AP or CC..... pros and cons

[Murrayshire]

My rising junior is trying to decide between AP English and AP World History with fellow homeschoolers OR English 111 & 112... WCiv 1-2 at CC. AP classes are expensive and anticipating for test is stressful. She is very strong in English and History so she may very well be just fine.

 

I was hoping to have her take Chem and possibly another Bio at CC for 11-12th grade. Should I rethink that if science isn't her strong suit? She will evidently have to just go for it since she is thinking of dental hygiene and there's lots of science! Or just tackle Chemistry and A&P at home 11-12 then wait till college for more advance sciences.

She would like to get some of the general Ed classes at CC out of the way before graduation.

Eng 112-113 (online)

Psychology

Sociology

Public Speaking

Computer class (online)

Chem 130-A(lab) if she sticks to dental hygiene path)

 

I need your thoughts on how you determined the AP path vs the CC path or did you tackle both!?

Thanks in advance.

Edited March 3, 2017 by Murrayshire

[8filltheheart]

Are you in a state where you need APs or DE to qualify for college admissions?Is the dental hygiene program an Allied Health porogram through a CC? Have you investigated whether or not the school where she plans to apply will accept CLEP credit (and confirm it will not impact admissions into the dental hygiene program)?

 

She might be able to study them without the pressure of a single high pressure exam since CLEPs can be scheduled any time yr round and I am pretty sure they can be retaken (I have never had anyone need to, though, so I don't know 100%.)

 

My current sr will be CLEPing out of her entire freshman yr. The university accepts a large. Umber of CLEP credits and they have the advantage of studying subjects however you want and just doing prep before the exam to become familiar with their terminology and focus.

 

Just another option.

 

Good luck to your Dd.

[MarkT]

In this particular case, the CC route sounds like the better plan.  High AP scores are helpful in getting admitted to competitive colleges or getting merit aid at state U. 

[G5052]

Yes, with those goals, I'd go with CC.

 

My advice as a community professor myself, is to start CC slowly, certainly with English and history if she is strong in those areas. It can be a major adjustment. Also keep in mind that those classes may be "no holds barred" in terms of content. For some years the college I used to work for used an English text with passages about rape, incest, etc. Thankfully they changed it, and when my son took it last year, it was mostly classical works with a few more modern passages, but nothing offensive. The history book they still use doesn't edit history. 

 

On the science, it depends. Again, at the local CC, they actually have two tracks of chemistry. One is more general and is oriented towards the health sciences, but not nursing. Unfortunately the professor for general chemistry is horrible. The other chemistry is considered very difficult as a nursing "weed out" class. There is only one type of biology there, and it is considered very difficult with a lot of memorization. My son is an accounting major, and he chose Introduction to Physics because it is algebra-based and is taught by an outstanding professor. My daughter will do the same.

 

Be sure to look at www.ratemyprofessor.com. Sometimes you have to take the posts with a grain of salt, but if you see that a professor is disorganized and/or vindictive, steer clear. 

Edited March 3, 2017 by G5052

[Guest]

CC wins in your case bc of price, science labs, and tutoring/writing center. Be prepared to drop if the course is not what you expected. My kid was advised to take physics at the CC since his U Physics is a flunkout course for premeds and engineers...he found it to be easier than high school Regents physics with no college level lab reports reqd.

 

I would not take sociology as a high schooler.my son took it at the cc after freshman year of university and found it filled with students personal stories...the majority were older, about 1/3 had seen combat in the middle east, many former drug users and some were rape survivors-- no one held back.

Edited March 3, 2017 by Heigh Ho

[Julie of KY]

How I determined AP vs CC was trying to determine what suited my kids the best. I thought the education of the AP classes that my boys were interested in was better than our CC choices so we went that route. This was also important for my boys as they are looking at more competitive programs.

 

CC might fit my daughter better. She will be looking at getting a very different mix of classes rather than traditional AP classes.

 

I agree with looking into the specifics of what you are getting into. Find out as much as you can about the reputation of the CC and professors. Be careful about certain classes with younger students. 

 

 

[Murrayshire]

Thank you all for commenting!

We met with a very welcoming advisor at our CC yesterday that advices high schoolers only. We also have a group of homeschoolers that may try to take some of the same general classes together. The advisor did tell me that she will fill us in on which advisors to steer clear of and who are the best! I was thrilled about that. 

 

I don't know if she plans to transfer to a University but don't want to short change her in case she changes her mind next year. If she chooses to go the more technical route/degree at CC then I don't see the need for AP except some of you have a point that it may be a better class than CC English. She can take Eng.111 online which is mainly writing.... she was wanting to take the Center for Lit online class for World Lit.

 

There are so many decisions. Thank you for helping me think through this process. 

