If your student is considering college, then you might want
to consider adding Advanced Placement or Dual Enrollment Courses to the
academic mix. Whether your student is
enrolled in a home school, public or private school, Advanced Placement and Dual
Enrollment Courses have a great deal to offer your future college student. In Part 1 of this blog we’ll look at Dual
Enrollment Courses (DC).
Dual Enrollment Courses are named as such because they offer
high school students the opportunity to earn college credit while still earning
credits toward their high school diploma.
These courses can be offered on the high school campus, online, or on
the college campus. To find out more
information about Dual enrollment courses check with your state’s commission on
higher education. In SC, you can go to SC Commission on Higher Education
for more information. If you're in another state, just check out you commission on higher education.
Just a bit of
personal reflection on the different choices we made for our daughters. During their senior year my two oldest
daughters took 2-3 dual enrollment courses each semester at the local technical
college. They drove 45 minutes on
Tuesday/Thursday to attend classes. Our
oldest daughter took an online course her second semester. Additionally, during the academic year they
were still completing their course work for our home school. My goal was to expose them to a college
classroom setting which included learning study skills needed for college,
communicating with college professors, engaging with other students and earning
college credits.
As we began the process at the end of their junior year, I
was able to find information at the following SC website: transferring Dual Enrollment courses. Based on this information and their
interests, we selected their courses. In
order for them to take classes at a technical college (cheaper per hour than a
4 year school), we had to submit their SAT (or ACT scores) and have our third
option home school association sign off on paperwork. Students can also take the COMPASS test in
order to take college courses prior to graduating high school. If you’re not sure what to do, contact your
local college and find out more information.
Usually, they have staff that deal specifically with dual enrollment
students. Be advised that they may call
the program something different than Dual Enrollment….our local technical
college calls them PACE classes. If your student is in public or private
school, contact the guidance counselor to see how to proceed.
When it came to our youngest daughter, circumstances were
different in terms of her college selections due to her career interests. Many of the colleges she was looking at were
private or out-of-state and her GPA wasn’t going to get the “big” scholarships. For more information on this topic, check out my blog post The Money GPA. We decided the best
course of action for her would be to take 3 courses each semester at the technical
college during her junior year. Was it
risky to send a junior on campus for classes?
Yes, but we felt like our daughter was academically, emotionally and
mentally prepared for the challenge. As
a parent you have to make that judgment call because you know your student
better than anyone. At the end of her
junior year she had 20 hours of transferable college credits and her GPA gave her
the opportunity to compete for the “big scholarships.” One word of caution: if your student has too many college credits,
they may be considered a transfer student and not an incoming freshman. They may not be eligible for the big
scholarships that are usually available only to incoming freshman. Each college is different…..so check with an
admissions counselor at the college(s) where your student intends to apply.
*AP is a registered trademark of the College Board
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