Hey there,
My DS has been in UA Early College since last fall, and I wish we’d discovered it earlier. I’m not an expert, but I’ll share what I know.
- you earn actual college credit. This may shorten your time in college, depending on what you take and how many courses, but maybe just as important, it will give you experience with college curriculum. Yes, you can also get that with AP coursework in high school, or community college, but with EC you benefit from being (at least tangetially) part of a university environment.
- required for admission into EC is the course UAEC 200, which is quite simply a course on how to be a college student. It’s 2 credits, but was very valuable for my son to recognize the skills he’ll need in college (that haven’t been that necessary in high school).
Yes, though I can’t say that there is more than you’d get taking any other college-level coursework. The help would be having college credit (and grades for those credits) on your application, demonstrating college readiness and academic performance. I don’t honestly know if UA Admissions would give any preference to EC students over students with college credit earned elsewhere. My son also had credit from the U of Minnesota on his transcript, so I can’t say.
Also, depending on your high school, you might be eligible to have those credits reported as dual-enrollment, meaning they would impact your high school GPA. If your school has a weighted GPA, that can help. Rules on that vary wildly, though, so check with your guidance counselor.
Costs for distance learning (online classes) are currently $339 per credit hour for all students, OOS or IS. This is much lower than OOS cost on-campus (~$1,000 per credit, give or take). Last year, if you met certain academic requirements (3.5 GPA), this tuition was reduced a further 25%. The website currently isn’t specific on details, but I’d be surprised if that’s changed much, or at all.
Additionally, and this is less well-known but worth mentioning, if you plan on doing EC for several courses, your parents can get a $25 book scholarship by joining the Alumni Association. It has more than paid for itself in our case.
That would depend more on the school you attend than Alabama. Some schools are reluctant to accept outside credits. However, Alabama’s curriculum is inline with most other state flagships. https://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/index.htm might help you review that. Honestly, the initial (and required) course UAEC 200 might be the one least likely to transfer, as it really is more of a “how to be a college student” course than actual college curriculum.
As mentioned above, last year, a GPA of 3.5 earned a 25% reduction from the distance learning rate (which is already significantly lower). This is the partial scholarship they are talking about. There would not be any scholarship resulting from Early College that would be forwarded on into UA undergrad, though.
Yep, it’s too late. Typically, you have to get accepted, and then complete the UAEC 200 course (online). Per http://uaearlycollege.ua.edu/online/calendar.php , the next UAEC 200 course starts July 19th. After that, you can take course online in the fall and spring semesters, and then participate on-campus next summer. Don’t overload your senior year, but I think you’ll find college courses more challenging and exciting.
Hope that helps!