My daughter will be senior next year and was considering taking classes through dual enrollment through CC (in registration process now). Here is the problem - to finish her program in HS, she needs to have 8 classes (really nobody cares what these classes are). To finish HS in general she needs only 2 classes one math and one English (Each student need to take English and Math each year.) It looks that some colleges from her list do not favor dual enrollment.
She was interested to get college credits for classes beyond AP. However, if she will take 2 classes each semester on top of 8 useless classes in school that would be impossible.
CaseWestern, Boston Univ, some convoluted rules - They will not give credits for classes if they counted for HS graduation. I am not sure what that means. Does it mean not appear on transcript? Or if class was not required for graduation but appear on transcript it is still fine?
What should we do? Count flies for Senior year with 8 useless classes?
Take extra PE, extra Chorus, Honor English 12 (After AP Lan in Junior year), AP Chem (this is at least double credit) and some other feeler honor classes? Not AP or Honor classes will tank GPA.
Was planning to take MV Calc , some advanced physics, Differential Eq, and advanced English…
Another idea is to take MV Calc in both places :). Online at CC and in school. That would be double HW for the same concepts. She will be expert…
Any suggestions?
@momsearcheng, what science and social sciences classes has she taken the first three years? Most colleges expect four years of English, math, science and social science. Does your school offer AP Gov/Econ? What about AP Physics, has your daughter taken that already?
Already did AP Gov, Ap Stat, AP Calc BC. AP Physics C, AP Econ…
Will be Engineering major…
Will take AP Chemistry. The rest is totally useless. Not interested in humanities.
If this isn’t a new dual-enrollment program, the hgih school guidance counselor should be able to help sort out how best to complete the HS graduation requirements. From what you write, it isn’t clear if she needs 8 one-semester classes or 8 two-semester classes. 8 two-semester classes is a full oad. Adding on extra DE classes probably would be a very bad idea indeed. Replacing two HS classes each semester with DE classes would still be a pretty tough schedule, but might be workable.
Some colleges do not award credit for DE classes. Some do. In either case, when she applies to college she will need to send official copies of her transcripts from both her high school and the CC. If she takes an online class from a college or online high school, she will have to send that transcript too. That is what is needed for admission. Once she has been accepted and decides where she will attend college, she will need to send copies of all of her final transcripts. At that point, even if the college does not award transfer credit for the DE classes, she still might be eligible for advanced placement into a higher-level course, or she might be exempted from a specific graduation requirement and be able to take more electives while in college. This also can be true for AP and CLEP exam results.
Most math departments have their own placement exams for students who have taken math classes at other colleges. So she doesn’t need to wonder if her CC MV or DiffEq isn’t good enough. She will take the placement test and find out if she needs to repeat at the new college.
Consider your daughter’s entire application list. What is the policy at the in-state public university that is her likely admissions safety? How much credit can she get there for her AP exams and for DE? That is the standard you should consider. There is no guarantee she will be admitted at the other places you mention.
Her CC transcripts will follow her for the rest of her life, so she should think carefully before committing to DE or online classes. Many HS students don’t do as well in their CC classes as they had expected, or get overloaded and neglect to drop them within the drop-add period, and end up with grades they aren’t happy about. She will need to send her CC transcript whenever she applies to a degree program or for a job that requires all of her college-level transcripts.
If I were you, I’d rethink the lack of interest in lit/humanities courses. Why not AP Eng Lit next year? AP History? Foreign lang? And perhaps just take MV calc at the local college?
Look up college Engineering curriculum, and a strong AP score would enable her to pass out of teh college requirement for lit/hume. For example, a 4/5 will earn credit from BU engineering.
Why not take the lit/hume courses in HS and have more electives available in college?
I agree with @bluebayou, taking humanities in HS and getting college credit might be a good strategy for a STEM kid to avoid taking humanities in college and compete with kids who are actually focused (and therefore might be better) in the subject than the techies. My daughter was in exactly reverse situation - she is a humanities kid to the core, and wouldn’t touch AP science with a nine foot pole (except AP Bio, senior year, when grades don’t matter as much). But she knows she’d have to take science in college with STEM kids, and that might just sink her GPA. She took a couple of science classes as DE in 10/11 grades, did well in those, and hopes never to take another science class again. Maybe your daughter should similarly take care of those pesky GE requirements in subjects she disliked while still in HS?
