<p>S13 has decided to attend the Running Start program at our local cc rather than stay at the HS for his last two years. He's quite mature, straight A student and has not ever been caught up in the HS scene although he has lots of friends. He is involved in sports and will remain so. He'll graduate with a HS diploma and an AA/transfer degree. He will then go to (most likely) the state flaghship to study engineering or chemistry. Does anyone have experience with these types of programs? We are in Washington State. Thanks!</p>
<p>Take a look at the credit policies of the colleges where he wants to attend. Most will accept a class taken inside a community college. (In comparison, many selective colleges will not give credit for a dual enrollment class taken inside a high school).</p>
<p>I generally agree with charlieschm except it has been my experience in the northeast that many private colleges and out-of-state publics won’t accept some or all dual enrollment courses, whether they are taken in the HS or the CC.</p>
<p>On the other hand, your son should have no problem transferring credits from the CC to your state flagship. Still worth double checking but I think you should be good to go.</p>
<p>University of Washington conveniently has a [course</a> equivalency guide](<a href=“http://admit.washington.edu/Requirements/Transfer/Plan/EquivalencyGuide]course”>http://admit.washington.edu/Requirements/Transfer/Plan/EquivalencyGuide) for courses taken at Washington community colleges.</p>
<p>It would be best to check the freshman and sophomore course requirements for the desired majors at the desired universities and take community college courses that match up with those requirements. Be careful if the university and community college are on different semester versus quarter systems – if that is the case, then the student needs to be sure that, when taking sequences of courses (as is common in subjects like math, physics, and chemistry), to take enough of the sequence (typically two semesters or three quarters) to avoid partial credit requiring partially repeating some courses.</p>
<p>Note that engineering (including chemical engineering) has much better job and career prospects than chemistry.</p>
<p>Someone in admissions at the community college should be able to tell you about the articulation agreements that it has with universities. This is different at every school and can even vary based on the major. </p>
<p>For example, my local CC has an articulation agreement with Cornell but only for those in a specific major. </p>
<p>BTW, my kids have all taken cc classes while still in high school. All earned credits transferred in their case. YMMV so it’s always best to check with college.</p>
<p>Since he plans on attending the Udub after graduation, Running Start is a great option. The community colleges where I did Running Start were generally very knowledgeable about which courses fulfill UW requirements. If you lived close to Western, Central, Eastern, or Wazzu, he could take classes at any of those schools as a Running Start student. Otherwise, I would just select whatever CC is closest to you and offers the classes he needs. He should submit his Running Start paperwork now.</p>
<p>I’m a big fan of the Running Start program, especially since a student can also take AP courses at the high school, so they can finish their degree quicker. While the program is excellent for students planning on attending schools in WA, remember that they can still attend schools outside of WA. I’m attending an OOS public university and all of my credits transferred. Since my school has more generous AP/IB/CLEP policies than the CC or UW, I was a senior by credits starting my second semester.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! We are being very mindful of scheduling with respect to choosing classes that fulfill the HS requirements, general university ed requirements and major requirements. We are not near a 4-year university, but the cc is pretty sizeable.</p>
<p>FYI for others reading this thread:
- UW engineering requires 4 years from the start of the calculus sequence so he will still have 3 years once he transfers.
- Here in WA an AA “transfer degree” transfers credits far better than random cc classes (according to those that have gone before us). His school has very few APs so we told him the decision was his, but if he chose Running Start it should be full time so as to get that transfer degree.</p>
<p>Anyone have any insight as to how kids fair socially in these programs?</p>