Guidelines

  • Eligibility, Test Scores and High School Grade Level

    Are you eligible to enroll?

    Conditional Admission, College Credit
    Who this applies to
    All dual credit students start with Conditional Admission and must move to Full Admission by the time they complete 15 semester credit hours. Students at this stage may not yet have college-ready TSIA scores or an exemption.
    Stipulations
    Eligible for dual credit starting fall of grade 9.
    Limited to a total of 15 semester credit hours.
    Must be designated by MCC as non-degree seeking.
    Must meet full admission requirements — including TSIA compliance for the selected program of study — by 15 credit hours to continue enrollment.
    Full Admission, College Credit
    Who this applies to
    Required for students enrolling beyond 15 semester credit hours. Students at this stage have TSIA college-ready scores or a state-approved exemption.
    ELAR Math
    TSIA-2 Multiple choice score of 945 and essay score of 5 Score of 950
    OR OR
    Multiple choice score below 945, diagnostic level 5 or 6, and essay score of 5 Score below 950 and diagnostic level 6
    ACT (on or after 2/15/2023) 40 combined English + Reading 22
    SAT (on or after 3/2016) 480 EBRW 530
    Course completion ENGL 1301, C or better College-level math, C or better
    Scores not required Level 1 Certificate Program
    Occupational Skill Award Program
    Stipulations
    Eligible for dual credit starting fall of grade 9, or for early admission in grade 11.
    Student will be placed on an MCC degree plan.
    All individual course prerequisites, including TSIA requirements, must be met.
    Admission, Continuing Education
    What you earn
    Continuing Education credit (CEU) is awarded — not college credit. Courses may later be converted to college credit after completion, per college policy.
    Stipulations
    Must meet the conditions and requirements of the Continuing Education program or course.
    Eligible for dual credit after grade 10.
  • Advising Requirements

    Are you required to meet with a college advisor?

    Yes, at the high school as part of new student onboarding, before registering for your first dual credit course.
    Yes, before registering for courses that would put you over 12, 24, or 42 semester credit hours.

    Schedule an individual advising appointment if you're pursuing a degree at a private or out-of-state institution, pursuing a workforce degree or certificate, or requesting courses not on the dual credit advising guide.

    • To schedule advising:

      • Ask your high school counselor for advising dates on your high school campus.
      • Contact dualcredit@mclennan.edu to make an appointment.
      • Come prepared to select an MCC program or major.
      • Career planning is recommended — contact Career Services at 254-299-8614.
  • Financial Aid Implications

    Students aren't eligible for state or federal financial aid while enrolled in high school. But because dual credit courses appear on the college transcript, the grades you earn can affect your financial aid eligibility later.

    Satisfactory Progress: After high school, you must meet the college's satisfactory progress standards to keep receiving financial aid. MCC requires a college GPA of 2.0 or higher and completion of at least 67 percent of attempted coursework.

    • College grades earned in high school count toward your college GPA.
    • Courses where you earn an F, an I (incomplete), or a W (withdrawn after the course census date) count as not completed.
    • This policy applies to all courses, whether or not you received financial aid for them.

    Maximum Time Frame: After high school, financial aid recipients are expected to finish their program within a reasonable time frame.

    • The current limit is 150 percent of your program's published length.
    • This includes all undergraduate hours attempted, including transfer credit.
    • You lose eligibility once you exceed this limit.

    Repeated Course Rule: After high school, you can retake a passed course only once. Financial aid won't cover a course again after that.

    • If you earned an F and then a D in a course, you can't get financial aid to take it a third time.
    • If your first two or more attempts were withdrawals or failures, you can keep retaking the course until you earn a D or better — as long as you're still meeting satisfactory progress standards.
  • Additional Requirements

    To enroll, you must:

    • Complete the college enrollment process (see the How to Enroll page).
    • Submit a high school transcript and relevant test scores.
    • Submit proof of a current bacterial meningitis vaccination if you're taking a course on the MCC campus.
    • Complete dual credit New Student Onboarding.
    • Be a Texas resident.

    You should also:

    • Read and agree to follow McLennan's general conduct, departmental, and academic policies, as outlined in the Highlander Guide and the McLennan General Catalog.
    • Talk with your high school counselor before withdrawing from any college course.
    • Talk with a college advisor about how transferred courses apply to a college degree plan.

    You may not:

    • Enroll in developmental or PHED courses.
    • Audit courses.

    To continue in a High School Pathways program, you must:

    • Maintain a 2.0 college GPA after completing 6 semester credit hours.
    • Have no more than 2 withdrawals on your college transcript.