<p>Are they considered the same in terms of rigor and weight? Is one more impressive than the other? </p>
<p>If dual enrollment is all that is available, then they will more or less be the same. If you had the AP equivalent but chose not to take it, the AP would have been preferred just for its national uniformity.</p>
<p>According to Rice University admissions, they consider dual enrollment about the same level as an honors class with AP and IB being the gold standard. If the dual enrollment is from a major university or college, that would be different but your average community college or state college will not be rated highly.</p>
<p>foolish is foolish…
It depends on the level of the class.
Generally speaking, the best proof of college success (what many colleges try to ascertain) is (surprisingly!) success at the college level.
So between an AP class (college level at high school pace, so, spread out over 1 year) and college class, even community college (college level at college pace, ie., over just one semester - at least twice faster than high school), if the classes are “on level”, a combination is good, ie. 1-2 dual enrollement + 1-3 AP classes; complete dual enrollment looks especially impressive if you can handle it.
So, no difference between doing Calc1 and Calc2 over a year at community college, or Calc BC in high school as far as admission officers go (but a difference for you: scheduling, getting to the campus, being surrounded by older students, more autonomy/less hand holding and opportunities to “make up” a bad grade…)
Where it gets interesting for you and admission officers, is when you take the <em>next</em> class that the “on level” class (ie: the class after Calc BC or Calc1+2) – if one is offered (the community college near where I used to live only offered Calc1 and only once a year, because the demand was for remedial algebra, and up to precalculus which was “advanced”. So that wouldn’t have been good for you… Check the local offerings in the subjects you’re advanced in.) Say you took Calc BC in high school OR Calc1 and Calc2 at community college as a junior (doesn’t matter). It gets really good for you if you can handle calc3, linear algebra, etc. - classes above what AP covers. Same thing for history; if you’ve taken 2 of the 3 AP history classes and/or the frosh history seminar then can get into a post-introductory class or even can get into a sophomore-level history class (that will depend on the college and the strength of the history dept), that would look better. Same thing with foreign language (foreign languages in college are very intense, which is why going to the highest you can while in high school is the best if you’re not a “language person”: 2 years of HS language packed in 1 semester for 2-3 semesters) - if your local college offers advanced language classes that you can test into, it’ll definitely look intriguing to college admissions because so few students have that mastery.
ALL of this, of course, assumes you can get a B or higher in these classes. Don’t take a class where you could get a C, just for the sake of impressing Admissions. A C isn’t very impressive anyway. 
Depending on the college, a C can get rescinded or can get you dangerously close to (and no one’s impressed with a string of C’s in college classes - remember the argument of “predicting college success”? They don’t want to admit a student who’ll have a bunch of C’s or, if their college is harder, will flunk out. They want to see B+'s and higher.)</p>
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<p>OK yes. But how many college students are taking 6-7-8 classes at once, as high school students do?</p>
<p>In our locale, dual enrollment courses tend to be much easier than AP courses. In fact, because dual enrollment and AP are weighted equally, a lot of students at D’s HS take dual enrollment to boost their GPA and class rank. I always assumed that adcoms considered the AP classes superior, and I advised D not to do dual enrollment. Umm…perhaps that was a strategic error on my part. </p>
<p>I think it really will depend on the college. I doubt there is a universal thought comparing AP to dual enrollment, except that both will be more rigorous than regular HS courses.</p>
<p>There’s no universal thought indeed. Typically, a student from a high performing high school would be considered competitive at the most selective colleges with 6 to 8 APs and a couple dual enrollment classes (keeping in mind it would not be for credit, only to demonstrate ability to follow the pace and perhaps get more opportunities such as an extra recommendation from a professor, participate in projects, etc.), and especially classes above the “AP level equivalent” - ie., classes that are more advanced than AP in one subject (or two) in which the student is especially interested. This would cover ALL the bases. 
Piling up AP’s is not as impressive as establishing a consistent, reasonned plan with the different types of classes, so that there’s a clear profile emerging.</p>
<p>This is exactly why I have a problem with weighting of dual enrollment college classes. They should not be included in rank or GPA. I know of a kid who took a summer term anatomy course which was online and supposedly included lab. The teacher told them at the beginning that because it was a summer class they could only cover about 80% of the material. They had three tests which were online and open book and two labs. Lab # 1 they learned how to use a microscope and lab # 2 they played with plastic bones. Since it was a science with a lab component it counted as two high school semesters which made it a 5.0 "A"for each semester. The counter part at the high school was an honors course taught by an amazing teacher who really challenged the kids and had detailed and interesting labs throughout the year. Because it was only an honors course , it was weighted a 4.5. Who received the better education??</p>
<p>What about 15+ dual enrolment classes through out high school?</p>
<p>@Saismom – I just have to point out that you are referencing an online class – which honestly is not the same, imo, as attending a traditional college course as a DE student. I recently earned an AA at the same CCC that my kids attend as DE students, so I am personally aware of the quality of the coursework and it is significantly more intensive, and educational than what you described. The reality is, the quality of the course, whether AP or DE depends a lot on the quality of the instructor. </p>
<p>I’ve done some DE classes in lieu of typical AP sciences and I found them more intense and faster paced. the AP classes at my school are a joke when in comparison.</p>
<p>Actually the course was a “hybrid” since it was during the summer. The kids attended class but the tests were online and the labs were in person. Again, some schools will differ of course but the rule of thumb in our area is “dual enroll; it is the easiest way to pad your GPA”. Teachers in our school district are monetarily rewarded with every passing AP grade of a 3, 4, or 5 and the school pays for all AP testing. If an AP course is found to have a low pass rate, they dump it. These teachers challenge their students with summer work, after school DBQ practices, multiple practice AP exams etc… They want those kids to pass the exams and those weighted grades are earned! There is a kid who ranks number 1/500 and he has spent hardly any time at the actual high school for the past two years and of course has very little contribution to the overall school body yet he will speak at graduation supposedly representing his peers? Dual enrollment is abused in our area and most of the classes that would have a high school AP equivalent are quite easy. Even our Algebra 2 honors was extremely challenging compared to the College Algebra some take for dual enrollment.</p>