SOLVED. Boy uses two names to get credits in college. Spoiler ahead. [s]

[Nora]

This was a youth novel I read in the early 90s. It was about a boy enrolling in college whose first name was unusual and whose last name was a normal first name (e.g., Smith John [I can't remember the actual name]). He ends up getting enrolled both with his real name and with his names switched (like Smith John and John Smith). He decides to earn credits under both names and graduate in 2 years instead of 4. He ends up dating a girl with dyslexia (she can't tell left from right) and his mother is an artist who is disappointed in his antics. In the end, he decides not to graduate in 2 years, and he gives his extra credits to his dog, who somehow ends up with a diploma.

[Kris]

Added spoiler alert to the topic header.

[Ayshe]

I may have found it: The Mark of Conte?

[Nora]

That's it! I can't believe someone found it. Thanks!