Hello there! Does anyone have any advice on what would be best for my rising sophomore to do over the summer in terms of college classes? As in, community college vs 4-year college course vs summer programs specifically for high school? It seems like the last one is just a huge money maker and online, not really that worthwhile. TIA and be well!
Specifically for community college classes, remember that mostly everything is going to be online, and if your child fails, they will need to retake the class. Make sure that your child will be able to do well before signing up for classes. Also remember that since it will be a summer class, it will only be 8 weeks compared to the 15 or so weeks if you signed up for fall, winter, or spring. So it’s the same content in half the amount of time.
Otherwise, if your child is just looking for some fun, they should sign up for a class they like. If your child is looking to get ahead, then depending on which subject they want to get ahead in, sign up for a class that 1) they meet the prerequisites for, and 2) allows them to learn more about that particular subject.
I wanted to get ahead in math last year, so I signed up for a dual enrollment Differential Equations class during my fall semester. I got a B (80%), but it was very difficult, and I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do well if I did it in summer, since I wouldn’t have had enough time to study and practice.
Ass the poster above said, you have to be real careful about summer classes. Some of them are 4x the speed of a normal HS class. Also, the grade sticks forever. What type of class would they have the background to take?
Current high school 9th grader? Remember that no matter what the grade is it will need to be submitted to college when applying in the future (save syllabi as well). It will also be looked at in the future when applying to grad school, medical school etc.
In terms of using it for credit in high school - check with your high school that is their call.
In terms of credit for college - there are zero guarantees and you need to check with the colleges individually. If you continue there chances are the credit will be used. If you go else where it is the college’s decision. You can expect
1 .no credit
2. credit given exempt from a requirement
3 class used to advance but not to exempt from a requirement
4 free elective credit which may not ever be needed
Some kids can handle the condensed time. Some kids can handle it but would rather not (mine have no interest since they like doing fun stuff too) and for some it is just too hard.
thanks all for the great feedback!
Why take a college course? Is it to have an activity to do over the summer?
If so, unless your child is already in CalcBC I would not do that. As others mention, this class will be on their college transcript and will be noted for college applications and future graduate schools. This would be their first college class and would be 2-4 times as fast as a normal class. I would not suggest this.
But could they take some other type of class that is not for credit? A foreign language course where they could test out of the next class in HS? A class for fun?
Colleges want you to do something productive over the summer…summer programs for HS can be good in that they learn about a topic and meet new people. Volunteering is good…working…babysitting.
Is he beyond the highest level offered in high school in math or a foreign language?