DE: What is your goal?

[egao_gakari]

My kiddo will be doing a couple of dual enrollment classes next year (10th grade). Other homeschool families in the area seem to plan for their dc to achieve the full Associate's degree by high school graduation--and most of the ones I've talked to actually do achieve it. But when I first heard of DE, I pictured it as a supplement to ongoing education at home. To get the A.A., I think my kid would basically have to complete his whole junior and senior year with DE classes, and I'm not sure I really want him to do that--I'm kind of looking forward to those years! Is it unusual to do a few DE courses without intending to get a full 2-year degree?

(Obviously if he got super motivated and wanted to challenge himself to achieve the A.A., I'd be fine with that too 🙂)

[teachermom2834]

My kids do significant de in high school. They go in 11th and 12th grade to a local Christian university. My three boys will have had 30-40 de hours each.

Initially the goal was just to get some high school classes done (specifically foreign language) and to gain some independence and experience in a classroom. I didn't really fret about what would or would not transfer. My dc didn't know where they would go or what they would major in so I really considered de to accomplish high school goals and any credit was gravy. I have never cared about them getting the AA. I don't see how that benefits them and I don't want to have to follow anyone else's requirements as far as coursework. 

As time has gone on (boy #3 is a rising 12th grader and already has 19 credit hours) I have kept an eye more towards what and how courses will transfer to potential four year schools. Mine have really benefited from the hours they transferred in saving both time and money and aggravation with courses they don't really want to take in their actual college career. My rising 12th grader is taking intermediate level foreign language to meet a requirement he will have at his intended four year as well as literature and public speaking. He is anxious to focus more on his major classes when he actually goes. 

I do prefer my kids to still take the four years of college, just having all the de credits gives them more flexibility to double major or do an internship or even explore another interest. My oldest did some work he was going to need post grad during his fourth year while still on an awesome undergrad scholarship. My youngest plans to double major.

Now that brings me to my middle child. Middle child hates school and doesn't want to spend the extra year he just wants to be done. His de credits meant he landed in some higher level classes at the university while he was still a freshman/sophomore. He struggled some. Now he is on track to graduate in December when he is only 20 yo. While graduating at 20 is fine for some kids, my ds really isn't ready. He really could use some more time in college to mature. So, it has been a mixed bag for him. He might have struggled less academically if he went in without all those credits and just took his basic freshman classes at the university. Or, he might have looked at how much coursework he had ahead of him and just quit. I don't know. De has benefited him in that he is getting done quickly but in the grand scheme I'm not sure it was best for him. But that is a whole different thread I'm afraid.

But back to your original question- in my experience with de,  homeschooling in two different cities, it was always a supplement to the high school education. Parents always kind of just pick what they want their kids to take (one class or many) without worrying about the A.A. I suppose I have probably known someone who has done it but the vast majority of families are just picking a class or two or five that they want to do de and not focusing on any kind of actual credential gained.

[chiguirre]

No, it's not unusual to do just a few classes. It depends on the student, the CC and what they want to do after high school. My dd took CC classes over the summer every year (this year that wasn't plan A or plan B but it turned out to be plan Covid).  We live in TX and it is a good idea to finish the Core requirements at one institution. Every public college in TX requires a 42 credit basic curriculum that includes science, composition, government, American history and fine arts. The specific classes vary from school to school, but once you're Core Complete at one school, every other school accepts those credits as a block. So for a Texan, finishing those 42 credits is very attractive. If you're in TX, I'd recommend your student aim for this as a goal. 

My dd enjoyed her CC in person classes immensely and became involved in Phi Theta Kappa and the Honors College so she wanted to spend time on campus. We scheduled her classes her Junior year so she'd be at the CC on T/Th and doing her high school classes at Memoria Press Online Academy on M/W/F. That worked well as a bridge. Next year, she only has a couple of high school classes left so she'll mainly be doing CC classes. We're not very compatible when we try to do schoolwork together, so it's best she have a different teacher and I can be her guidance counselor and cheerleader. This varies a lot by student and parent pair, so ymmv. 

In the end, dd will graduate with her AA and some extra credits because of the Covid change to her summer plans. This turned out to be crucial to her new post grad plans. Originally, she was going to go to an in state public university and use the extra credits to be able to double major, do a work experience program and study abroad for a year. But with the Covid uncertainty, she's decided she'd rather join the Navy and finish up her BS online part time while she's enlisted. So, it turned out that that AA is golden. It's an extra $2000 bonus and a huge head start on her BS so she can finish it up part time and come out of the Navy with interesting work experience and a degree and with enough GI Bill left over to pay for an in person masters degree once things are more normal. 

