Community Chat

[ScrapHappy]

Anyone have experience with having their son/daughter doing dual enrollment while still in HS?  If so, was it actually very helpful and worth while doing?  Or is taking AP or Honors classes more of what colleges want to see on transcripts?

[DrakesMomma]

My son took college classes while in high school.  I suppose it depends on the child for college vs. AP classes.  He did get the largest scholarship in his class to our local university.  This is where he took classes.  He is about a year ahead of his high school friends that are going to college.  That means there will be one less college year to pay for! 

[FrostyBabe1]

The son of some firends did this and it was a wonderful choice for him.

They live in a fairly rural area and the school district doesn't offer AP or IB classes. So instead of those, he dual enrolled at the local community college, with the tuition costs being picked up my the school district. When he graduated from high school, he also received an associates degree in some form of applied science and math. He got a full ride to a D1 university to complete his degree and will graduate without any student loan debt. 

[busymom22]

My son took dual enrollment classes in high school and it helped him earn 9 total college credits.

They are helpful for fulfilling basic requirements.  For example, he didn't have to take English 101.  He's a good researcher/writer already so he didn't miss out on anything.

But as a teacher myself I am not a fan of kids taking too many courses.  There's a "check the box" mentality and often a lot of material is simply not equivalent to the college level. This can leave kids struggling when they go to a higher level class and find they really didn't learn the basics in that subject.

Also, many kids aren't 100% sure what they want to major in.  Taking general ed courses at the college level can help a student figure out their true interests. I've known of successful people who found their calling from a random general ed class they were required to take.

One last thing to consider is the transferability of dual credit courses and how they affect financial aid. Some scholarships are limited and if you come in with a full year of credits you may not qualify for them.

I'd also consider CLEP tests for high school kids.  These tests are available in most subjects.  Pass the test and if fulfills the requirement for many courses like English 101, Pre Calculus, etc.  My son passed several of these tests and heard about this from a friend who earned a lot of credits this way. Just about every public college accepts these for credit and many private colleges as well.There's even a website with an entire course of practice tests for free. Do the course and they will even send you a voucher to pay for the test!  It's called modern states dot org.

As for AP courses if your student wants to go to a hard-to-get-into college then it's expected to see a significant number of AP classes on a transcript.  It depends on what type of a school a student is shooting for. If you want to go to an average-difficulty university then dual credit/AP can fulfill a year of school and save on costs. But if you are aiming for a top 20 school, AP courses are expected but most of those schools won't take them for credit.

[GabbyAnn]

My daughter took several dual credit classes while in her junior and senior years in high school.

Proved to be very helpful.  The dual credit classes that she took we had to pay out of pockett, but it was at a huge savings.   And she passed all but 1 of her AP tests so that helped her with college credit, too.

After all the hard work she put in she is away at college now, while it is techically her first year, she was enrolled as a college sophomore.  It was a lot of extra work on her part, but she wanted to do it, so we supported her.  I think it really paid of for her.

[deepwaterdotter]

I did this during my senior year in high school.  It helped me fulfill some of my requisite, entry-level college classes before my first full semester at university.  It provided an easy transition to on-campus studies.  I also took a couple AP classes in high school.    

[sunshine45]

instead of dual enrollment, one daughter took AP classes. she was able to take the exams and earn 21 college credits prior to even beginning college.

another daughter did the dual enrollment and took the high school classes she needed in her senior year and also took 4 basic college classes through our  local community college that went towards core classes that she needed for college.

[skatting44]

Most 100 & 101  level college classes are  refresher classes , so why pay big $$  for the credits ?  The challenge is  living and finding a public school  that  has a good academic record  for your child to attend . The national averages of how many high school students  can read and write is  not good at all. Our ranking among education systems  in the world is  not good either . Our children are not being educated despite all the tax dollars being spent on education in this country.

Good for those children who are able to obtain those college credits while in high school.

Hope they share their secret to success .

[Harpa]

I have dual enrollment students in my college classes all the time, as I do presently. I can't say they've always been the best students. I wish I could pinpoint what the problems may have been.

It seems, though, when I had seperate classes with just DE students, those groups always did very well. (same material/same work load)

I should think a transcript displaying college credit would be more impressive. Especially w/ a good grade!

[sydsgma1]

this is the best way to go...my kids took ap and college classes and had their freshman year for college when they graduated from high school. 

as a former school administrator , my only caveat is to make sure potential colleges will,accept the credits . My oldest dgd has her eyes on one of the Ivy League schools and they only only accept credits from major state universities, which she is enrolled in for her college credits.

the other big factor is the student needs to be a sel starter. 

good luck