Is Dual Enrollment worth it?

[derangedcobra]

Hi!

So, I'm a rising junior, and I've been working to get to the Air Force Academy for a little over a year now. My question is, when building up classes, is Dual Enrollment towards an AA a good option? Currently, I'm planning on taking a good number of AP classes, and taking the Dual Enrollment classes might hinder the amount of AP classes I can take.

Thanks for the help In advance!

 

[jaglvr]

at my DD’s HS DA is weighted the same as AP... so she is doing more DA because if she doesn’t get into a AA the credits may be easier to transfer and she can choose classes like English comp that would count as freshmsn core and others tgat are in her intended major (astronomy and physics)

 

[bopper]

AP vs DE

• 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 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.

I would stick with AP unless you can't take the courses you want (e.g., you have finished Calc BC and want to take Multivariable Calc)
At the Air Force Academy you have to start as a freshman anyway...you can't jump in as a junior. You could of course take more advanced classes as a freshman...but then you are taking much harder classes compared to your peers.

 

[PubTech]

My school didn't offer a lot of AP classes, and they had a limit. I took DE classes instead. Given my experience with doing DE and AP classes, I would advise the same as bopper. If your school offers a lot of APs, then go ahead and take those APs. However, if it's not offered or the class is full and you want to take it, do dual enrollment. However, note how much time it takes.

 

[Devil Doc]

@bopper excellent advice. AP/IB courses over DE any day.

The high school where I teach has a DE agreement with the second largest community college system in the country. The credits are only transferable to the community college. Sure, one can transfer those to the mid and lower ranked state schools and for sure most private schools because they want the money.

A few years ago they charged the high school students only 10 percent. Today DE courses are free. All students get the same course though because the teacher isn’t going to teach separate courses. Teachers have to follow the college’s syllabus, grading, and testing without any extra pay. That’s not a student concern but a peeve of mine.

Anyway, take what’s best for your resume and what will prepare you for the next level.