College classes during high school: a Peninsula family's guide

Use this page if a student in grades 9 through 12 might take a class at Foothill College or College of San Mateo, and you need the current process instead of a single "dual enrollment" label.

Students: name the reason for the class before you pick the campus. Parents: separate the college's enrollment rule from the high school's credit rule. A college can enroll a student and still leave the high school transcript unchanged until the high school approves it.

Checked September 27, 2026. This is not a transfer-admissions guide. A student who applies to a university directly from high school is still a freshman applicant even if a college transcript already exists. Foothill's FAQ says that directly.

Foothill and College of San Mateo are different routes.

Question	Foothill College	College of San Mateo
Who the page is for	Current high school students in grades 9-12	Dual enrollment is the CCAP partnership with local high schools. Concurrent enrollment is a separate catalog path for high school students taking CSM classes with a high school administrator's approval.
Where the class sits	On campus, online, at the Sunnyvale Center, or at a participating high school	Dual enrollment classes are described as offered on the high school campus during the school day. Concurrent enrollment is for courses outside those offered at the high school, and the student registers in WebSMART rather than being auto-enrolled.
What the college says about cost	Enrollment and basic fees are waived only inside a unit limit the pages do not state the same way. Textbooks and materials fees are not waived. Nonresident and international tuition can still apply. Parking is separate: a digital permit is required. Currently enrolled students, faculty, and staff can get one free. Visitors register for a separate daily permit, which may be purchased or completed with a pre-approved complimentary code.	Dual enrollment pages say those partnership courses are free and that materials and textbooks are provided. Concurrent enrollment is a different fee conversation, and the official wording around 11 units does not match. See the next section. Do not treat either route as free of every cost.
High school credit	Foothill's marketing line says students can earn high school and college credit together. Paly and Gunn still require their own prior approval before an outside course is placed on the PAUSD transcript.	Dual enrollment says students receive both credits for successful completion. Concurrent enrollment says the student may request that a transcript be sent to the high school registrar for graduation consideration. That is a request, not an automatic high school credit.
College record	Grades become part of the permanent college transcript. The student, not the parent, has to drop by the deadline or a penalty grade or a W can remain. FERPA limits parent access to the college record regardless of age.	Concurrent enrollment awards college credit for coursework successfully completed.

Do not send one application and expect it to cover both colleges. CSM's own page tells families that concurrent enrollment is not the same registration path as the high school partnership.

The summer unit limit is not one number.

Foothill's program page says dual-enrollment students may enroll in up to 11 units in fall, winter, spring, and summer, and that enrollment and basic fees are waived if the student does not exceed 11 units in those terms. The FAQ on the same site says there is no cost when the student takes no more than 11 units in a regular quarter and six in the summer, and it also discusses charges above those lines. Those statements were both on the public pages on September 27, 2026. This guide does not pick the summer number. Before anyone registers, read the special-admit rule for that term, or ask Admissions and Records which limit applies to that student.

Books and materials can still cost extra. Foothill's Parking and Transportation page is the Fall 2026 parking update: digital permits are required, and they are free for currently enrolled students, faculty, and staff. Visitors register for a separate daily permit, which can be purchased or completed with a pre-approved complimentary code. A seat is not an admissions advantage. A college class is only one way to use a summer. A Bay Area summer plan compares that class with a school program, paid work, and a project the student designs.

CSM does not use one unit line for concurrent enrollment.

Two current College of San Mateo sources were both public on September 27, 2026, and they do not draw the fee line in the same place.

The concurrent enrollment program page says high school students enrolled in 11 units or fewer are not required to pay the Enrollment Fee and Health Fee. It also says some courses may still charge a materials fee, and that students buy their own textbooks, including Inclusive Access fees. The 2026-27 catalog says concurrently enrolled high school students are exempt from the Enrollment Fee and Health Fee if registered for less than 11 units, and that a student enrolled for 11.5 units or more pays all fees associated with the enrollment. The same catalog says the Health Services Fee will not be assessed for the 2026-27 academic year, which is a third sentence sitting beside the exemption language.

This guide does not pick 11.0 units as the settled cutoff. Before anyone registers, ask CSM which rule applies to that term and that unit load. What is not in dispute: school-partner dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment are different paths. Dual enrollment, on CSM's partnership pages, is the CCAP route on the high school campus, described as free with materials and textbooks provided. Concurrent enrollment is the separate path for courses outside those offered at the high school, with administrator approval and WebSMART registration. A fee answer for one path is not a fee answer for the other.

Three reasons a family might still consider a class.

These are decisions, not success stories.

Exploration. The student wants to try a subject the high school schedule does not offer this term. The check is whether the college course has a prerequisite, whether the high school will treat it as an elective only, and whether the student can get to the campus or take it online. Foothill says prerequisites are required and that the college can drop a student who has not met them. An attached high school transcript verifies high school attendance. Foothill says it does not clear prerequisites.

Sequence. The student has finished the high school's own sequence and wants a next course. At Paly, the off-campus FAQ says other off-campus math waits until Algebra 2 or an equivalent is completed on campus, and other off-campus science waits until Biology and one physical science are completed on campus. Gunn's off-campus exceptions are a different list. Read the school the student attends.

Perceived admissions value. A college class taken mainly so the application looks busier is the weakest reason. The college transcript is permanent, a withdrawal can remain, and the high school may record the course as credit/no credit rather than a GPA boost. Use the academic record check to separate the high school record from the college record. Use the college and major course requirements check only for a program the student is actually considering.

Not every Foothill course is UC or CSU transferable. The catalog marks the ones that are. CSM credit is college credit. Transfer to a particular university is a later check.

What to verify before the form.

1. Which college, which term, and which route: Foothill special admit, CSM dual enrollment at the high school, or CSM concurrent enrollment.
2. The high school's prior-approval rule, in writing, before the course starts.
3. Prerequisites, and who confirms them.
4. The fee line for that term, including anything the waiver does not cover.
5. Who can see the college record, and who must drop the class.
6. Whether the course will be reported later as college coursework on a freshman application.

Students: write the course name and the reason, in one sentence. Parents: write the approval that is still missing.

If you want help sorting the college form from the high school rule, book an Ivy Ready consultation. Tell us the grade, the high school, and the course you are considering.