I’m starting to really start thinking about classes for next year and I was hoping you guys might have an opinion on this. I’m looking to major in Psychology and hoping for admission to colleges like NYU. AP seems like it would be more rigorous and look better but I have hw opportunity to earn an associates degree if i take Dual Enrollment.
My 2 cents - when the options are AP vs. DE in the same subject/topic (e.g. AP Calc BC vs. DE Calc 2), then take AP, as the credits are usually more easy to transfer. If it’s a DE subject not offered by the HS and you’ve maxed out your opportunities in the subject in HS, then DE is fine.
An NYU does not think it “looks better” for you to have an associates degree…they would rather you be there for all 4years (and pay tuition).
If you want to get an associates degree while in HS, then think about your public state Univ and colleges who you could easily transfer all your credits to. If you are going to be a psychologist, you need to get a phd so it would be great to only have to do 2 years in your 4 year college and save money and then go for your Phd.
as a parent of a daughter who earned over 60 credits of dual enrollment I obviously like dual enrollment. However you do need to look at the dual enrollment policies of individual colleges. NYU is pretty strict with its dual enrollment if I recall correctly.
While it sounds nice to get an associates in high school in all honesty if your going on for a 4 year degree it doesn’t make a big difference. It doesn’t guarantee that you start as a junior or that a school will accept all your classes.
For my daughter she knew she had to fit in all her graduation requirements then any classes typically desired for college admissions if needed. The remaining classes she focused on areas of her interest. She didn’t try for an associates even though she had the same number of credits. In reality you don’t know what credits are accepted at many colleges until she have accepted and deposited money there. Then they will evaluate your classes and decide which depending on the school can take a while and be past registration if you register in June. I do recommend saving syllabi from all dual enrollment since some colleges may ask for them.
For my daughter her private school (not a top 20) accepted all of her dual enrollment credits. However not all credits really help if your goal is getting a 4 year degree in 2 years. Some are free electives which you may never need. In addition there may be additional things such as at her school neither AP English nor dual enrollment English are accepted for the honors program. I guess it is possible that if things go perfectly my daughter could get a degree in 2 years but in reality she is a freshman with advanced credit standing which will allow her to do things (to be seen) such as a double major, taking graduate classes (max of 2), study abroad, fewer classes a semester, internships etc. My pocketbook would love 3 years but we don’t know at this point.
For the record my daughter’s friend who went through the same program did get n associate’s degree in high school. He got into a school which happens to have a arrangement with the other school. He found out that the arrangement did not apply to high school dual enrollment students and that even with the associates he was considered a dual enrollment high school student and any class needed for high school graduation (including getting to the number of credits needed for graduation) did not count towards college. Basically dual enrollment can be a great alternative but don’t go for an associate’s degree thinking it is guaranteed to get you ahead - it depends on the college you choose to attend.
I think I’m just gonna do the dual enrollment and then go directly to a state university after graduation. I don’t think I even remotely have a chance at getting into any “good” private university so it would be best not to indulge in all those pipe dreams.