I’m a rising junior set to take dual credit at a local community college this fall, however lately I have been having doubts over whether choosing dual credit over taking AP classes was worth it. I was wondering that, to college, which one of these two is better on applications/is more challenging.
It really depends on the college. AP is a nationwide (world wide) evaluation so the college knows that a 4 on an AP exam in NJ is the same as one taken in Oregon. DE is more subjective and some colleges will take the course as a transfer while others won’t. If you are staying instate for college, it is likely your 4 year college will accept the credits from the DE/community college.
DE is also (almost) a sure thing. Take and pass the class, you’ll get the credits For AP credit, you have to score a certain level on the AP exam. My daughter wishes she would have taken DE for English and writing and she wouldn’t have had to take it in college.
College courses taken while in high school and their grades do count for pre-med or pre-law purposes. So if that is your goal, A or A+ grades in such courses give you a head start on a good college GPA, but lower grades can be harmful.
DE is almost a sure thing for in-state publics. It’s less of a sure thing for OOS publics, and is far from a sure thing for privates.
From a rigor perspective, they are equivalent, in general. But as mentioned, AP, with a standardized curriculum, is a known commodity. A DE course rigor/content will vary by college.
Personally, unless you know you will attend the state flagship and want to rack up credits, AP is probably the better way to go for similar courses. DE is fine if you’ve exhausted the HS curriculum in the subject and there is no AP alternative, keeping in mind that DE grades will follow you for GPA calculations for med school (and some other professional schools).
AP vs Dual Enrollment
AP
- AP tests are well known nationally and are uniform across the nation
- You can look on any college’s website and see what credit you will get for what scores on the AP tests
- AP Courses are given at your High School
DE - There are more of a variety of DE courses available at a CC. If you have exhausted, say, the Math offerings at your HS, then you could take Multivariable Calculus at your CC.
- DE courses will count for your college GPA for Med school and other professional school purposes…make sure to do well. Also when you apply to college you have to tell them about any college courses you have taken.
- Private and Out of State Colleges may or may not give you credit. They may not give credit for courses taken to fulfill HS requirements. You do not know what credit you can get ahead of time.
- Public In-state schools will give you credit for DE courses. You may be able to get up to 2 years of credits.
- DE classes may be taken at the local Community College…how will transportation work?
- For DE classes, the “grade” doesn’t rely on one test on one day but over a whole semester.
In my daughter’s experience with de after talking to tons of admissions at her high school, dual enrollment college, randomly calling calling admisisons, speaking to tons at college fairs etc my daughter found that the vast majority of schools (public, private, instate and out of state) we talked to (I also talked to some schools before I allowed her to switch to just de) put de on the same par as AP and IB for admission purposes. They base it more of the class then if it is AP or DE. For instance AP World History would be considered higher than de basket weaving but they would consider AP World and DE World history the same.
If your concerned with how DE classes will transfer you need to look at each school individually. Several schools have a list of classes they have accepted from various schools often found on the transfer section. It might be called transfer equivalency, transfer calculator etc. Also look up the website section on dual enrollment classes. Some will say that although they accept transfer credits from college students they don’t accept them from high school students or accept them in a limited way. For instance there are schools that accept DE classes only if taught on a college campus and part of the typical college student courses to chose from but will not accept de classes taught at a high school even if it is considered a de class. However we found the majority of schools accepted transfer credits that match classes they offer and not remedial classes. So taking the history of rock and roll may be an interesting class and college level likely won’t transfer unless you go to a college that also offers that.
As to how transfer credits work - they might give you credit for classes then your exempt from taking those classes, they may give you credit but you still need to take a higher level class, they may give you elective credit which you may have no need for, or they may not give you credit. That is not usually finalized until after matriculation. One tip is to save all your de syllabi since schools may ask for them. This assumes you have the minimum grade the school is looking for which can vary but usually a C or C plus grade in a class.
If your doing de at a community college and you apply to a school that is familiar with the cc the college has a good feel for the rigor of the classes offered. That might vary on where you go to school as to the reputation it has. Your high school guidance counselor may be able to check ahead of time for you by talking to a high school rep for the college your interested in. Some schools have great reputations and have professors that also teach at other well known schools and use the same textbook, tests, syllabi etc
What I can tell you is my daughter did not apply to ivy league or very top level schools because they weren’t the schools she was interested in. She got accepted into all the schools she applied to and in the end. She received full credit for all her classes at a private school though some are free electives she doesn’t need. Credit wise she started out as a freshman with junior credit standing. We are taking it semester by semester but it is looking like she will graduate in 3 years with a double major, two grad classes, and completion of the honors program. Most of all she is loving the school she is at and if it weren’t for the money savings would more than willingly go all 4 years.
Basically I find that neither AP/DE/IB are automatically better or worse. If your doing all de classes on a college campus (and no high school classes) it takes independence and discipline. It isn’t for all students but that doesn’t mean it isn’t for you. I’m sure you already gave that a lot of thought and made the right decision for you.
To your specific question about admissions, I would agree with the above that they are equivalent for admissions purposes.
Credit/placement/etc. after admissions is very school specific. My D took AP/DE Physics - she could choose whether to get University of Pittsburgh credit (had to take 3 additional exams), take the AP test, or both. The Pitt course transferred to generic credits at her college. An AP 1 or 2 would have earned nothing, a 3 or 4 would have earned the same generic credits, and a 5 would earn credit/placement out of required Freshman Engineering Physics. So quite a mixed bag or the choice.