Dual Enrollement- pros and cons please

[Anonymous]

I am interested in any real world feed back about the dual enrollment program. TIA

[Anonymous]

There are lots of critics on this board who think the strongest students should focus on AP only. However my daughter had a great experience with DE her senior year. Classes were taught on campus at USG and prepared her well for what to expect in the college classroom the following year. She did many presentations and research projects, gaining essential skills. She chose DE because classes were offered in subjects that weren’t available as AP coursework. Her younger brother is hoping to do the same.

[Anonymous]

It seems to me the advantages are as follows:

It allows you to go further in your area of interest (with more variety) than you can at your local high school.

It gives you more opportunities to learn how to be a college student before college in a more supportive environment.

Both my kids are doing it. One via early college now (they take all classes jr and sr year at the college) and the other via traditional dual enrollment (so they have a blended schedule).

There do tend to be a lot of nay sayers on this board but oddly none of them seem to have any actual experience with their kids doing dual enrollment and they all seem to assume all kids are identical in their needs and interests.

Ignore any people who say only unintelligent kids do dual enrollment.

That said, if your primary goal is the absolute safest path to the lottery of ivy school admissions, I wouldn’t do anything to rock the boat. I’d just stay at the local high school. If you want to select the academic pathway that makes the most sense for your child to thrive, DE can definitely be a part of that.

[Anonymous]

Dual enrollment is actual college courses, often taught on college campuses, by college teachers/professors. Students receive college credits for completing the courses. These credits may or may not transfer to the college the student attends.

AP courses are "college level" courses, taught by high school teachers, to high school students. Students only receive college credits if they score a 4 or 5 on the exam and if the college they attend accepts the AP tests for credit. Many will allow a student to skip entry level courses, but will not give credit.

[Anonymous]

The main negative is that non Maryland state schools may not accept them as college credit since they were used for high school credit. That is why some recommend APs instead. It is also best for motivated independent students who aren’t tied to high school life.

[Anonymous]

Make sure to get the main high school requirements done your first two years (health, PE, tech, languages)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are lots of critics on this board who think the strongest students should focus on AP only. However my daughter had a great experience with DE her senior year. Classes were taught on campus at USG and prepared her well for what to expect in the college classroom the following year. She did many presentations and research projects, gaining essential skills. She chose DE because classes were offered in subjects that weren’t available as AP coursework. Her younger brother is hoping to do the same.

I was under the impression DE was taken at Montgomery college campuses, can you elaborate further what DE class are offered at USG?

[Anonymous]

OP here- your replies have been insightful thank you for taking the time with your thoughtful replies. I would also like to know what your thoughts are for DE for students who are not taking AP classes. My daughter is of average brightness, but not particularly driven.

[Anonymous]

I think this program looks interesting, and my kid is interested in it --- but I can't imagine how it works with a HS schedule. Does he need to catch a public bus to get to MC campus, and manage to find a class that works with his other HS class schedule and also his sports practices? How do kids do this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- your replies have been insightful thank you for taking the time with your thoughtful replies. I would also like to know what your thoughts are for DE for students who are not taking AP classes. My daughter is of average brightness, but not particularly driven.

Then why are you considering DE for her?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here- your replies have been insightful thank you for taking the time with your thoughtful replies. I would also like to know what your thoughts are for DE for students who are not taking AP classes. My daughter is of average brightness, but not particularly driven.

Then why are you considering DE for her?

I am trying to learn about this program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are lots of critics on this board who think the strongest students should focus on AP only. However my daughter had a great experience with DE her senior year. Classes were taught on campus at USG and prepared her well for what to expect in the college classroom the following year. She did many presentations and research projects, gaining essential skills. She chose DE because classes were offered in subjects that weren’t available as AP coursework. Her younger brother is hoping to do the same.

I was under the impression DE was taken at Montgomery college campuses, can you elaborate further what DE class are offered at USG?

They are MC classes but they use the classroom space at Universities at Shady Grove for some. If you’re not familiar with USG, it’s a campus that is used by all the colleges/universities in the MD system. Each offers limited classes/programs there. So it is a college campus. I was told some years ago that where the classes are physically held is partly dependent on your HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this program looks interesting, and my kid is interested in it --- but I can't imagine how it works with a HS schedule. Does he need to catch a public bus to get to MC campus, and manage to find a class that works with his other HS class schedule and also his sports practices? How do kids do this?

Our HS provided MCPS school buses. They have a limited schedule at the HS. My daughter had her DE class in the morning and was registered for 4 classes at the HS

[Anonymous]

Op here- one more question and this is to clarify that I read that the dual enrollment classes are generally only high school kids. Are there general college students in those classes as well?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here- one more question and this is to clarify that I read that the dual enrollment classes are generally only high school kids. Are there general college students in those classes as well?

That has not been my son's experience or that of his friend who is enrolled in the MC early college program. There are maybe 1-2 other high school students in each course. However, this may be course dependent. My child only wanted to take DE courses in his areas of interest and the courses have pre-requisites that were waived because of his ACT scores. His friend is brilliant and takes mostly intro engineering, math, and science courses, but did have other high school students in the English/Composition course.