Edited March 3, 2017 by Murrayshire

[Murrayshire]

Are you in a state where you need APs or DE to qualify for college admissions?Is the dental hygiene program an Allied Health porogram through a CC? Have you investigated whether or not the school where she plans to apply will accept CLEP credit (and confirm it will not impact admissions into the dental hygiene program)?

 

She might be able to study them without the pressure of a single high pressure exam since CLEPs can be scheduled any time yr round and I am pretty sure they can be retaken (I have never had anyone need to, though, so I don't know 100%.)

 

My current sr will be CLEPing out of her entire freshman yr. The university accepts a large. Umber of CLEP credits and they have the advantage of studying subjects however you want and just doing prep before the exam to become familiar with their terminology and focus.

 

Just another option.

 

Good luck to your Dd.

 

To qualify for CC she would not need APs.... if she was to transfer to UNC school, we are in NC, I don't believe, according to the requirements, that she would need to have CLEPs or APs to apply. Good question though for me to double check with her advisor on especially if it impacts admissions to hygiene program, which is up in the air at the moment. I hope I can get my music loving, artsy, detailed & organized girl on the right path......thanks for your insight!

Edited March 3, 2017 by Murrayshire

[8filltheheart]

To qualify for CC she would not need APs.... if she was to transfer to UNC school, we are in NC, I don't believe, according to the requirements, that she would need to have CLEPs or APs to apply. Good question though for me to double check with her advisor on especially if it impacts admissions to hygiene program, which is up in the air at the moment. I hope I can get my music loving, artsy, detailed & organized girl on the right path......thanks for your insight!

I would ask what it takes to be admitted to the hygienist program first. My Dd applied to the only OTA program in the state. They only accepted 35 applicants per yr. It was 100% formula based. There were no letters of recommendation, etc. The formula was based on courses completed,and test scores. Each part was assigned X # of pts and the top scorers were accepted. Her program required 30 hrs of pre-reqs before students could apply.

 

Also, if she starts at the CC in an Allied Health program, the clinical type classes will most likely not transfer. So it helps to keep that in mind, depending on what her long term goals might be.

 

No, in NC the questions I ask won't be applicable. Some states require extra hoops from homeschoolers.

Edited March 3, 2017 by 8FillTheHeart

[Murrayshire]

I would ask what it takes to be admitted to the hygienist program first. My Dd applied to the only OTA program in the state. They only accepted 35 applicants per yr. It was 100% formula based. There were no letters of recommendation, etc. The formula was based on courses completed,and test scores. Each part was assigned X # of pts and the top scorers were accepted. Her program required 30 hrs of pre-reqs before students could apply.

 

Also, if she starts at the CC in an Allied Health program, the clinical type classes will most likely not transfer. So it helps to keep that in mind, depending on what her long term goals might be.

 

No, in NC the questions I ask won't be applicable. Some states require extra hoops from homeschoolers.

Our advisor did print out the course requirements for the dental hygiene and assistant programs. We also had the chance to meet with the director of the hygiene program. She says they don't even accept students right out of high school at our CC and that the program is as competitive as the nursing program. They only accept 14 students. 

At our CC, dental hygiene is part of the Biotechnology division and not the Allied Health. Basically, there are no hoops for homeschoolers to jump. They must follow the same procedure as any other student applying and taking courses to become accepted. She suggest to get as many as the general ed classes out of the way before applying and take the optional courses in the packet that could give you extra points. 

[8filltheheart]

Our advisor did print out the course requirements for the dental hygiene and assistant programs. We also had the chance to meet with the director of the hygiene program. She says they don't even accept students right out of high school at our CC and that the program is as competitive as the nursing program. They only accept 14 students.

At our CC, dental hygiene is part of the Biotechnology division and not the Allied Health. Basically, there are no hoops for homeschoolers to jump. They must follow the same procedure as any other student applying and taking courses to become accepted. She suggest to get as many as the general ed classes out of the way before applying and take the optional courses in the packet that could give you extra points.

The not being accepted directly from high school is similar to dd's. I guess the question I would want directly answered is how grades/gpa impact admissions vs. credit by exam. IOW, if one student receives credit via AP or CLEP while another has a grade from DE, is there a difference in how those are evaluated for admissions? Like I said, dd's program was very point based admissions, grades in courses were part of the formula. But my Dd didn't have any credit by exam for the required pre-reqs, so it wasn't a question we asked. It could be credit would have given the same number of pts.

 

If there is no difference, I would pursue courses however your Dd wants. If there is no right way, do it her way.

[Murrayshire]

 I guess the question I would want directly answered is how grades/gpa impact admissions vs. credit by exam. IOW, if one student receives credit via AP or CLEP while another has a grade from DE, is there a difference in how those are evaluated for admissions?

 

If there is no difference, I would pursue courses however your Dd wants. If there is no right way, do it her way.

 

You have a very good point! I'm jotting this question down on my list of questions to ask our advisor on Monday.

 

Thank you!