CCs are not all the same, either. Some are really good and offer a lot of enrichment to their students. Some are basically Grade 13. You won't know what yours is like until you try it out. I hope you're as lucky as we were.

[Momto6inIN]

Our goal is not to get college courses out of the way but 1. to make sure they have a robust high school education and 2. to give them a gentle introduction to the college environment in 12th grade. So far all my kids have been doing college level work at home by then, so they don't really need an intro to that; they are already well prepared in that regard. But having an outside person assigning due dates and grades is a good experience. We choose courses in an area of strength and high interest to set them up for success. If they happen to get credit at uni for it, then that's gravy, but it's not our purpose.

Edited June 28, 2020 by Momto6inIN
Eta we usually just do 1 course senior year

[UmmIbrahim]

1 hour ago, egao_gakari said:

My kiddo will be doing a couple of dual enrollment classes next year (10th grade). Other homeschool families in the area seem to plan for their dc to achieve the full Associate's degree by high school graduation--and most of the ones I've talked to actually do achieve it. But when I first heard of DE, I pictured it as a supplement to ongoing education at home. To get the A.A., I think my kid would basically have to complete his whole junior and senior year with DE classes, and I'm not sure I really want him to do that--I'm kind of looking forward to those years! Is it unusual to do a few DE courses without intending to get a full 2-year degree?

(Obviously if he got super motivated and wanted to challenge himself to achieve the A.A., I'd be fine with that too 🙂)

Interesting that lots of homeschoolers in your area are going specifically for the A.A. Most students in my area use it exactly as you describe, as a supplement. My son ended up with 53 credits of dual enrollment and we purposely AVOIDED having him get an A.A. degree. I had heard that we may have difficulty if he ended up with an A.A. at some universities with regards to admission (and that having that degree might have put him in the "transfer" category instead of the normal first-year student category). We were very careful to not be classified as a transfer anywhere that he applied! 

He started taking classes in 10th grade because we wanted an in-person, secular chemistry class and couldn't find one for homeschoolers locally. We definitely used DE classes to supplement our homeschool work but not as the primary method of instruction. Lab sciences and foreign languages were great uses of the DE system because he got to have amazing labs that I couldn't have provided at home. Having access to DE also meant that he could dive deep in subjects that he liked and go beyond traditional high school level classes in those areas. We never considered transferability of credits or trying to cover some kind of "core" subjects, because he applied to so many different universities around the country. We really just used as a tool to help us in our goal of pursuing a rigorous high school experience.

[8filltheheart]

My kids only DE when there is a class they want to take and DE meets their objectives for the course.  Some of my kids have taken multiple courses DE (typically math and science).  Some have taken 1 or none.  None of them have taken courses with the objective of graduating early. I have had kids who could have graduated from college in 2 or 2 1/2 yrs with the numbers of credit hrs they entered with combined with the fact that they typically take heavy loads (18 hrs).  But, they haven't.  They have stayed all 4 yrs.  (My current rising college sr could have already graduated if she wanted to, but she is staying b/c she is pursuing an accelerated masters and her scholarship is paying her sr yr which is mostly her master's classes.  And she is a student that only took 1 DE course.)

[Arcadia]

2 hours ago, egao_gakari said:

My kiddo will be doing a couple of dual enrollment classes next year (10th grade). Other homeschool families in the area seem to plan for their dc to achieve the full Associate's degree by high school graduation--and most of the ones I've talked to actually do achieve it

 

35 minutes ago, UmmIbrahim said:

Interesting that lots of homeschoolers in your area are going specifically for the A.A. Most students in my area use it exactly as you describe, as a supplement.

Middle college / Early College programs for public high school students is very very popular here in my local community colleges. Parents are happy for the kids to get an associate degree together with their high school diploma without paying anything. Probability of completing a bachelor degree in four years is higher which is a big money saver for the parents (compared to potentially taking 5 or 6 years to graduate due to oversubscribed classes).

 

DS15 (11th grade in Fall) has always preferred brick and mortar classes so he is seeing/treating community college like a private high school. If he doesn’t exceed 12 credits per quarter, he doesn’t have to pay tuition. So my homeschooling cost has gone down substantially this year for him.

