Experiences with Early College at MC?

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have a student who completed the EC/MC college program recently and can tell their experience with college admissions out of state?

A good number of schools are not giving credit for classes taken in HS that are also part of the HS graduation requirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have a student who completed the EC/MC college program recently and can tell their experience with college admissions out of state?

A good number of schools are not giving credit for classes taken in HS that are also part of the HS graduation requirement.

Obviously, that is school dependent. I think that’s mostly at private schools that have their own unique course and curriculum requirements. Most public universities similar to UMD should accept most of the credits. My DC enrolled at Pitt last year and had all credits accepted except the writing because that class was bundled with their intro to engineering class.

I spoke recently with the head of MC’s engineering department and they explained that MC was working to expand the list of partner schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can start as almost a junior at UMD off of AP credits too. So not seeing the advantage of MC credits over AP?

This. AP classes are generally considered more challenging than equivalent MC classes

You can maybe enroll in college with credits as a junior if you take all the AP classes, but you can’t focus on areas of interest. In EC you can go much further in your area of interest than at the HS.

Are the EC writing and the AP writing class similar in credit outcomes? Maybe. But in EC you can get several semesters (the equivalent of several full year in the HS) further in STEM fields, even beyond the most advanced courses offered at the magnets. That is great for kids that want that challenge and opportunity.

I think a lot of the EC kids aren’t trying to compete with AP. Instead they have decided AP in the constraints of the HS setting doesn’t meet their interests and needs as well as the pathways offered via EC.

For some specific "T", yes, and some specific non-foundational sciences (example: marine biology) but not for the rest of S, E and M.

The EC/MC path is good for specific niche preprofessional majors (think "Criminal Justice", "Nursing", "Kinesiology") available at big state universities, not so much for "liberal arts" / "core academics" majors that lead to advanced degrees or advanced university study at top colleges (like taking grad-level classes in undergrad, not using credits to graduate earlier).

I sense you are not very familiar with the early college curriculum.

+1. Previous poster is clueless. Those are not the EC pathways.

DCUM posters are only focused on EC vs AP. There are tons of kids who are doing EC because they can’t afford to pay for college. These kids save a ton of money.

Personally, I prefer my kids to remain in HS. They don’t need to start college so soon and miss out on their HS experience. YMMV.

There are also kids doing EC because they aren’t really interested in “the HS experience” and would prefer to focus on academics - fewer classes, faster pace for content, more spare time for outside interests.

Correct. I am the PP you quoted. A number of these kids are also not engaged at school. They are not doing clubs or sports and are the ones who go to school and go home right after.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can start as almost a junior at UMD off of AP credits too. So not seeing the advantage of MC credits over AP?

This. AP classes are generally considered more challenging than equivalent MC classes

You can maybe enroll in college with credits as a junior if you take all the AP classes, but you can’t focus on areas of interest. In EC you can go much further in your area of interest than at the HS.

Are the EC writing and the AP writing class similar in credit outcomes? Maybe. But in EC you can get several semesters (the equivalent of several full year in the HS) further in STEM fields, even beyond the most advanced courses offered at the magnets. That is great for kids that want that challenge and opportunity.

I think a lot of the EC kids aren’t trying to compete with AP. Instead they have decided AP in the constraints of the HS setting doesn’t meet their interests and needs as well as the pathways offered via EC.

For some specific "T", yes, and some specific non-foundational sciences (example: marine biology) but not for the rest of S, E and M.

The EC/MC path is good for specific niche preprofessional majors (think "Criminal Justice", "Nursing", "Kinesiology") available at big state universities, not so much for "liberal arts" / "core academics" majors that lead to advanced degrees or advanced university study at top colleges (like taking grad-level classes in undergrad, not using credits to graduate earlier).

I sense you are not very familiar with the early college curriculum.

+1. Previous poster is clueless. Those are not the EC pathways.

DCUM posters are only focused on EC vs AP. There are tons of kids who are doing EC because they can’t afford to pay for college. These kids save a ton of money.

Personally, I prefer my kids to remain in HS. They don’t need to start college so soon and miss out on their HS experience. YMMV.

There are also kids doing EC because they aren’t really interested in “the HS experience” and would prefer to focus on academics - fewer classes, faster pace for content, more spare time for outside interests.

