My son is a junior at an early college high school, so he will graduate with his associate’s degree. His school is tiny, only 49 kids in his class, so he won’t be in the auto admit. He also wants Mays, which means we are in for a long wait next year. We are doing what we can to increase his rank, improve GPA, increase sat score, and practice for the upcoming psat.
When admissions looks at his application, will they consider Dual Credit courses similar to an honors class or an AP class? Or will his course rigor not be considered as tough as an AP class?
Do you have any recommendations for what he can do now as a Junior to help the process go smoother next year?
I am an Aggie and we recently took him and his girlfriend to midnight yell and a football game and they both fell in love. They toured Mays and several residence halls and have their hearts set on coming to college station.
Dual credit is college credit so yes it shows rigor. If he doesn’t have high test scores in order to get into mays, then he will have a hard time with so many college credits to change major later into Mays. If he has a 1400 plus and with a lot of DC with high GPA then that will help of course
Honestly, all dual enrollment is not created equally… so it depends on the DE. If taught by a high school teacher at a high school pace and backed up by test scores, then equal to AP. If it’s a 100s level class or higher taught in a semester by a professor, then it’s considered more rigorous and carries more weight than AP class work.
Yes and no. If the school doesn’t offer AP and DC is the highest level they can take, then it’s weighted the same regardless of who teaches it. Graded DC goes into a transfer GPA application. AP is irrelevant for transfers.
Yes I know we’re speaking of a freshman app at this point but I’m just trying to show DC gpa is relevant all the way around.
In terms of GPA, yes - but in terms of rigor a true college-level class is always given more weight. For example, if you have a student who took AP calcAB at a high school and another student who took CALC1 as DE, an ‘A’ in CALC1 is going to command a lot more attention and respect than even a 5 on an AP. But that CALC1 needs to be hosted by an accredited college/uni. Some high schools have arrangements with local colleges/universities for high level kids to take courses for credit as DE, which is almost always superior to AP in the eyes of admissions if it is a 100s level class or higher. That’s why I said it depends on the DE, as the OP asked about rigor.
His gpa at the end of sophomore year is 3.6 unweighted, 4.9 weighted. He currently has all A’s and will work hard to keep it throughout junior year.
His classes are taught in the high school by professors from Tarrant County College.
He has yet to take the SAT or ACT. He has had a prep course for the SAT and is working on taking the tests Khan Academy and the college board provide for practice. He sits for the PSAT in the next two weeks, so I want him to focus on that for now. I know if he can even achieve commended, it should be another feather in his cap to help push towards an earlier yes for admission.
Thanks for all the insight, you guys have helped me so much as I prepare him to get into the school he desires. I graduated with a Communication degree from A&M so I never really ran into such competition for admission.
@BPro agree- have a source?
Our district (very large 6A, super competitive) is a heavy AP district, DC isn’t even offered until senior year. The Top 6-10%ers absolutely take AP over DC.
Our 4.0 district weighs:
AP 5 pts, DC 4.5, Academic 4 pts.
DC is thru Houston Community College, AP provides far more consistent rigor.
Mays prefers AP over DC, especially for Stats. Those that come in with AP Stats do fine with taking Bus Stats vs those that took DC or didn’t take Stats at all.
Dual Credit definitely isn’t consistent, on an even playing field; some are taught truly as a college class, while many are laughably easy.
I agree Dual Credit is very inconsistent and often laughably easy when taught in the high school environment.
I spent years working as an academic professional in higher education for a large non-profit/association that provided me access to many admission counselors from many universities. I have 3 kids, 2 graduates of a highly ranked 6A school. Kiddo number 3 was a very unique case where she was ready for AP classes by the time she was 12yo but our large district’s policy wouldn’t allow AP access due to her age (so frustrating - another topic). Based on a great deal of advice and research we proceeded to enroll her as a DE student in university. I can tell you from personal experience, my older kid’s AP classes did not command as much respect as my youngest daughter’s DE. Don’t get me wrong… my older kids did very well and both were admitted to competitive schools with academic scholarships, but younger kiddo’s DE commanded A LOT more respect in admissions because they were high level from respected colleges/universities. On the other hand, middle kiddo took PLTW his senior year for DE through the 6A high school… meh… waste of time no one looked twice at it. That’s why I say it depends on the DE, where it was taken and at what level.