What about summer school? My kid took summer between junior and senior to cut down on classes (math). Also, he took English DE online via the school system linked with the CC (English). If engineering I highly recommend looking at state schools. We went from private to state (Michigan state eldest kid and Penn state second kid) after seeing the facilities they had compared to BU
My guess is your child needs 4 credits to graduate high school assuming each high school course is 1/2 credit per semester. So a year long english class would be 1 full credit.
Where we live all classes taken via dual enrollment are on the high school transcript. The college forwards the transcript to the hs. These courses replace a hs graduation requirement and were approved in advance by the hs. A semester of multivariable calculus would be one credit not a 1/2 credit. Your school district may be different but that is how it works here.
I wouldnt worry about what colleges will accept for credit. Don’t overdo senior year with a killer schedule especially spring semester. Also keep in mind hs schedule can conflict with cc schedule. They are far less forgiving of illness and the like.
Program requires 8 credits = 8 subjects each quarter= 1/2 credit for all years of HS. Dual enrollment class replaces 1 credit for the whole year. 1 Semester of MV at CC = 1 credit, not 1/2 credit in our system. I do not see reason for summer school - she does internship. What is the benefit, get college courses ahead of time? She can’t do MV Calc or DE during summer, because AP Calc BC results will not be available until July…
Also CC classes are not free - if no credit will be given , why to pay for it?
She is chasing merit money. Merit money most likely will come from private schools on her list (not public). All private from her list give credits for dual enrollment classes only if they are not on HS transcript ( I need to check, but that is what it looks like)
Both public on her list will count dual enrollment - no problem. However OOS public is too expensive (will not give money), and in state school is on the bottom of her list, but is OK. She can pick her nose all next year and still will get in the in-state school with her current stats.
She already has all humanities taken for HS graduation requirements. She hates pure memorization of dates, so did not got for AP History. Both public schools on the list give only one credit for AP Lang or AP Literature. Taking AP Lit will be pointless. She can do AP Geography but again several schools on the list do not give credit for it.
Happymomof1@,I have never heard about job that would ask for transcript from all colleges that you ever attended. Not my experience ( I have attended 3 in my life - never showed first two to any of my employers.)
All transfer classes are only credit not grade on final school transcript.
Credit by examination is very risky business. That one will stay on your school transcript. In addition, all programs are always a bit different. I would not recommend anyone to do college by examination credit. (You can easily get a C there.)
CLEP is out of picture, not available for any classes that she wanted to take, plus taken only in our in-state public.
Will your school accept statistics as a math course from your local CC? That can be taken without waiting for ap results.
We chased merit and did dual enrollment and ap. There are state schools which hand out merit money and take those dual enrollment credits. Look in the south at the public universities who give merit funds. Most schools public and private will only give one credit for an ap english course so you are better off with dual enrollment.
So if your child takes four classes per semester at your local cc that would satisfy these eight classes, correct? If the school district pays I would go that route as it shaves a year off college at your instate option.
Do you think colleges will look favorably at something like this:
Senior year
School transcript
AP Chem - double period
Diff Equations (community college) - taken 1st semester
Some US History (community college) - online, done during one month winter semester
Some honor class in school (Engineering)
Chorus
English (may be non-honor if schedule will not align)
PE
Not on transcript - CC
Multi-variable Calc (taken 2nd semester)
Statics (taken 1st semester.)
That is 4 CC classes, with a bit lame school load of 8 classes - possibly 3 non- honor.
Since only first semester will be evaluated, it should not tank weighted GPA too much.
Will have two exams in 1st semester (DE and Satics)
Will have 2 exams in 2nd semester (MV, AP Chem)
1 exam during winter quarter - History.
Another option some fast speed English during winter quarter in CC. I am afraid that would be too much.
Should explanation in application that some classes in school were taken non- honor to allow CC schedule.
What do you think? This 8 classes in school with 4 CC advanced classes.
