Is Dual Enrollment worth it?Answered
Hi, I'm a high school freshman, and I'm really just trying to get through high school while keeping a good social life and still keeping my 4.0. I'm planning on taking 3 APs next year, and while all of the classes seem very interesting to me, I'm just hoping it will be enough to succeed in my school. I'm hoping to gain enough financial aid to go to a state school for free because I won't have much help from family. I currently want to major in psychology and become a psychiatrist. As a first-generation college student, I just would love to hear more from people who have experience with this stuff. With that being said, my high school is located close to a small college, and many people take classes there during their junior and senior years. However, I hear that the credits tend to not transfer well and it's not worth it. I want to get into a bigger school, but at the same time my high school only currently offers 13 APs, so I might run out of classes to take that I'm interested in my senior year if I continue on my planned path. I'm really just wondering how stressful it is on top of normal life. If yes, what classes are the best to take? I'd really appreciate any helpful words. Anyway, sorry for my rambling, and thank you for reading! Have a great rest of your day!!
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3 answers
Hello,
This is a great question and I had also wondered about a similar situation when I was a sophomore. At my school there a program where you can spend your summers and school year on a specific pathway of dual enrollment with a college and by the end you will have finished you general education requirements for college. When I was first presented with it I thought it was a good thing to do but ultimately it would have added unnecessary work where I didn't need it. This is because with all the APs I have taken and will take I would be able to cover most if not all the credits with the AP exam credits. This of course meant I needed to pass the exams but I was more willing to make sure to pass the exams then take time out of my summers where I had already had summer extracurriculars set up. Anyways bottom line my advise would be to not neccesarily do dual enrollment if you are already able to cover the specific credit with a passing AP exam. Look for similarities between dual enrollment courses and the APs offered. If your goal is purely to get credit I would suggest what I said. If you want the extra challenge and maybe make yourself a more unique profile, do it all. It all depends on what you want to get out of the advanced classes. Are you doing them for credit or for the enhanced resume? Or Both? Also what are the ap classes offered at your school.
Hope this helps and sorry it is a bit long.
@mckinlee
Here's my personal experience: Dual Enrollment is worth it!
I was verrrry nervous to start DE, but I took Compositon 1 at my local community college my junior year. Most professors understand that you have other things on your plate and in my experience, there just wasn't a lot of homework in general. I was able to finish my assignments on time and still work, sleep, and keep a great social life! My advice is to start out slow--take an easier class (Comp 1, 2, Humanities, or the college equivalent of your high school language) for one semester. Make sure it is transferrable--Comp 1 and 2 will transfer to almost any college. After that, see what you thought! If cost is an issue, most states have a Dual Enrollment Grant that will cover most if not all of the cost. For me, DE was a great step towards independence and it's nice to know that I'll be about 4 classes closer to graduation when I start college:)
Hey @mckinlee. I'm a senior who also is going to be a first-generation college student but I didn't do dual enrollment. First of, the fact that you want to keep a 4.0 GPA throughout high school is great, because you have a goal in mind. Follow your goal and you can achieve it. I had 4.0 freshmen and sophomore well until COVID hit but now that things are "back to normal," I won't lie, my grades are a little rockier but that's because I'm taking harder AP Classes. I know only a few people who do dual enrollment and I think its a good idea, especially if you want to get those college credits. And you're right, there are come credits that might not transfer, which is seen a lot. I was going to do dual enrollment but decided not to because I decided that I'd rather finish my high school credits while also taking hard AP Classes like AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AB Calculus, etc. Since you want to go for the psych track, definitely consider taking AP Psych during High School if it's available. I personally felt that taking dual enrollment wasn't worth it because there were already a lot of classes (that were and weren't AP) to take at my high school that could not only help with my major but that I would actually find fun! Be sure to let the universities know though that there are only 13 APs at your school. If there are some classes that you can't take that are prerequisites or something, let them know or they'll assume you just didn't want to take the class. Lastly, in terms of financial aid, I understand exactly what you're going through. I too might not have much help from my family but if you can manage to keep your grades steady and still stay active at school and in your community go for it! It's true that some state schools are nice in terms of tuition as it's cheaper in state, but remember that out of state schools can do the same as well. Like I said, get active in your community and still keep a good GPA (3.0 - 4.0 is really good, especially if you maintain it throughout all 4 years) and you'll be good. I hope this answers your question and if what I said didn't make sense, feel free to comment and I'll clarify. It's good that you're thinking about this now but remember to balance school and your social life, and you'll be set!
Hope this helps :)
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