Dual-credit classes: "Dual enrollment is when a high school student can take college courses at the same time as being enrolled in high school," says Bardwell. "Qualifications vary by college and high school, and some colleges will pay for the courses while others will not."
By Reyna Gobel, Contributor Aug. 28, 2013, at 9:00 a.m.
"I've had some students who spent their entire junior and senior year at a local college and basically completed two years of college while still in high school," says Bardwell. "Others just take a course or two, and now with online options, they do not even have to leave high school if they don't want to."
If the high school doesn't cover the costs of courses, parents can withdraw money from 529 plans saved for their kids' college education. "Tuition and fees for college courses, regardless of when they are taken, are always qualified higher education expenses," says Mike Fitzgerald, chairman of the College Savings Plans Network.
Jimmy Williamson, an Alabama-based certified public accountant and personal finance specialist, says that as long as college credits are earned at a federally approved eligible institution, money can be withdrawn without tax penalty from a 529 plan. Vocational courses taken at an eligible postsecondary school count as well, he says.