I’m currently a freshman in high school, and I’m thinking about doing dual enrollment next year where I take college classes instead of the AP or high school counterparts (my school offers it for every grade.) The books and classes are free, and I’ve been told that the college classes are easier than the AP ones. I was wondering if that’s true and if I should take the college classes. I would go to a different school or an actual college to do the classes, and I would basically be doing the college versions of high school classes so I would get college and high school credit for those classes. (Obviously the college versions would be harder than the regular Honors ones but I’ve been told that the college versions of the AP classes give less coursework and are just generally less rigorous.) I would only have to be in actual college for maybe a year or two to get a bachelor’s degree; every semester of dual enrollment counts as a semester of real college (for the specific classes I take at least) and I’d do dual enrollment for three years before my freshman year of college.
Also, in high school there is a 4 class requirement for each subject (4 science classes, 4 math classes, 4 English classes, but only 3 social studies) through high school in order to graduate but I’ll only have to take 2 of each if I do dual enrollment. I want to know what others think and if you think I should do it. Like what are the classes like in college and do you think they’re harder than AP classes or just if it’d be worth it.
Also, however many years of dual enrollment I do, that’s how many years of college I don’t have to take. If I started next year and went through the rest of high school doing dual enrollment, I would have a bachelor’s degree by the end of my college freshman year.
AP credit is often more likely to transfer because AP exams are standardized while college classes aren’t. I would recommend taking AP classes unless you want to take something that isn’t available through AP, like multivariable calculus.
This is only true if your credits transfer and you fulfill the requirements for a specific degree. In addition, many colleges require that you earn a certain number of credit hours “in residence.” For example, my school requires all students to earn at least 60 credit hours here (about two years’ worth of classes) in order to get a bachelor’s degree.
@halcyonheather is correct all around, and I totally agree with her advice.
Do you have potential colleges in mind for after you graduate high school? Potential majors? Have you looked to see their policies on transferring credits like either AP or community college? You may still have to do more years after you graduate than you are expecting before you obtain a bachelors degree. They don’t give them just for a certain number of overall credits or semesters of college work. You get a degree if you have the right number of credits (and specific courses) for different degrees. As mentioned in your other thread, colleges also expect you to complete a minimum numbers of credits from their college before they give you a degree from their college.
That said, I think state schools are generally more likely to give credit for both community college courses and AP courses. Private colleges can go either way and some give no credits but will place you in higher level classes instead.