Early College

• First-hand experience with college course content.
• Opportunities to earn high school and college credit.
• Early exploration of different college and career pathways.
• A chance to earn a college certificate or degree faster and at a lower cost.
• Take tuition-free Oakton courses at your high school location, if applicable.
  Visit the Partner High Schools section above.
• Take Oakton courses on-campus or online at a fraction of the cost of other colleges/universities.
  Visit the At An Oakton Campus or Online section above.
• Since early college students are Oakton students, you can get the following:
  • A college student ID that can be used as a library card. Our library offers access to books from anywhere in the US and from over 90 different colleges and universities throughout Illinois. Once you’re enrolled, you can request your card on the Oakton library website.
  • Academic Advising Services for help choosing the right classes.
  • Career Services for assistance with resume writing and interviewing skills.
  • Free tutoring at our Learning Center.
  • Access to Oakton campus computer labs, even during evenings and weekends.
  • Free admission to Oakton athletic events: Athletics website.
  • Discounted admission to Oakton theater and music events: Performing Arts Center

Dual credit opportunities allow high school students to take college courses to simultaneously earn high school and college credit before graduating high school. Grades and credits appear on students’ high school and college transcripts after completing dual credit courses. Oakton partners with every in-district public school and two private schools to offer dual credit courses at high schools during the regular school day, taught by qualified district instructors.

Dual enrollment opportunities allow students to take college courses for college credit but not high school credit upon completion. Most often, students take these courses on-campus or online, outside of Oakton early college partnerships, in addition to their regular high school courses or over the summer. Grades and credits for courses taken under these arrangements appear only on the college transcript upon completion. We encourage students to work through their high school counselor before registering for classes not offered through our early college partnerships if they desire dual credit - high school and college credit.

AP courses are advanced placement high school courses developed by the College Board, offered at your high school, and taught by high school instructors. Students earn college credit for these courses by taking an exam at the end of the semester and checking with colleges/universities to see what scores are acceptable. Oakton accepts scores for many AP exams and will award credit for equivalent Oakton courses according to the Advanced Placement equivalency chart chart. 

Oakton courses offered at high school locations through our early college partnerships are tuition-free to high school students. However, a one-time $25 application fee is added to student accounts but billed to the high school for payment.

For Oakton courses offered through one of our early college partnerships, students can find a list of approved courses above. Then, they must contact their high school counselor or dual credit liaison for admission and registration details.

• If you wish to drop/withdraw from an Oakton course offered through an early college partner, you must inform your instructor and advisor by the designated deadline; then, a high school representative will inform Oakton.

FERPA is a federal law that protects college student records. As an early college Oakton student, you can control the disclosure of information concerning your education records.  If you would like another person, such as a parent(s), to discuss your progress in the course with your instructor, you can grant that authorization as part of the dual credit application process.

For information regarding student rights under this act, consult our FERPA page or view the Oakton College Student Handbook (PDF) (891 KB), which details policies and procedures implementing FERPA.

We welcome you to continue your college experience at Oakton by applying as a general student. at You can find more information about our academic offerings and enrollment processes at admissions.

Students may also register for Oakton courses while studying at another college or university. Our online courses and summer semester provide course options that may not be unavailable at your home institution. It is important to confirm Oakton course compatibility with an academic adviser at your home institution to confirm the course will transfer.

If you decide to attend another college/university, you should indicate that you have attended Oakton College when applying to that college/university and provide an official Oakton College academic transcript.

The other college/university may consider your dual credit course and grade in admission, financial aid, and scholarship decisions.

You can request an official transcript online. A transcript fee of $10 per transcript is required for standard processing. Please allow 3-5 business days.