My DD is taking a couple of dual enrollment classes at State Flagship University.
This has been a great experience for her in so many ways. She has learned the difference between a high school and s college class. AP’s are not taught at even close to the same level. She taking Macroeconomics and one of her friends is taking it AP. Not even close.
Biggest + is that I’m able to guide her through the process a bit. She thought it was a bit extreme to start studying a full week before her first exam. She listened to my advice and studied “much more than she needed to”. After the test, she told me that she was very glad she didn’t studying like she initially wanted to.
I was not a proponent of dual enrollment at CC but if your child has the opportunity to take hard college classes at a great school, strongly consider it.
DE varies widely school to school. My S19 has taken 5 DE classes and 5 AP classes. They’re pretty much the same. He takes his DE classes at his high school & they are taught by his high school teachers. Only difference is they are affiliated w/ a state school & the tests are approved by that state school. There was also a very quick application process for his DE classes. But my nieces in another state had a very different DE experience. Whatever the set up, I still think they’re great for showing strength of schedule.
I agree DE classes can be a wonderful experience; they can build the studen’t’s confidence & reduce anxiety about the unknowns of college, in addition to saving time & money.
But, make sure you check the policies of your kid’s prospective colleges on accepting DE classes for credit. Every college has a different policy, but from what I recall of my kids’ colleges, many did not accept DE classes if they were taught at a high school or by high school teachers with primarily high school students in the classes. Some colleges also limit the number of total DE credits they will accept for each student. Also, some elite colleges will accept classes from 4-year colleges, but not from 2-year colleges, and a lot of colleges wouldn’t take classes if they had counted towards the student’s high school graduation. Lots of variables…also be aware that each college has its own policy on AP credits as well.
It must vary. Our S found his AP classes much more challenging than the DE work load. In fact he complained that we should have let him take more DE which would have earned him easy weighted GPA points. He took 4 or 5 (I forget) DE’s and they were his easiest classes by far. He did like commuting to the CC and having lunch in the city so it was a good experience from that perspective.
Dual enrollment can also become part of your college transcript and not just HS transcript so make sure your kid takes classes that they can get decent grades in.
Our eldest did full-time CC dual enrollment and it was an excellent experience. We have some of the best CC’s in the country in our area. She continued to thrive at the university and graduated in may. Middle did dual enrollment through a local university and it was also a great experience. I wish he’d had opportunity to replace more than HS math classes instead of the courses being “extra” but still a good experience. I pretty much think it’s a good idea in most forms.
Our son also did some DE in HS. He attended a CC that is affiliated with out state flagship. All his credits transferred towards his major because he took the coursework to his dean and got it accepted
D took several DE classes at the local CC, which has an excellent reputation. Our AP/IB classes are generally taught by the best teachers. Her experience was comparable between AP/IB and DE. I don’t think one is categorically better than the other. It will depend on the school. Both prepared my D well for college.
I didn’t know that grades for classes receiving HS credit could also be used (in some cases?) by colleges. I see that this received 4 “agrees”, so I’m assuming it must be true.
@damon30
Although it’s been a while, S took a 6/8(?) week DE summer class (History of Cinema). Most of time was spent watching classic films starting in 30s. This class satisfied his hs’s one year fine arts req, his UC admission fine arts req, his UC’s GE fine arts req, and as all colleges grades taken, even in hs, must be reported when one applies to med school, the grade he earned was used in calculating his med school application GPA. S got a lot of mileage out of this course. Loved the course, still likes to actively participate in movie discussions.
@damon30 My nieces got credit and if my S had gone to any of the state schools here, would have as well. It really does depend on not only the high school, but the college as well. One of my nieces absolutely loved a school, but they accepted almost none of her credits but a school 30 minutes away accepted almost all. Just depends.
@damon30 Most of the time colleges won’t use DE grades in their GPA calculations but, some graduate school programs do. This is especially true for med school. I believe law school as well.
@ChaosParent23 Right, thanks, the undergraduate credit part was what I understood. @Jugulator20 and @momofsenior1 clarified that the grades themselves could be used later on for grad schools, med school, law school, etc.
DE/IB/AP are all good options. Best advice is to consider the student’s possible future career and possible colleges under consideration to attend. Search each college website to understand how they will credit your child for taking these college courses, and how they will calculate each of these 3 extra credit type courses for college GPA purposes.
Some more elite colleges will not give DE credit for online courses. So check it out beforehand, and make your choice for online DE knowing how your potential colleges will handle them.
Some colleges will give both a HS GPA boost for taking them AND use them to calculate college GPA, others have more strict methods of handling them. These courses are still beneficial, as they strengthen the student and better prepare them for the college level work. You just have to accept that the college credit for every course may not happen.
DD is taking her third DE class now, and it has been a wonderful experience for her. We don’t care if she gets college credit or not, although it is guaranteed if she attends a state school. I don’t have to pay extra for the DE classes either.
We were not informed prior to enrollment that grades could go on her college transcript, follow her on grad school applications, or that a grade below C would eliminate her chances of financial aid at a state school. We found out soon after the class started. It wasn’t an issue, though. She did great. Occasionally I do read posts from students here on CC that they did not do so well in their DE class and did not realize the ramifications, and I always feel bad for them.
Community college is still college. (But maybe less so in the case of nominally college courses taught in the high school by high school teachers to mostly or all high school students.)