I wonder… if more families know about opportunities to get a free, or partially free, college education, starting in the high-school years, would they encourage their college-bound children to give it a whirl?

Not only can students who earn college credit in high school reduce their time in college, but they can do so at no cost to their families. I know this firsthand because I did it way back in the 80s, and now there are even more options for students to consider:

Advanced Placement (AP) Courses: Probably the most popular and widely known choice for high schoolers, AP classes are college-level courses delivered by high school teachers. If your school does not offer the class you want, try looking online. The nonprofit Consumers Guide to Online AP Courses provides information, reviews, and links to state AP programs. Student who score three or higher on an AP exam qualify for college credit.

Direct Credit: College courses offered at your high school are referred to as direct credit. In some cases, a college will offer a post-secondary education at a high school by sending a professor or training a high school teacher to deliver college-level course material, which may be applied to high school exit requirements and count toward college credit.

Dual Enrollment: With a dual enrollment program, qualified high school students are able to earn college credit by spending part of their school hours in high school and the rest of their day taking classes with college students. Families may be responsible for some fees and textbook purchases, but classes are usually covered by the school district. Dual enrollment students should get their course selection pre-approved by a guidance counselor and have the discipline, drive, and maturity to work at the faster college pace.

Early Admission: A form of dual enrollment, early admission lets qualified high school students in good standing attend college full-time. Before being admitted, students must earn a specified number of high school credits and meet test criteria set by the institution. Once enrolled, students are required to take classes that fulfill high school graduation requirements. Like dual enrollment, most college costs are waived.

Middle College: Middle College High Schools are located on or near college campuses and give students the opportunity to take classes to earn their high school diploma and up to 60 transferable college credits at no cost. This collaborative effort targets student populations that are historically under-served and underrepresented in college.

International Baccalaureate (IB) Program: Known for high standards and pedagogical leadership, IB-designated schools are an alternative for students who wish to be pushed academically and develop greater intercultural understanding. Some colleges will grant credit for IB students who who demonstrate mastery in the rigorous junior and senior programs and associated assessments. Course costs are covered by school districts, but families are expected to pay for the assessments.

Any high school student is eligible to earn college and high school credit at the same time, but families should be aware that some programs have prerequisites and not all colleges welcome every form of credit. Interested students can ask their high school guidance counselor for program recommendations, information about which colleges are likely to accept AP or IB credits, and possible social or emotional ramifications.

While the above options are certainly not suited to all students, those who feel ready for an increased challenge can earn credit toward high school graduation while simultaneously getting a jump start on their college courses… plus a potential reduction in tuition.

The downloadable pamphlets include tips on ways to explore and interpret ideas within a story; words, sounds, and parts of speech; differences between fiction and nonfiction; diagrams and charts; and more.

Ed Pubs offers over 6,000 titles for parents, teachers, and students on topics ranging from child development to student loans. All publications are provided at no cost to the general public by the U.S. Department of Education.

This site currently contains about 400 books that have been digitally photographed at very high resolution (in some cases at over 200 megabytes per page) by a company called “Octavo”. The books cover a variety of topics and rarity, and are presented so that the viewer can examine all pages in medium to medium-high resolution.

I used http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/ where I could specify the scale, color and a few other attributes and then download my custom pdf file to print at home.

Ain’t. There’s a venerable bit of schoolyard wisdom: “Ain’t ain’t in the dictionary, so ain’t ain’t a word.” There’s only one problem with this pithy apothegm: it ain’t true. …

Clearly, Obviously, Undoubtedly. My English professor instincts kick in — my Spidey-Sense starts tingling — whenever I see these words. Too often they’re used when something is unclear and doubtful, but the author simply doesn’t know how to make the point convincingly. …

Wasted Words. Many words and phrases rarely add anything to a sentence. Avoid these whenever you can. A very short list of some of these offenders: Quite, very, extremely, as it were, moreover, it can be seen that, it has been indicated that, basically, essentially, totally, completely, therefore, it should be remembered that, it should be noted that, thus, it is imperative that, at the present moment in time. These are fine in their place, but they often slither into your writing with the sinister purpose of tempting you into the sin of padding your sentences.

You can read the Bible, the Koran, and the Talmud. The Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Magna Carta are here.

Some of the most influential books ever published like Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and Einstein’s Special and General Theory of Relativity are available for download.

Of course there are many, many more titles. Just explore!

Start with the CIA World Factbook. This easily digestible compendium includes essential facts about every country in the world, including an introduction, the geography, people, government, and more. It features maps and flags of the world too. The CIA World Factbook is frequently updated – most recently last week! As a bonus, many younger students will enjoy knowing they’re using a reference written by our nation’s spy organization.

Wikipedia is a little more free-wheeling. Entries are not necessarily consistent, and editing is a tad rough at times. Nonetheless, the information tends to be well-balanced and accurate. It links to dozens of other sources of information and includes a host of additional photos to illustrate the articles. Wikipedia tends to be too comprehensive for younger students, but is certainly useful for high school and some middle school students.

There are many sites online (like the Write Place Catalogue) where you can find some similar information free, but it won’t sway anyone – and it might be wrong.

If you’re looking for a great student’s writing guide, then get Strunk & White’s Elements of Style (at Amazon). Recently updated, this guide (first published as Strunk & White’s in 1959) is still required reading in many English classes. And, at 100 pages, it’s an easy and (I recall) an enjoyable read.