In the summer of 2014, I was a temporary undergraduate at Stanford University for 8-weeks. I took Interpersonal Relations (Sociology), Personality Psychology, Zumba, and Asana Yoga. For all of these courses, I earned 8 college credits. That was pretty impressive to do as a rising junior in high school. Not everybody gets the opportunity to earn college credit while in high school. I wish that it would be easier (and cheaper), but alas, it's not. But do not get disappointed if you haven't yet: it's one-hundred percent possible to do. My family could not afford to pay my summer college tuition, but I found a way to still go. Today, I am going to tell you how you can earn college credit (for cheap or free) while you are still in high school.

My Story

I learned about the Joyce Ivy Foundation from my counselor in my sophomore year of high school. She was very adamant about me applying to become a Joyce Ivy Scholar. The Joyce Ivy Foundation is a non-profit committed to the academic excellence and leadership development of young ladies from the Midwest (and some Southern states). They award the scholars who are accepted into the foundation scholarships to attend an Ivy League University during the summer. 
During the winter, before the application was due, I was very pumped about applying. My best friend and I were both going to do it, and we were going to apply for 1) Emory in Georgia, 2) Barnard in New York, and 3) Stanford. That was the order, too. We wrote our papers, had our counselor review it and got our recommendations. But this was the point where I started to feel defeat before I even submitted anything. (Crazy, right?) I think it was the pressure of competition. Well, not true competition as in sports, but the competition of getting this well-known and respected award. When we had our counselor review our papers, hearing her praise my friend's paper and "meh" mine was very disappointing. I've never been one for constructive criticism. Over time, I have progressively gotten better (thank you Architecture class + reviews), but at that time, I felt shot down. 
I kind of gave up on applying to the foundation after that. I was not motivated, and I figured if my counselor didn't like my paper, then there is no way that Joyce Ivy will. My mom kept motivating me to get back at it. She didn't want me to give up before I even applied. Now, I see what she was saying. You'll never know if you will get something if you don't even put in the effort to try. So, I eventually conceded and reviewed my paper. I revised my paper a little bit. I finally submitted the application.   About a month or so later (in March), I received the "Welcome + Congratulations" e-mail from Joyce Ivy Foundation. I was beyond ecstatic! But I still didn't know whether I was admitted to the university of my choice, which was Stanford. It was a wild ride trying to decide which university to apply to, but something in my heart told me to choose Stanford. Not only had I been begging my parents (for years) to take me to California, but I also knew about Stanford's Grade A reputation and heard about their gorgeous campus. (I now know about Emory and Barnard, but I hadn't at that point in time.)
It took Stanford a little bit into April (during Spring Break) to respond. There was a lot of communication and faxing certain documents (which was a hassle because I was in Tennessee on break at Westgate Resorts) on both ends. But after all of that was done, two days before my family and I left Tennessee, my dad got the e-mail about me being admitted to Stanford's Summer College. I also learned that I was awarded the other half of money to be able to attend the summer college. So, in the end, I was awarded two scholarships to attend Stanford, and the transportation was all-inclusive (Joyce Ivy also gave us $75 per week in spending money).

Do Your Research

There is nothing worse than someone who wants everything but refuses to put in the footwork. Getting things is not a walk in a park. You have to apply. You have to inquire. You have to be willing to lose just a little bit of sleep working on that essay. It's all a process. The first step of that process is finding out what the heck you want to do. Do you want to earn college credit? Study abroad? Go to a camp? Google is your best friend in this step. You can easily type in "summer college" or "earn college credit in high school." Find the program that you are most interested in. Read as much as possible about them. How much is the tuition? How long is the program? (Funny story: I did not know that Stanford was for 8-weeks when I applied. I found out at the last moment hahah.) Is it a residential program or a day program? Get the basics, and the next step will...well, it'll still be harder, but at least you'll know what you need.

Find Out Your Money Situation

When I say money situation, I mean are you going to be able to foot the bill or will you need a scholarship (or three) just to attend? Estimate how much money you'll need per week and see if it'll be feasible for your family. Joyce Ivy gave me $75/week, and my family chipped in $25/week to give me  a total of $100/week. Now, let me tell you, that was chump change in California. Everything cost: the Caltrain, shopping bags (if you - like me - forgot your reusable bags at the dorm), JAMBA JUICE. Well, the latter was more of my addiction than a necessity, but hey, it is what it is. 
And while you figure out the money situation, be honest with yourself. If you agree that $40 per week will be enough (which it might be; however, if it's your first time somewhere, then you might feel a little touristy and that's more money), then do not be angry if your parents say no to more.

 Apply for the Program's Financial Aid

Applying to Stanford's financial  aid program is what helped me go. If I had to rely only on Joyce Ivy for money, then I probably (like, 100%) would not have been able to go. To get aid, the program may require more financial information to be submitted and possibly one or two more essays.

Dual Enrollment

If you can, try dual enrollment during the school year, which is typically free. You can take interesting courses while getting college credit. However, do your research on this, too! Some colleges may not accept dual enrollment college credit if you take it on your high school's campus. Some colleges simply may not accept it at all.  Regardless, taking dual enrollment will help you get a feel for certain courses and may introduce you to a path you may have never thought of before.