[TX] Dual Enrollment Course with AP Exam?

[Steffa]

We’re in Texas and my son will be a freshman next year.  High schoolers here have the option for taking dual enrollment classes at local community colleges.

I’m trying to figure out the best course of action.  Has anyone’s kids taken a dual enrollment college class and then self reviewed to take the AP exam for that class?  Seems like that'd be the "best of both worlds."  Are AP classes better if applying to highly selective schools?  

Son will be applying for some selective out-of-state schools' programs but also many in-state.  Dual enrollment seems better if you’re attending in-state since it may not transfer out of state.

Any insight would be great.

[Roadrunner]

I know some families have done this, but I wonder how one would go about prepping for an exam (generally in May) when classes don’t end till June here, and therefore full material isn’t covered prior to the exam. 

[Mom0012]

Yes, my dd took Statistics at the cc in the fall and is preparing for the AP exam.  She’s doing it because AP classes seem to be preferred to cc classes from what I can tell.  Also, this way she will be more likely to get credit for the class. Or, so we hope, anyway.

Edited April 9, 2019 by Mom0012

[chiguirre]

2 hours ago, Steffa said:

We’re in Texas and my son will be a freshman next year.  High schoolers here have the option for taking dual enrollment classes at local community colleges.

I’m trying to figure out the best course of action.  Has anyone’s kids taken a dual enrollment college class and then self reviewed to take the AP exam for that class?  Seems like that'd be the "best of both worlds."  Are AP classes better if applying to highly selective schools?  

Son will be applying for some selective out-of-state schools' programs but also many in-state.  Dual enrollment seems better if you’re attending in-state since it may not transfer out of state.

Any insight would be great.

My dd is doing DE combined with Memoria Press Online Academy's diploma program. She's only planning to take the AP class and exam that they require. However, she is planning to stay in TX for university. 

I don't think there are any major drawbacks for a homeschooler to DE and then take the AP. If your son is attending a public school, however, it is essential that he not take any DE that would count into his high school GPA before the cut date for the top 6%/top 10% rankings. The public school will pull the DE A in as a 95 and you might lose your automatic admit with that kind of a ding.

Spring semester classes here (Lone Star College CC District) end in early May so it would be just in time for the AP test, but if you do Summer I or II or Fall you'll have to set aside a sizable amount of time to refresh the material.

[Brigid in NC]

We did that with DS1 after he finished his dual enrolled chemistry and physics classes, and it worked well.

DS took two semesters (fall and spring) of each subject at our CC, so the content was fresh in his mind at AP-time. He also took the SAT2 at the end of the school year for both of those topics since he thought he wanted to apply to Georgia Tech--and at the time, Georgia Tech required three SAT subject tests from homeschoolers. Ds prepped for the AP exams and SAT2 tests using test prep books. He thought his CC classes prepared him well, but he found there were definitely holes he needed to fill.

Since so many colleges have different requests and requirements, we found it to be a great way to preemptively cover the bases. DS was motivated--but WHEW! It was a lot of testing!

 

Edited April 10, 2019 by Brigid in NC

[Steffa]

21 hours ago, chiguirre said:

I don't think there are any major drawbacks for a homeschooler to DE and then take the AP. If your son is attending a public school, however, it is essential that he not take any DE that would count into his high school GPA before the cut date for the top 6%/top 10% rankings. The public school will pull the DE A in as a 95 and you might lose your automatic admit with that kind of a ding.

We plan to be completely homeschooled but that's good to know in case something changes.  Do you know if there's a certain number of Dual Enrollment credits a high schooler could take that would put them into a transfer student application instead of regular admission?  Wasn't sure if there's a limit in order to still be considered an incoming freshman.  

[chiguirre]

1 hour ago, Steffa said:

We plan to be completely homeschooled but that's good to know in case something changes.  Do you know if there's a certain number of Dual Enrollment credits a high schooler could take that would put them into a transfer student application instead of regular admission?  Wasn't sure if there's a limit in order to still be considered an incoming freshman.  

There's no limit on credits before high school graduation. My dd is on track to get her AA a few weeks before high school graduation. If you have an Early College High School in your ISD, it's worth reading their website to see what classes their students take. There are quite a few DE students at my dd's community college from several ISDs. She's never been the only DE student in a class. We haven't done university applications yet, but I'd venture to say that DE is not an uncommon situation for freshman applicants.

Edited April 10, 2019 by chiguirre

[GoodGrief]

The warning I give everyone considering dual enrollment (and especially for a young student like your son) is to remember that these grades will follow the student all the way through college and be on grad school applications. You do want to be quite certain that the student is well prepared to do quite well at the college. It's much easier to make academic course corrections when you are homeschooling in ways other than dual enrollment.

AP classes will generally be more highly regarded by selective colleges because there is some standardization there. Quality of CC courses can vary quite significantly. This all depends on the student, of course though, and what else they bring to the table.

I'd look at doing SAT subject tests before I'd do AP exams though, if you are looking at the testing as some sort of additional validation of mastery. Many selective colleges will require at least one or two subject tests anyway, while AP exams will not be required. There's really not much point in doubling up on AP and SAT subject tests unless you know he will attend somewhere where he can get credit for the AP.

Edited April 11, 2019 by GoodGrief