I’m having a hard time on choosing which class to take. I like both equally the same so I’m basing my decision on which will look better to colleges. Does it not matter? Do they both look the same rigor wise?
Like all college classes, dual enrollment composition is one semester long at a local university.
AP Lit is 2 semesters at my high school, like most academic high school classes.
So wouldn’t the college class be faster paced and considered more rigorous?
I am not sure how admissions officers look at it, but in my experience, AP classes were much more rigorous than their community college classes.
Dual enrollment and AP classes are viewed the same way by admissions officers. These are really similar courses. You are fine either way.
Kids who take AP literature in high school are considered taking a rigorous course. Unless you prefer the Dual Enrollment Comp course, there is no advantage but for your own educational needs.
You may want to look at your target schools to see how the treat subject credit for AP scores versus the dual enrollment course you are considering. Some schools may favor an AP score, while others may favor a dual enrollment course.
A possible option is to take the dual enrollment course and then take the AP test. This will give you double coverage in case a school accepts one but not the other, although you will credit at most once at schools that accept both (because they will be duplicates).
AP Lit is a literature course that focuses on reading a tremendous amount of literature and also includes a fair amount of composition. The composition class may be more focused on writing, and may not require reading all that much literature. The AP Lit class may result in college credit for a Lit class, but you still might need to take a separate composition class. The composition class will transfer as composition but not as literature.
Every major you might study in college will almost certainly require a semester or two of composition. Not all majors will require a Lit class, but it could count as one of your Gen Eds. So if you know which colleges are on your application list, read through their websites, and see where credit for either of these classes might fit.