I am wondering how other colleges (not part of the dual enrollment program) perceives dual enrollment courses (do they think of them as AP, honors, etc.)? In my high school, the administration removed nearly all of the AP options and replaced them with a dual enrollment program know as “AD” (Advanced course), which gives UCONN (the university near us) credit. The only AP courses we have is US history, Stat, and some language courses. Everything else has turned into an “AD” course. Ex. we don’t have Calculus AB/BC (we have AD Calculus) or AP physics (AD physics).
I am a sophomore and I have already took all the available major AP courses offered at my school (4 AD/AP courses in total)! These AD courses technically count as “advanced” in my school and gives a greater weighted GPA than honors, but I am worried that colleges out of state will perceive these dual enrollment courses as lesser than AP courses, when in reality, they are actually equally rigorous. One of my swim captains told me that dual enrollment is looked upon as better than AP courses because they are considered actual courses in college (UCONN).
Is he right? Is this different for each high school/college? Frankly, I don’t care about the credits or anything, but I want colleges to see that I am challenging myself.
In general, I’ve heard that AP > dual enrollment, if your school offers both (though I don’t have any validation on this). The reasoning is that all AP courses have to meet the same standard to be able to pass the exam to get credit, whereas requirements can vary from school to school with dual enrollment courses. Normally dual enrollment classes are taught by high school teachers at high school with high school classmates, so I don’t think they’re considered “actual college courses” in the exact sense.
However, that’s not exactly the situation you’re dealing with. Your school only has one option; you’re not making a choice. That’s the most advanced thing your school offers, and you’re taking it. Just like a uni shouldn’t penalize a student if their school doesn’t offer any AP or dual enrollment classes, you won’t be punished for taking AP classes that don’t exist at your school.
Can’t believe you don’t trust me XL
^nanotechnology has a good point. Nevertheless, since EO kids have the option to take classes on the UConn campus (with an actual college professor), the ECE and Dual Enrollment credit earned in this particular setting is leaps and bounds ahead of AP. In any case, since kids taking ECE classes are required to be held to the same standards as the department at UConn itself, and because UConn recognizes ECE classes for actual college credit, the situation looks very good to colleges which you are applying to.
…far beyond the ever-decreasing worth of AP classes.
If it’s a class taken on the university campus, that’s definitely different than dual enrollment taken at HS, and I’d probably place it above AP. The problem is that the term “dual enrollment” ends up being used for both of those.
What classes are you able to take at UConn? Can you take any class for which you have the prerequisites, or are you limited to a specific list?
Oh my god!!! Cole, how did you find me!!! miwss103 IS my swim captain!!!
Adcom at Ga. Tech specifically said that they didn’t want to see dual enrollment WHEN AP classes were available. Apparently some areas of Georgia have kids taking dual enrollment Calculus and Chemistry rather than AP in order to avoid tough teachers and lower grades (according to the Adcom – we’re from another state, so I have no opinion on the truth of the matter). Somehow, I think they’d view UConn classes differently (and you don’t have the AP option anyway). The only possible disadvantage would be in a few states with schools (UGA, probably others) that calculate their own GPA and only give extra points for AP and IB (not Honors, not DE), but that’s a relatively narrow group. No holistic school will hold it against you.
Even when the college course is more rigorous than the AP course (e.g. high school offers AP calculus AB, but the dual enrollment option is a normal calculus 1 and 2 sequence that covers more material than AP calculus AB)?