Dual Enrollment in High School

[mjkacmom]

Absolutely better to do Dual Enrollment!

With AP, if you don't pass, you waste your entire year! Not true with Dual Enrollment!

Right there is the biggest plus there is, above all else.

Both of my girls graduated high school and got their AA that same summer! It's been amazing. Oh, and did I mention, FREE!!!!

Dual enrollment is not free at our high school, they are cheaper than taking the courses at a college but more that the AP exams.

 

[MATTERHORN]

Dual enrollment is not free at our high school, they are cheaper than taking the courses at a college but more that the AP exams.

Ah, gotcha. Here in Florida it is completely free, including books. Most states I have friends in with children, this is the case! But still, better to have certain credit than none as far as I can see.

 

[Katiebird]

Be aware that if you have too many credits starting college, it can impact your classification as a freshman which can in turn impact financial aid, admissions, etc. Its not necessarily a problem even if it does happen (especially at state schools that have transfer agreements with the community colleges), but it’s something to keep in mind and look into for dual enrollment.

 

[mjkacmom]

Ah, gotcha. Here in Florida it is completely free, including books. Most states I have friends in with children, this is the case! But still, better to have certain credit than none as far as I can see.

Here it’s not a guarantee, I’ve paid for several dual enrollment classes that did not transfer. They are taken in the high school, the teacher is certified to teach them, students have a choice at the beginning of the semester to pay for the credits or not, and the final is different (which makes it difficult because the teacher teaches for his/her exam and possibly has never laid eyes on the college final).

 

[MATTERHORN]

Here it’s not a guarantee, I’ve paid for several dual enrollment classes that did not transfer. They are taken in the high school, the teacher is certified to teach them, students have a choice at the beginning of the semester to pay for the credits or not, and the final is different (which makes it difficult because the teacher teaches for his/her exam and possibly has never laid eyes on the college final).

Yeah, I can see where that would differ. Ours are taken at the college. And if you finish your AA with them, your entire degree transfers. Every class. The trick is, you have to finish the AA before going to your other school. That is true everywhere though.

 

[BellesLibrary]

I am a professor at a local community/tech college and teach and advise dual enrollment students all of the time! The discussion on AS/AA credit versus AP exams comes up fairly often, and my students (who've clearly opted for the college credit) say they did so because of two reasons:

1) The materials are laid out and tested along and along during the class and not all at once like the AP exams are. I absolutely see their point here: I took AP exams while in high school, and the pressure to do well on that one test was insane.

2) AP exams aren't a true model of what college looks like. Yes, the AP exams do cover advanced material, but the structure of the AP class leading up to the exam isn't what we do in a typical intro class in college. The dual enrollment students are thrown into a college environment where they have to sink or swim alongside traditional college students: my high school students are always intimidated by being in that classroom for the first week or so, but they are challenged by being around older students. Nearly all of them rise to the occasion!

In my advising experience, high school students who apply themselves in the dual enrollment program are incredibly prepared to transfer to any of the 4 year colleges in our state. In fact, the faculty advisors are constantly tutored on what the 4 year colleges are looking for from our transfer students, and the 4 year colleges are quite open with us on what they need.

I know it varies from state to state and institution to institution, but my CC (which is the largest in our state) routinely sends students to our local 4-year universities, many times allowing them to transfer after a single year. (I recognize that we may be a specialized case since we do work so closely with other colleges/universities in our state, and that other CCs may require the full 2 years to be completed before transferring).

In any case, please let me know if you have any questions about the dual enrollment program or how it looks to 4 year colleges. I'm happy to help!

 

[Capt_BJ]

Another 'path' to look into is CLEP testing.

Dual enrolment was not available where son went to HS and he took a bunch of AP and did well AND took CLEP tests in some topics where there was no AP. He earned enuf college credits that he finished what would normally be a 5 year program {engineering} in 4 years <with full scholarship>. He'd "CLEP'd out" of the normal freshman year courses. <and subsequently got a full ride for Master's too>

Daughter DID have dual enrolment option and took enuf DE classes to earn credits which allowed her to finish a 4 year program a semester early as well. Where she went to h.s. it was possible to do enuf dual enrolment that a handful each year graduate with h.s. diploma and Associates Degree awarded in same ceremony. <saw it with my own eyes>

btw ... son undergrad school: FSU and daughter: 'BAMA ..... mainline places ......

mostly it takes MOTIVATION .....

 

[MNDisneyMommy]

My state offered college classes during high school. I took advantage. To give me the best shot at transferring, I made sure to go to a college most similar to what I would end up doing to later (in my case, a liberal arts college). I had good luck with credits transferring (everything went). I graduated a semester early.

AP classes have so much riding on one test, I tried one class but I didn't really like that approach. Plus, I was extremely well prepared for college. I had a great deal of independence my last couple years of high school, allowing me to have a job and get my coursework done.

My school was also great about extracurriculars and such, and there was a small community of us all doing the same thing, so my social life while a bit more limited than being in high school all day still didn't really suffer. I was yearbook editor and went to prom and etc. even though in my senior year I didn't take any classes at the high school at all.

All those things combined made me very happy with my choice.