Dual Enrollment vs High school

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Ductective

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Hello, I am a sophomore this year, and I am at a bit of a crossroads.

Dual Enrollment for my community college is being offered, where I can be on track for my associates degree by the time I am 18.

So here's my dilemma: I don't exactly know as of right now if I want to go into the USAF JAG Corps or be a pilot, and I don't know if I want to go into the Academy and be a pilot/go to state university then law school then JAG corps.

I like the idea of going to dual enrollment at my community college/ dual enrollment high school as they offer student leadership, Model UN, I can do club soccer, and I can complete college level classes.
Alternatively, at my high school I can do student leadership, speech and debate, high school soccer, and AP classes.

I hope this comment makes sense but this boils down to a few questions:

1. If I get accepted into the academy, do I HAVE to go into the STEM majors, I wouldn't mind Aeronautical engineering (my first choice of a STEM major) or can I do something more tailored to my strengths or interests like Philosophy or Political Science, and what would be the career options for these other majors?
2. Is the JAG corps even interesting (I've done my fair share of digging in this forum, and It doesn't look too hot)
3. Would dual enrollment with the aforementioned clubs bolster a resume to the academies?

No matter what route I take, I want to join the military and serve my country. Thank you
 
1) You do not need to go into any STEM majors if you do not want to. While the academy is research and STEM focused, they also have other majors. These majors include economics, philosophy, political science and many more. The full list can be found here. With that, your major DOES NOT determine what you do in the Air Force. You can be an any major and still be a pilot, JAG, Public information officer, Maintenance officer, or any other career. Your major does not determine your career.

2) Not too sure on the JAG Corps. If accepted to the academy, you will have different briefings and presentations from all of the different career fields so you can find out more info there.

3) Personally, I never have taken dual enrollment but I think it is an amazing opportunity to prepare yourself for any college. It seems that you are very much interested in it and I would recommend that you do what is best for you.

Hope this helps.
 
Jman0714 said:
1) You do not need to go into any STEM majors if you do not want to. While the academy is research and STEM focused, they also have other majors. These majors include economics, philosophy, political science and many more. The full list can be found here. With that, your major DOES NOT determine what you do in the Air Force. You can be an any major and still be a pilot, JAG, Public information officer, Maintenance officer, or any other career. Your major does not determine your career.

2) Not too sure on the JAG Corps. If accepted to the academy, you will have different briefings and presentations from all of the different career fields so you can find out more info there.

3) Personally, I never have taken dual enrollment but I think it is an amazing opportunity to prepare yourself for any college. It seems that you are very much interested in it and I would recommend that you do what is best for you.

Hope this helps.
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1. Ah, the website was a bit unclear on that, that makes more sense.. I was thinking I had to be a STEM major to be pilot or a field related to that, that makes more sense
2. I definitely want to consider it, I just don't want to be locked in.
3. I like the idea of DE, and at the DE high school, a graduate was accepted into the AF academy + Naval Academy so it seemed like a good fit for the academies.
Thank you
 
Whatever you do, pick what you enjoy and excel at it. If that is dual enrollment, then do your best in it. That’s how to make yourself stand out to admissions.

My oldest son was a Behavioral Science major at USAFA and is a fighter pilot now. As was stated, your major doesn’t matter for a pilot slot.

Stealth_81
 
Relating to the Dual Enrollment, just make sure you choose classes that are translatable to all colleges and not just the specific community college you're going to. Ask your high school guidance counselors about the class list and see which ones are universal.
 
Personal opinion: Dual enrollment is beneficial it gets you ready for college and is somewhat a good way to expand your area of knowledge and gain deeper understanding and not just take classes for the sake of taking it but to actually take something away from it and apply iit in real life. Merry Christmas :)
 
Duel credit gets you college credit for sure (as long as it’s transferable as already stated). May be for elective or similar, but it’s cheap credit.

AP requires end of the semester testing (and the associated lots of studying) to gauge if credit is granted. Schools often require a very high score to award that credit. Some colleges don’t accept AP credit as they want you taking their curriculum. Additionally, some students prefer to not apply an AP class anyhow as they want the foundation taught that the college uses as a building block. As far as USNA, most (in general) AP classes that they accept required a high score, and additional placement testing from USNA.

Keep in mind, one can take the AP class without trying to use it for credit. IOW, not paying the fee and taking the AP test. At least at our school. Ours took them for the class content. Not the potential benefit in college. Had they been focused on the usefulness for college transfer credit, DC would have been their choice.

It’s suggested and recommended that students take the toughest courses offered. Whether that be DC, or AP at you school.
 
JP51 said:
Personal opinion: Dual enrollment is beneficial it gets you ready for college and is somewhat a good way to expand your area of knowledge and gain deeper understanding and not just take classes for the sake of taking it but to actually take something away from it and apply iit in real life. Merry Christmas :)
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Merry Christmas to you too! Hope everyone is having a great time with their families!!
 
If you’re not sure about the JAG Corps, but you are sure about the military, then focus on getting commissioned (using whatever commissioning source) and then look into the Funded Legal Education Program once you are in. You’d spend your first couple of years in your specialty (including pilot perhaps), and then compete for opportunity to go to law school while on active duty at Air Force expense. This would give you the chance to experience the military and learn about the JAG Corps before taking that leap. Worst case scenario, you complete your active-duty commitment, go to law school on the GI Bill, and apply to come back in as a JAG officer with tons of practical operational experience that will put you ahead of your peers.

And for the record, the JAG Corps is awesome (at least in the Army), but I’m extremely biased. :)
 
In General:

AP tests are well known nationally and are uniform across the nation

  • You can look on any college’s website and see what credit you will get for what scores on the AP tests
  • AP Courses are given at your High School
  • AP Credit is based on a test you take on one day
  • AP courses generally are more spread out...e.g., AP Calc AB = Calc 1 is given over a year, not a semester.
DE

  • There are more of a variety of DE courses available at a CC
  • DE courses will count as a college GPA…make sure to do well for future Law School/Med school/grad school purposes.
  • DE Courses may be only available at the CC…how will you get there? How will they overlap with your HS schedule?
  • Private and Out of State Colleges may or may not give you credit. They may not give credit for courses taken to fulfill HS requirements. You do not know what credit you can get ahead of time. Make sure to keep a copy of your syllabus to aid in determining credit.
  • DE Credit is based on your grades over the semester (including final)
  • Public In-state schools will give you credit for DE courses. You may be able to get up to 2 years of credits.
  • DE classes may be taken at the local Community College…how will transportation work?
  • For DE classes, the “grade” doesn’t rely on one test on one day but over a whole semester.
  • DE Courses may be more condensed...e.g., Chem 101 is over one semester, not a year.
 
Our son did DE courses at his high school via a local community college. AP and IB courses were not offered at our high school. I believe the difficulty of the class schedule was mentioned during an interview, so doing well in college-level classes was noticed.

Bear in mind, if you do receive an appointment with a SA, they will not accept 'transfer credits'. As mentioned above, keep your syllabus, it may be reviewed and considered for credit in an elective (this is the case with our son's Eng 101 and 102 courses). You will also have an opportunity to test out of some courses (lots of pros and cons on this topic on the forum).

Taking the most challenging classes available to you and doing well in them is important.
 
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