Hello! I’m currently in 10th grade, about to move to 11th grade this August, and I’m hoping to get some advice on a dual enrollment program I’ve registered for. Oh, before I begin, am first in my class (tied with two other students) and have had all As in honors courses I’ve taken the last two years, if that information could help you formulate an answer to the following questions. First, I’ll tell you a little about my high school and why I chose the program rather than AP classes at my school. My school has very few AP courses, none of which were available until at least 11th grade. This is compared to other schools in my area which offer many more AP courses, and many offer them for sophomores. The AP courses available at my school include Language Arts III and IV, Bio, Physics, Chemistry, American History, Psychology, and Calc (AB only). Because of the limited selection, I thought it would be a good idea to take a dual enrollment program at my local community college. The program offers honors college courses, and still offer the AP test at the end of the year. You travel to the cc during the day, take 3 core classes, then return back to the high school and take electives and science (not taken at the cc). The college courses are taken as both credit towards an Associate of Arts Degree and a High School Diploma. It is a two year program, with a total of 63 credits at the end of 2 years. Now, moving into the future, I’m looking to go to a good college (Hopefully an Ivy, or possibly WUSTL, because I live in the Midwest) and was wondering how they would look at the program compared to AP classes. Now, here’s the thing: I know the credits won’t count at most good schools, partly because they were used as credit towards a High School Diploma, and partly because the cc courses aren’t up to par with their own equivalent ones. However, I don’t care if the credits transfer. The other students who were selected (very selective- 9 out of ~450 students) plan on taking the AA with them to another school and chopping off two years of college. As great as that sounds, I know it’s a fantasy for great schools. All I want is to convey to the colleges that I am trying to take the most rigorous course options available. I want them to know that I am actively trying to challenge myself. I don’t mind going to Harvard or JHU with no credits transferring. So, I guess my question is, was it a mistake to enroll in the dual credit program? I want the colleges look at my résumé and think of me as preferable compared to AP students. Keep in mind, I probably wouldn’t have accepted the program had my high school had a more varied array of AP classes. Also, will the colleges look at me differently than any other incoming freshman who took AP classes?
Sounds like a great program and a way to enhance your high school years (although 8 APs would be impressive too)…
I wouldn’t make a strong decision on what to do you with your AA and this right now. There are several ways this could work for you:
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spin a really good tale in your essays or the “if there is anything else you would like to share with us” section about how your CC experience enriched you. For example, if you take a college level english class (not the first one, but a real literature class, it will be much more group discussion based, etc). If you can take a college based science class with a lab, that would be great too. I would recommend taking any AP test you are ready for, CalcAB/BC, plus Physics, Chem, Bio, etc … depends on what you study at CC. There should be an equivalent course for most AP classes, but since they aren’t tutoring you for the test, you also have to spend some time with a good AP prep manual for that subject. This is the top 20 school plan. Basically, you get in a prestigious school, go 4 years, get a prestigious degree. But select some say top 40 schools, your state U, high merit scholarship schools too. The Ivy plus WashU pool is really, really competitive, no matter how smart, community minded, EC impressive you are. Don’t be left with only unattractive or worse unaffordable options.
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see what agreement your CC has with the state university in your state. You may actually be able to transfer or get placement for a lot of classes. You would be an excellent candidate for a full or partial scholarship. You could skip one year of college and maybe get a 4 or 5 year masters or start masters level classes or research in your senior year. You could double major or take premed classes and another related or even non-related major, take business with engineering … Depending on your families income, your cost at top 20 might be very high, merit scholarships are pretty rare at all, and non-existent in the Ivy League.
I would make sure you do lots of ECs. Three ways - one is at your high school, one is in the community, and one is participating in CC ECs. Your high school debate or model UN club would keep you in your HS social circles with like-aged students and you could be very competitive.
Make sure your school is properly computing your class rank or providing some other easy to understand ranking relative to their non-dual enrolled students. If you are taking DiffEQs and they are taking pre-calc … well an A is not an A.
Make sure you get very high SAT scores.
Take advantage of your high school and your CC guidance office. And maybe try to discuss what you are doing with a few of your favorite schools, if travel is not possible maybe with WashU and your state U. They can clearly discuss what you could and could not get credit for and probably will have an answer to “would you accept CC credit for CalcIII or Physics2 or DiffEQ for placement or credit” or even “Are you impressed that I am taking 3 classes a semester at a CC as a junior in high school”. I think it is like the answer to #2 is yes, but they will probably say … yes if you can still provide a good holistic application …
Thanks so much! I feel so relieved. I’ll make sure, when the time comes, to add to my application that I didn’t only do the program for the credits, and hopefully they’ll see me as someone who invites challenge. I’ll reach out to my local schools, including WashU, and see what their take is on the credits transferring and how they view a more challenging curriculum compared to a normal HS course load. Just to add, because science isn’t offered at the CC, I most likely will take AP Chemistry and AP Biology during my senior year. This will add a few more classes for the college to look at when reviewing my application.
My main concern was that universities would have rather me taken AP classes, but you’ve relieved that concern. I’ll make sure to take the proper steps to show them that I actively sought out more difficult classes rather than taking my HS’s AP classes. I will take our great advice about the “tell us more” section on the application, letting them know that I am ready for college and that I’m able to handle it, and how the program showed me how to balance a college class with many ECs, which will hopefully give them an idea of my readiness for college.
On the note about not deciding what to do with my AA yet, I hadn’t even entertained the thought of going to a state school, even though it may save me a year. I have always wanted to go to a really great school (JHU is looking like my #1 right now), but I’ll think more about maybe just doing undergraduate at a state U, then trying to get into a great Medical School, like JHU or Harvard (Long shot, I know! Haha!)
“I guess my question is, was it a mistake to enroll in the dual credit program? I want the colleges look at my résumé and think of me as preferable compared to AP students.”
The colleges look at your application within the context of what your own high school offers. They are looking for evidence that you have pursued the most rigorous option available to you. If your high school has few AP courses, but offers dual enrollment, then that is what you should be pursuing.
Even though the very top institutions will not accept your CC credits for transfer, many intermediate-level institutions will accept at least some of them, or will place you into a higher level course based on your CC credits. So when you do create your final application list, investigate each institution’s specific policy. Entering with AP and dual enrollment credits can result in having more options (early graduation, more flexible choice of classes, etc.).
You haven’t mentioned how your family is planning to pay for your education. Since you already have several on your short-list, ask your parents to help you run the Net Price Calculator at each institution’s website. If you learn that your parents can’t cover the estimated costs, then spend some time in the Financial Aid Forum reading through the threads on merit-based aid.