I think it’s also worth mentioning, once you pass the 4.0 marker, GPA and the nuances between 4.0-4.5-5.0 become less and less relevant. By that point the things beyond GPA such as rigor, focus, passion, etc, become far more attention getting than the numbers.
I want to clarify; nothing wrong with PLTW and might be great for others on an engineering path. He just decided to go finance/accounting, so it didn’t do much for him. In his case the AP classes stood out more than the PLTW.
@AggieFam06 as far as things your student can do, beside boost gpa and aim for high test scores, I’d plan on attending Aggieland Saturday this spring. It’s usually in February. Also schedule and take official A&M and Mays tours (not just walking around on your own-schedule official tours thru A&M).
If there’s a local A&M recruiter in your area, be sure your student gets to know them. Attend College Fairs and speak to the A&M reps, sign up at their table.
A&M doesn’t consider legacy, but they do take demonstrated interest into consideration. Do all of these prior to July…don’t wait until start of Senior year. And be ready to apply when application opens August 1.
I’d also get him signed up for multiple SAT and ACT tests between now and end of July. He will need a high score, to help offset not being close to Top Ten%. I think shooting for Commended is great…but reality might be difficult, if he hasn’t even taken a test prior. Just my $.02.
Did he qualify for Duke TIP in junior high?
When we went this past Labor Day weekend, we took the official tour offered by A&M. We did the Mays tour, the admission session with the admission’s officer who advised us to only submit a 1300 or higher SAT score, and visited several residence halls. How will they know he did this? I know we signed up with his full name and email, but it seems strange that they can link that with his application to consider it all.
I will definitely see if we can find the recruiter for our area. We are just north of Fort Worth so I imagine we will need to drive into town to find the recruiter.
He did not take the psat in middle school because we were living in Denmark at the time. He is a smart kid, but I would not say he’s 1500-1600 SAT smart. Based off his psat last year, I think he will be between 1300-1400.
Sounds like he should strive to raise his unweighted GPA, get the highest possible SAT score and take it at least twice before next summer is over, and to apply August 1. He should also show interest by attending Discover Aggieland and meeting with the recruiter. Anything else?
One last thing many admissions advisors told me and it definitely paid off - a million and one kids have high stats; you need a hook. For example, my oldest daughter wanted to attend a T20 engineering school (like A&M) to study environmental/civil engineering. Her ‘hook’ was environmental photography that she exhibited at a number of juried art shows. It not only got her accepted over kids with higher stats, but it also got her scholarship money because it showed creativity, depth, focus, and passion. She was accepted to every school to which she applied and was offered scholarships to most. Good luck!
If you’ve done official campus & Mays tour, it’ll be noted in their system. I believe they ask on application what (if any) he did to show interest.
Aggieland Saturday is great!
You should be able to google, to find area recruiter.
It won’t help for application standpoint, but I’d also suggest joining your local Aggie Club (if you aren’t a member already). Most Aggie Clubs offer speakers, scholarships for students, etc.
Has he taken a full practice test at home with the actual timimg? This might be really helpful for him to realize how long it is and the amount of concentration required. Students almost always do better with each additional test and I’d like to think a full test at home would be a great start.
I just made him sit down and do it this past Sunday. He got a 1240. I know I didn’t study in between and just taking the test a second time, I increased my score 90 points. I am hopeful that with studying and a few more practice tests, he can raise his test 150 or more points.
Thats great! And taking the practice tests at the same time of the day is helpful too, usually early morning. It will get him thinking about what to eat/drink before.
He took another practice test and got a 1330. His school offers a free SAT during the school day in March of 2024. Do you guys think having him take 1 practice SAT test a month until March will be helpful? Or reviewing the questions from his practice test? I have seen that aiming for a 1400 is better for those who are not auto-admits.
I think Khan Academy still has their SAT practice program. To see improvement, have him do practice questions every day(~10-15 minutes) alternating between Verbal and Math. Then 1 full length practice test a month.