Hi all.
I’m heading into sophomore year with a 33 ACT Composite score, and I plan to improve to 35 or 36 over the next two years. I’m at the top of my class with a 4.0 GPA. I’m involved in over 11 extracurricular activities, and I plan to take on leadership positions in these activities as I progress through high school. I have already received several awards and recognitions, and my goal is to keep doing so.
However, I am a bit worried about one part of my application - the courses I am taking. My school has completely replaced all AP courses (besides AP Chemistry) with dual enrollment courses from our local community college. These courses are treated like AP courses by the teachers at my school, who want to make sure their students are still being challenged. The coursework requires lots of homework, studying, and test prep, etc., but I’m worried that the best universities will look at the 57 college credits I will have earned during my high school career with contempt, despite the fact that I will have received As in these courses.
Is this true? If so, is there a way to present the courses I have taken without being considered a transfer student? As a student who is orchestrating his entire high school career to tailor to college interests (particularly those of the Ivy League), the last thing I want to happen is for colleges to disregard everything I have done in high school and look straight to my community college transcripts.
Thanks to all who respond.
CJ
If it helps, here are the dual enrollment courses that I have taken/am going to be taking:
-Introduction to Psychology
-U.S. History Before 1877
-U.S. History Since 1877
-Western Civilization I
-Western Civilization II
-Pre-Calculus
-College Algebra
-Calculus 1
-Calculus 2
-Statistics
-Math for Liberal Studies
-Introduction to Literature
-Public Speaking
-Composition I
-Composition II
-American Government
-Principles of Macroeconomics
-Principles of Microeconomics
If anything that’s impressive. Not much else to say.
If you truly end up with that many DE credits when you graduate you would be foolish to apply to Ivy league schools since none of them would count towards your degree. There are many top colleges who would accept them and you could apply to Ivy for graduate.
I disagree with the above.
Sure, they may not transfer, but they’ll still help your course rigor and will help you get into the colleges in the first place. In my opinion, if I had as many dual credits as you will during my senior year and had to choose between MIT and my state school, UT Austin, I’d choose MIT hands down even if most of my credits won’t transfer.
Another benefit to dual credits is that you can acquire prerequisites to graduate and professional schools while you’re in high school. In case you’re majoring in something that doesn’t require a prereq as a degree requirement, you’ll already have it completed in high school. This frees up space for a minor or possibly even a second major.
Bottom line, the OP can do whatever he (she) wants with his credits. He can attend a school that won’t accept them, but his credits will forever be a part of his academic record.
They show course rigor in the context of your school. That’s what you want.
I agree with the above post! When you apply to schools they will look at your application in the context of your school. So if your school doesn’t offer any APs, the admissions officer won’t think less of you for not taking any APs. As long as you are taking the most challenging classes that you can in your school context, you should be fine at the top schools! Good luck!
I actually have some experience with what you’re asking because I’ve done quite a bit of DE courses and, no, you won’t be viewed as a transfer student. Seriously. Do not worry about it. No college is going to consider you a transfer student, because you a) haven’t finished high school and b) you’re not in a degree program.
Also like don’t take public speaking. I had to take a similar class at a CC – it was BS and non-academic and silly and I doubt it’ll be getting me into Harvard. That being said, you really seem to have your ish together. You’ll be more than alright.
My sense is that you are in effect planning to replace your high school academics with those of your local community college. It looks like the intent of your high school is to deal with some gaps that exist in offering some AP courses. I encourage you to stay in sync with that intent. So if your high school doesn’t offer AP Calculus BC and you are truly interested in taking such a course then take the equivalent at your CC. But there is little point in taking Math for Liberal Studies. At best that sounds like a watered down math course for non technical students. it’s not a high school course. I have a similar impression of most of the courses on your list.
You must have a sense by now of the students at your local CC. Are the classes small enough sonthat you’re getting to know them? Are you interacting with them? Are you learning from them? Do you expect that any of them will apply as transfer students to an Ivy or equivalent selective college?
My advise to you is that you maximize your day to day involvement with your high school teachers and with your fellow high school classmates. Take advantage of the dual program as the exception rather than the rule.
Looks like most of these are college frosh or AP level, except for some remedial (from a college standpoint) or lower level courses (the math courses other than the calculus courses). They are likely to be seen as similar to AP courses in terms of course rigor, but transferability may be questionable. Your in-state public universities likely have articulation agreements with the community college that assure transferability, but out-of-state and private universities may not, and may disallow transferring them. If that is a concern, you may want to get double coverage by taking the AP tests that cover the same material as your dual enrollment courses (e.g. take the AP calculus BC test after taking calculus 1 and 2). You will not get double credit, but you will get credit and/or placement if the university accepts one but not the other (assuming high enough grades in the courses and high enough score on the AP test).
Be aware that post-graduate professional schools like medical and law schools do include college courses taken while in high school when calculating GPA.