AP vs. Dual Enrollment... which one benefits high schoolers the most?Answered
Hi, my name is Anicyah and I am a junior in high school (3.8 GPA, #17 in class rank currently). Coming from a foreign country to finish my studies, I often find myself in stranded in situations where I have to take classes that are mandatory for graduation even though I already know the subject.
Now that I've passed that inconvenient phase, I have more options as in what classes I could take that will actually challenge me and look good on my college applications at the same time.
But I have a tough decision to make, whether to stay at my high school during senior year and possibly take 3 AP classes (Physics, Calculus, and Chem),1 honors class (ELA) and 2 college-level classes (Portuguese and Engineering), or take 8 college-level classes at my local community college.
Which one of these options will benefit me in terms of increasing my admission chances in top research universities such as Georgia Tech and others?
Thank you in advance! <3
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5 answers
Greetings anicyahmoreira28,
I like that you already have a focused career and college(s) to aim for (engineering, Georgia Tech). Still, glance through this article if you haven't already: https://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-get-into-harvard-and-the-ivy-league-by-a-harvard-alum
I will tell you I know no one else that can take this many college-level classes in high school. If the 8 college-level classes are engineering-related or they are core requirements, then by all means take them, because that will make you stand out.
Before you do though, please contact Georgia Tech to make sure they take credits from that community college. If not, ask them for their input on your question just to be safe.
Regards,
Eric B.
TAKING APs are always better than DE. Getting As in your APs and scoring 4s and 5s always looks better on a college application than no APs and just college courses.
APs coursework and AP exams are standardized. It doesn't matter if you are in Kansas, Sacramento, Miami, Sweden or China. If you take AP Calc. A/B, it's the same course and the same exam. Therefore, your proficiency and test score can be evaluated like "apples to apples" by the admissions officers evaluating your file. This is not the case with DE coursework. There are no standards for DE coursework. If you take your college courses at UCLA online or University of Pittsburgh, and get As in them, they are are going to be more valuable to a Admissions officer than someone taking similar classes at ABC or XYZ community college. Why? The course rigor will not be the same and neither will be the marking standards. So DE classes are like "apples to oranges" and unless you take them at a high reputable institution, they will not have the same weight as APs. The caveat is that if you take a high level math like Differential Equations or Real Analysis or Stochastic Processes, courses that go beyond AP Calc B/C, that will look impressive to a Tech University.
If you already know which schools are your top choices, you can simply look at their AP Credit Schedule and see which AP course qualify for college credit and what the score cutoffs are. For example at GTech, they want you to have a score of 4 or 5 for most classes. They will give you credit for a standard language like French, German, Chinese, Japanese for a 3,4,5.
https://catalog.gatech.edu/academics/undergraduate/credit-tests-scores/advanced-placement-exams/
For other colleges, just use this handy Collegeboard.org search tool for AP Credit:
https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/getting-credit-placement/search-policies
Good luck
In general, as someone who has done both, dual enrollment is better in the long run. Not all schools will grant AP credit depending on the score, but college credits are easier to transfer. I hope this helps a little bit.
From the admissions counselors I have asked about this, they say that both are great options and are held in the highest regard. If you are looking to see what credits transfer, talk to colleges you are interested in and see what they will accept.
I recommend the option involving 3 AP classes. Colleges prefer for students to take as many AP classes as their high school offers, since APs are a more standardized metric for them to assess. It would be best to replace the college-level Portuguese and Engineering classes with APs too, but at the same time, college-level classes are viewed more favorably than honors classes. Hope this helps!
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Thank you for the input! Really appreciated it.