Correct. I am the PP you quoted. A number of these kids are also not engaged at school. They are not doing clubs or sports and are the ones who go to school and go home right after.

Many kids are in sports, clubs and more. I don't want mine in college early either. Its not appropriate for 15-16 year olds. So, what you are saying is kids should be forced to pick between activities and academics. No, they don't. MCPS has a responsibility to provide appropriate core classes to all kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can start as almost a junior at UMD off of AP credits too. So not seeing the advantage of MC credits over AP?

This. AP classes are generally considered more challenging than equivalent MC classes

You can maybe enroll in college with credits as a junior if you take all the AP classes, but you can’t focus on areas of interest. In EC you can go much further in your area of interest than at the HS.

Are the EC writing and the AP writing class similar in credit outcomes? Maybe. But in EC you can get several semesters (the equivalent of several full year in the HS) further in STEM fields, even beyond the most advanced courses offered at the magnets. That is great for kids that want that challenge and opportunity.

I think a lot of the EC kids aren’t trying to compete with AP. Instead they have decided AP in the constraints of the HS setting doesn’t meet their interests and needs as well as the pathways offered via EC.

For some specific "T", yes, and some specific non-foundational sciences (example: marine biology) but not for the rest of S, E and M.

The EC/MC path is good for specific niche preprofessional majors (think "Criminal Justice", "Nursing", "Kinesiology") available at big state universities, not so much for "liberal arts" / "core academics" majors that lead to advanced degrees or advanced university study at top colleges (like taking grad-level classes in undergrad, not using credits to graduate earlier).

I sense you are not very familiar with the early college curriculum.

+1. Previous poster is clueless. Those are not the EC pathways.

DCUM posters are only focused on EC vs AP. There are tons of kids who are doing EC because they can’t afford to pay for college. These kids save a ton of money.

Personally, I prefer my kids to remain in HS. They don’t need to start college so soon and miss out on their HS experience. YMMV.

There are also kids doing EC because they aren’t really interested in “the HS experience” and would prefer to focus on academics - fewer classes, faster pace for content, more spare time for outside interests.

Correct. I am the PP you quoted. A number of these kids are also not engaged at school. They are not doing clubs or sports and are the ones who go to school and go home right after.

Many kids are in sports, clubs and more. I don't want mine in college early either. It’s not appropriate for 15-16 year olds. So, what you are saying is kids should be forced to pick between activities and academics. No, they don't. MCPS has a responsibility to provide appropriate core classes to all kids.

What are you arguing about? MCPS does provide appropriate core classes to all kids. But the school day structure is to have that content spread out over an entire year, 7 classes per day, with kids at school 7 hrs per day (35 hours per week). Compare that to the MC course structure with 4 classes per semester and ~15-20 hours per week on campus. The content pace is faster at MC, with less time wasted switching classes all day, settling in, packing up, and being supervised the majority of the day.

Kids aren’t forced to choose between activities and academics. Some kids aren’t interested in the activities and prefer the academic style of MC over MCPS. It’s good to have options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have a student who completed the EC/MC college program recently and can tell their experience with college admissions out of state?

A good number of schools are not giving credit for classes taken in HS that are also part of the HS graduation requirement.

Obviously, that is school dependent. I think that’s mostly at private schools that have their own unique course and curriculum requirements. Most public universities similar to UMD should accept most of the credits. My DC enrolled at Pitt last year and had all credits accepted except the writing because that class was bundled with their intro to engineering class.

I spoke recently with the head of MC’s engineering department and they explained that MC was working to expand the list of partner schools.

But do they take you as a transfer if you have a ton of credits? That could make competitive programs impossible

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have a student who completed the EC/MC college program recently and can tell their experience with college admissions out of state?

A good number of schools are not giving credit for classes taken in HS that are also part of the HS graduation requirement.

Obviously, that is school dependent. I think that’s mostly at private schools that have their own unique course and curriculum requirements. Most public universities similar to UMD should accept most of the credits. My DC enrolled at Pitt last year and had all credits accepted except the writing because that class was bundled with their intro to engineering class.

I spoke recently with the head of MC’s engineering department and they explained that MC was working to expand the list of partner schools.

But do they take you as a transfer if you have a ton of credits? That could make competitive programs impossible

Kid who do early college apply as freshman.