High School Students Earn College Credits

Nearly 570 students in Sheridan potentially earned more than 2,700 college credits while still in high school last year. Mitch Craft, who’s an assistant superintendent in Sheridan County School Distrct 2, presented the data in a work session of District 2 trustees Monday.

Craft said there are three ways for high school students to earn college credits: by taking college courses through dual or concurrent enrollment or by taking Advanced Placement – also known as AP – courses.

At Monday’s board meeting, he outlined the numbers in the three.

Craft said for AP students, he used the University of Wyoming AP credit guidelines. He said based on that, and what UW accepts, 150 Sheridan High School students in grades 10 through 12 had the potential to earn 485 credits.

Craft said many of the students take more than one AP course, and in fact some seniors take four or five such classes. By earning college credits while they’re still in high school, students can save money by completing required college courses before they even enroll in a college. For example, according to figures presented by Craft, a student who earns 16 hours of AP credits while still in high school could cut the cost of attending college by more than $21,000.