I understand that dual credit courses and associate degree help with saving money and time in state schools but is it of any value for students who are aiming for top ranking colleges?
May depend on the level of the college courses. Are they:
- Remedial/developmental level (in a college context). I.e. similar to below-AP high school courses (e.g. intermediate algebra, precalculus).
- Frosh level. I.e. similar to what high school AP courses try to cover (e.g. single variable calculus).
- More advanced than frosh level. I.e. higher level than what high school AP courses try to cover (e.g. multivariable calculus or linear algebra)
I meant from admission and course credit point, what’s the advantage or disadvantage of doing regular high school with multiple AP’s or an IB diploma vs dual credit & associate degree?
Generally speaking, college credits taken at a college are the most readily transferable/creditable. It can vary widely from school to school. What credit you can get for AP and dual credit courses depends on each school. Cornell will not take dual credits that are taught at a high school, for example. I don’t think Dartmouth takes AP credits (I could be wrong here), but will take college credits.
From an admission point, if you are talking about course rigor, college classes may have a slight edge over AP, although it depends on the quality/reputation of your high school (for AP classes) or college you attended.
For course credit purposes, college credits earned AT a college through dual credit (or on your own after school or in the summers) are best.
It depends on your high school, and the college. If you go to a strong AP/IB high school that sends plenty of students to top colleges each year, dual enrolling won’t look as good. On the other hand, if you go to a weaker high school, dual enrolling will look better, because you are taking advantage of opportunities available to you (this is also true for students at stronger high schools, but to a MUCH lesser extent). The strength of the college also matters to a certain degree. CC < State School < Stronger Colleges.
As for transferring credit, public colleges generally take most credits. Private colleges tend to be a bit stingier, but it depends on the college. I know Princeton doesn’t take any dual enrollment credits, and I don’t think Yale does either, but I’ve heard of MIT taking credits. The most common wording I found on different colleges’ pages was “College courses taken to fulfill HS graduation requirements are not eligible for transfer credit”. Check with the college you want to go to first.
We have some districts that offer an early college program with local community colleges.