. However, if you take college coursework in high school, you will be better prepared to excel in these subjects while at college. It also provides you with more flexibility to incorporate co-curricular opportunities, such as second majors, study abroad programs, and minors.

If you aren't able to take any college-level coursework during high school, that's fine! Offerings vary from school to school.

Taking classes in algebra and calculus during high school can be helpful as you start building a foundation for study within business. Taking opportunity to strengthen your writing and communication skills are always a great option as well. In addition you can take classes that can apply to your General Education curriculum. The General Education is the part of your degree that provides the breadth to your college education. It incorporates coursework in the areas of writing, historical study, arts and humanities, social sciences, ethics and diversity. Courses such as first year composition, psychology, history, and literature can oftentimes fulfill these degree requirements.

You can use the resources below to see if your local college or Advanced Placement program offers a course equivalent that is already approved as a direct equivalent to a course at Ohio State! In general, we recommend that you select courses in which an exact OSU course (department and course number) is listed as an equivalent. Try to avoid courses in which you will only receive general, special, or technical credit.

• Advanced Placement Exams and OSU Course Credit: This chart shows you how Advanced Placement (AP) exams translate to course credit at Ohio State.
• OSU Quick Equivalencies: Click to download a master spreadsheet of courses which have already been evaluated by Ohio State. It's a long list, as you can imagine! You can sort by the institution through which you will be taking the course or the course at Ohio State for which you want to earn credit.
• Transferology: This online portal can show you the amount of coursework that transfers between other institutions and Ohio State. Transferology is most useful to current college students who are researching how their college credit may apply to a degree at another institution, but it can also be used by you as you plan on exploring college credit in high school.

Once you have completed high school, you should transfer any college credit you've earned to Ohio State. This involves sending some type of official document to Ohio State that certifies your completion of the class or exam.

• Advanced Placement exam credit: When you take an Advanced Placement (AP) exam, you can identify universities to which you want your exam scores sent. If you listed Ohio State, then the scores will automatically be sent over the summer, around July. If you didn't list Ohio State initially, no problem! You can contact the College Board, which administers AP exams, and request your scores be sent to Ohio State.
• Dual Enrollment or College Credit Plus: If you completed coursework through a partnership between your high school and a college or university, ask your high school guidance counselor about the process for sending your official transcript, including those courses, to Ohio State.
• Other College Coursework: If you enrolled in coursework at a college or university on your own -- meaning, it wasn't affiliated with your high school at all -- you should contact that institution and request an official transcript be sent to Ohio State. If your institution offers electronic delivery of transcripts, that is the best option. It's faster and easier to process. If not, you can request your official transcript be sent to this address: