Questions about how to count Dual Enrollment

[BusyMom5]

DD is going into 10th grade, and we are planning DE starting in 11th grade.  I'm trying to pick courses as if this is our last year at home.  I have a few questions, though.  College wants 4 years of  HS English.  Does a 3 hour college English course count as 1 HS credit?  Or just half of a credit?  I am trying to coordinate classes that will count at her preferred college toward one of the few degrees she is considering (STEM school).  

So, in English she needs 4 credits- she will have OM Heros Journey, OM Lit and Comp 2, then there are 2 English courses that will apply toward her degree she can DE in.  WIll those be all, or do we need another?  She could technically do both of these her Jr. year and then never do another English course.

In Math she needs 4 credits- she will have Saxon Al 1 (mostly done in 8th grade, but finished in fall of 9th), Saxon Al 2 (finished hopefully by June!), Saxon Advanced Mathematics (and then you can say a Geometry credit for completeing all 3 books)- so that is the 4.  She will finish this all by the end of 10th grade.  I"ve scoped out Chalkdust PreCalc or OM's new math program for a possibility for 11th grade, and then there are 2 DE courses she can take that count toward her degree.  I do not want her to stop math, but I'm okay with doing slowly.  How does it work if she doesn't do much math her 11th grade year due to other DE courses?  Any experience with this is appreciated.  She is looking at BioChem, so she wants a very solid math.   Do we take off a semester?  Which ones?  Keep going, even if she's DE taking 12-15 hours of other courses?  

In history I think we are fine- we did world Geog. this year, next year is Am. history and hopefully Am Government (still working on picking a text) 1/2 credit.  And then WOrld Religions 1/2 credit.  That will be the 3, and then whatever she takes for DE-  her degree program doesn't really specify any particular history, so we will just pick one, and then economics DE.

In science we did Biology- next year is Chem and probably she will also complete the Exploration Education PHysics her younger sibs are doing (I'll be listing this as intro to Physics).  That is 3 completed by the end of 10th grade.  She can take intro courses in Bio, CHem and Phys that will all count toward her degree at her preferred school.  Would you plan for her to take all 3?  Or is it not a good idea to do those courses at a CC?  I called the school she wants to get into, and they said any of the introductory courses were fine, but not the level 2 courses.  She will need at least 1 of these to complete the 4 HS credits- or two if one class is just half of a HS credit.  

 

When your kids did DE, what did you have them do at home?  Or did you just not have them do anything else?  I had planned to just do the college courses, but not sure how to get all the HS credits if I do this.  If all 3 big things require 4 credits, she will have to double up somewhere.  If they don't, then she will need to take math at home one year and English at home another year.  

 

[RootAnn]

My oldest is only a junior this year, so I can only share what I have read & what we've done so far. We chose to start her with only one class a semester. I also waited until she could drive herself - which meant spring of Junior year. She finished her first DE class very successfully, so I feel good about it. She's going to be taking one class (English - which will give her an English credit for senior year even though she technically already has 4 - I wanted to make sure she had at least one listed for each grade) this summer. I'd be looking at two classes for the fall (senior year), but the science class she wants will likely be full before they allow her to register. So, she might not take any.

I'd definitely not take time off math at home just to do DE if she's looking at BioChem. I'd do less DE so that she can continue her math progression. Your mileage may vary (YMMV).

[pmeilaen]

My son took several 3-hour credit college courses and I counted them as 1 high school credit each.  Many colleges have restrictions on how many credits you can take as a high schooler and also on what kind of level you can take.  Also, some colleges will not accept credits from other colleges, as my son found out.  I think I would take a look at the colleges your daughter is interested in and see what the requirements are for homeschoolers/freshmen.  You could also ask admissions at those colleges and see what they think.   

[mytwomonkeys]

My daughter is in public high school but will be dual enrolled next year for 11th grade. One semester of ENC 1101 will meet her junior year full credit. During the second semester she will take ENC 1102 & that will count for her 12th grade English credit. She is also taking Art History & Economics- both will fully meet those required credits.

 

[kokotg]

Here (in Georgia) the state agency that oversees dual enrollment lays out how much credit to give for the courses: 1-2 hours = 1/2 credit and 3-5 hours = 1 credit. 

We use dual enrollment when we feel like the college can do a better job with the subject than we could at home. Right now that means that my son (finishing junior year) does math and English at home. Next year he'll be doing math DE because he's finishing BC calc right now, which will put him into territory my husband hasn't dealt with much since college (he's a high school calc teacher), but we'll do AP English at home. This year he did Spanish, social sciences, and science DE.

[GoodGrief]

Is her preferred school competitive for admissions, or is admission a certainty?

One thing to consider in doing dual enrollment is that those grades are going to follow the student all the way through college and impact the GPA for grad school admission (if that is part of her plan.) So you do want to choose courses carefully and consider the likelihood of successful completion with a decent grade.

A semester long class is generally considered equivalent to a year long high school course for graduation purposes. That does not necessarily mean that it is wise to take a semester off from math or science for a STEM student. It really depends on what she is shooting for as far as college admissions (and preparation, of course.)

My oldest (not STEM) did "full time" dual enrollment her senior year, following an exchange year abroad. She still had hs grad requirements to complete that were not covered by the dual enrollment classes, so she had no choice but to do some extra courses at home. My STEM kid only used dual enrollment for courses that really could not be duplicated easily at home (Calc 2-3 and advanced Chinese). Though I understand the various reasons people are drawn to dual enrollment, it is really not my personal preference for homeschooled students.

[Murrayshire]

Our adviser gave us a credit sheet that public schools use to determine credit for college classes. Maybe check with your adviser on how public schools advise their kids. I don't usually care about what our local high schools do but I found it a good reference point. Around here, one semester (3-4 credit hours) of CC classes totals 1 credit of a full year high school class. 

My rising senior will be taking just about all of her classes at CC next year. She started DE her fall of junior year. She started slowly with ENG 111 (1 hs credit) and Intro to Computers (1 hs credit)... spring semester she took ENG 112 (1 hs credit), Psychology (1 hs credit), and ACA Transfer Class (1/2 hs credit). She is also taking three courses this summer, too. By the end of 1st semester of senior year, she will have completed the Transfer Pathway and the full Associates will open up for her. She plans to have her AA the summer after high school graduation. My dd is applying to the dental hygiene program at our CC that she is attending. Otherwise, she could transfer as a junior to one of our local universities.

Since dd took two ENG courses (writing) for 11th at CC, she is only taking an American Lit for one semester in 12th to count as her English for hs credit (4th English). 

I can say that dd prefers to NOT have some CC classes, some co-op classes, some home classes, and some online classes in one year. She says it just seems all too much and would rather be held accountable by "one" avenue... with the Community College being her choice. 

I am glad she waited on her taking math and science at CC till 12th grade. She just finished Alg.II and Chemistry through online classes and feels more prepared for her upcoming math & science classes at CC. Imo, I would continue with math and not skip a year. Especially if your student is planning on a STEM path. We have stayed on the path for 4 English, 4 Science, 4 Math, 4 History/Social Science.

It is amazing how fast your child grows in independence once starting college courses. My dd has pin-pointed every step and has been setting goals without me hanging over her shoulder. I'm so happy that she has taken her education by the reins, and so proud of her. I have two right behind her!! Yikes! 

Good luck to you!

 

[EKS]

In our state, a 5 unit (quarter system) class is counted as 1 high school credit by the public schools (it's the law).  5 quarter units = 3 semester units.

That said, I counted each 5 unit course as 0.5 high school credits because that is all I thought they were worth.