^^ Student already did Chorus and PE prior in HS. Whould be just extra PE (different flavor) plus Chorus 2 (she loves to sign :))
Scubadive@, she already did AP Statistics (did not take AP exam, since it gives her nothing). She will need to take Calc based Stat for her major.
Of course she can take in school Quantitive literacy online, but I am not sure how it would fly :). That would be total joke on Transcript. Even extra PE is better.
No, we have to pay for all CC classes. I think it is about $500 per class with all fees.
If you are looking at state schools GPA and SAT/ACT are what sets the merit, the schedule is fine. If you were going IVy you want more AP’s.
My eldest senior year schedule at local university after taking 7 ap’s in hs and got into GT, UGA, Miami in Fl, Miami in Ohio, Alabama, clemson. TCU, Baylor, FSU, Tulsa, Accepted to all honors and received merit money at all schools out of state. Alabama full tuition plus more. Tulsa was full tuition as well. Miami just shy of full tuition. Didn’t get into Tulane but didnt want to go and never sent first semester grades. We are instate in GA
Chem 1 and 2 plus lab
Two semesters english
Multivariable
Spanish
Political science
Economics
My child wanted only wanted big schools in south.
Scubadive@ did you missed that she would have 8 classes on school transcript (with 2 CC credits - Differential Equation and History) plus 2 CC classes not on transcript taken during the same year.
She is not interested in foreign languages. She has 3 years of French plus Seal of biliteracy in her another “native” language. She already has to AP Econs, AP Physics C, AP Calc BC, AP Stat, and AP Lang, AP Gov, AP CS A.
We are not interested in Ivys at all. She wants Biomedical Engineering/Bioengineering major.
Target schools: GaTech, Boston U, Case Western, Northeastern, UMD (in state). Reach is Rice.
The only other APs available in school are: AP Biology, AP History, AP World History, AP Psychology, AP Geography.
From list above, the only remotely appealing course for her is AP Geography.
I cannot imagine somebody to consider Statics (this is physics), MV calculus, Differential Equations and History at CC on top of AP Chemistry as non-challenging schedule.
I agree with you. I was just saying elite privates tend to prefer ap’s. My point was I think your child’s schedule is fine. I know what all these classes are.
I am curious as to why no biology if she wants biomedical engineering.
And by the way GT essays are really important especially related to service.
Scubadive@ biomed students usually have their own Biology. She would not get any credit for AP Bio.
Be careful on this. The higher ranked schools tend to have more restrictions. My boys were accepted into a number of schools below the Ivy league level, probably 40-100 in overall rankings nationwide combining LAC’s and Universities. The key for them was that the dual enrollment had to be taught on a college campus and by faculty of the college. We were lucky in that a local university had a site in our county which they taught the courses. These schools also would only accept credits above and beyond those required to graduate. We know from other kids, that other schools including some good schools like Pitt accepted all the credits. It really is a school by school proposition. One of the schools that one of my son’s got accepted at would only accept the credit if less than 20% of the students were high school kids. The college thing about AP’s is absolutely ridiculous and I think a case of each group College Board and the schools rubbing each others backs. The AP classes my kids took, were taught by high school teachers, some of them qualified some not so qualified to be teaching those classes while the college course were taught by university faculty and in most kid’s estimation these were tougher than their AP classes.
@momsearcheng - When Happydad applied for a federal job, he needed all of his transcripts. That might be position or agency-specific. But certainly when applying for any degree program she will have to send all the transcripts. I almost got booted from a grad program because of a missing 30+ year old transcript for a summer course. Really, there is no reason for her to take any more classes than needed to graduate from her HS. Six regular classes there plus two DE are more than enough. And since those DE transcripts are forever (while no one cares about HS transcripts once you’ve finished college), she does need to be certain that she really is ready for, and wants to take, those DE classes.
What does her guidance counselor say about all of this? From what you have written, it looks like she is at a pretty high-powered HS. Normally the guidance counselors at those schools really know their business, and are good at helping the students develop good academic plans. Don’t feel that you need to do this all on your own.
What about UMBC? Lots of students I know hated UMUC, but were really happy at UMBC.
Whether she does or does not get credit for ap or dual enrollment it just lines up with her interest.