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Should Homeschoolers use Dual Enrollment?

One minor aspect about going to college as a freshman means that you will need to remain a freshman until you start at the University. Taking college classes with the context of dual enrollment is fine. If college classes are counted toward high school graduation, then they are counted as high school courses, and the student is still thought to be a freshman in terms of the university admission.

By: Martin Kings
Category: Education:Home-Schooling
Posted: Jan 27, 2012
Updated: Jan 27, 2012
Views: 70


One minor aspect about going to college as a freshman means that you will need to remain a freshman until you start at the University. Taking college classes with the context of dual enrollment is fine. If college classes are counted toward high school graduation, then they are counted as high school courses, and the student is still thought to be a freshman in terms of the university admission. In junior and senior year of high school, you can take college classes that are put on the high school transcript.

Here is the big problem: the moment the student graduates high school, all of the community college classes are no longer considered high school classes. That means if you take even one single credit in the summer following senior year it can cancel your freshman status on your application. One single course taken during the summer may mean you are a transfer admission instead, and not eligible for freshman scholarships. So taking community college courses when you are in high school is not a issue. Taking ANY community college courses after you graduate high school, during the summer before going to the university, can be a SIGNIFICANT problem and it can take away the freshman scholarships.

It is an excellent idea to call the university you are applying to - well in advance, if at all possible. Each university can set their own policy about these types of things, so it can differ widely throughout states and counties and colleges. Since dual enrollment for public school students is not normally offered during the summer, they may assume that ANY summer classes at a community college are not dual enrollment. You want to be certain to check on that. There are certain universities that are not satisfied with the academics of community college classes. For that reason, certain universities do not recognize community college courses for credit, and those classes will count the same as any high school level course. With policies differing broadly, it is important to check.

Although I have not done research on the NCAA, I have heard people say that dual enrollment courses can affect your chance to participate in NCAA sports, so that is also something worth examining.

Most of these scholarships usually come from the university, and they make the decisions about the admission standing of each student. I am not sure if federal grants are associated with community college courses, or if they are allocated based on how the university determines your status.

For certain families and in certain situations, it will make sense to take summer course at the community college and delay admission into a university. Even though it is the case that the student will not have freshman admission scholarships, community college courses are so affordable the approach can still save a family money. University freshman do get extra scholarships, however that is not the sole financial concern.

I trust that helps! Keep in mind that in Washington State, dual enrollment in community college is funded by the State of Washington, and is known as Running Start. Colleges refer to it as "dual enrollment" and it is common all around the country.

Comprehensiverecordsolutions.com offers in-depth details and also tips on homeschool record keeping, which can help homeschool parents plan much better for their childrens home schooling. They do also have a blog, in which they actively compose educational content on college scholarships for high school seniors

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