 

Our main issue is not getting a seat in the classes he want as he is the last priority on the registration queue. I am taking classes for enrichment, and I have postgrad degrees, but I get first priority as a full paying student.  For example, he wanted to do 3 quarters of math (Fall, Winter, Summer) but only got 2 quarters. He managed to get 3 quarters of computer science (Fall, Winter, Spring) out of the 4 quarters he wanted. He luckily got 3 quarters of Japanese which is what he wanted (Winter, Spring, Summer. He didn’t want to start Japanese until Winter quarter). He did use his AP Calculus BC score to “skip” two quarters of calculus.

DS14 (10th grade in Fall) wants to do dual enrollment for math, computer science and Japanese and we have to cross fingers that he is able to get a seat in any of the classes he wants. He couldn’t get a seat for Summer. He was approved for the courses but even the waitlists were full. 

[Lori D.]

DSs each only did DE for 2 semesters in 12th grade to knock out Foreign Language requirements (DS#1 = Spanish; DS#2 = ASL). My goal for DE: I outsourced Foreign Language because I knew it would be my weak area of doing it well. Because neither DS was ready for college rigor/pace prior to 12th grade, and because neither had any career/college areas of interest at that time, we didn't really have a need for DE beyond the Foreign Language.

And, as you mention in your original post -- 11th and 12th grades were terrific years in our homeschool. I would not have wanted to hand that over to the CC and have us miss out on being able to go deep in our own designed courses of DSs interests. 😉 

Side note: both went to the Community College after graduating from high school, since they did not have a career field in mind. It was 1/4 the cost of the local university, and they were able to take gen. ed. classes that would transfer to the university while they figured out what they wanted to do.

DS#2 moved on to woodland firefighting after 2 years towards a 3-year AAS in Interpretation for the Deaf at the CC. He landed a small scholarship from the CC for his 2nd year there.

DS#1 earned his AAS in Digital Film/Video Production at the CC, and then transferred to a LAC for 2 years to finish a BA in a general Humanities area. He landed a full tuition scholarship for 2 years at the CC, and a renewal half-tuition transfer scholarship to the LAC. After a year of trying to combine the AAS and BA into a job, he decided to go back to the CC and knocked out the first 2 years towards a BS in Mechanical Engineering, and transferred to the local university; he is now 3 semester away from completing that degree.

Edited June 28, 2020 by Lori D.

[Melissa B]

We do use dual enrollment with the intent of getting at least an AA degree. For my kids, it is a focus from the beginning of homeschooling. It is not uncommon in this area for students (including public school students) to earn their AA while in high school. It is free education in Florida and very important from a financial standpoint. My husband and I had to make a decision many years ago as to whether it would be worth homeschooling knowing that my husband's income alone would not allow us to pay for any college education for our children. I committed then to ensuring they would each have at least the first two years secured without any cost to themselves. And I found it a comfort to know that if they do choose not to pursue any additional education after high school they do have a two year degree at the very least.

My eldest received a four year undergraduate scholarship after high school and chose to use all four years, though with her dual enrollment credits she could have graduated with an undergrad degree in one. My second has also received a four year scholarship and had planned to do the same. Though with Covid-19 she is now considering graduating next year and forgoing the final year of her scholarship. I am sad about that, but the classes she would need for her Biology minor are all lab classes and the college campus doesn't have the same appeal anymore. The necessary rules for this coming year are very restrictive. She had also planned to earn several of her credits through international travel and that doesn't seem likely to happen either. My third is dual enrolled now and plans to earn her AA and an EMT certificate while in high school. She has a long road as she is planning to attend med school. Any free education/scholarships she can secure are crucial.

All of my kids did or do plan to use dual enrollment to explore interests - photography, poetry, theater, aviation, emergency medicine, etc. But the main goal remains to earn the AA degree.

[Guest]

Honestly? Find interesting classes at the right level with classmates that provides an avenue for discussion so she doesn't need to go away to college full time at age 12/13. DD will graduate high school with somewhere between 60-70 college credits,between the CC, summer programs, and possibly some classes at the state U this Spring (she is only eligible for the state DE grant for one semester due to age requirements, but can take 12 credits tuition free). She isn't heading towards an associate's before high school grad because some areas were better served following her own path, but will be able to transfer her science credits at a 4 year school back and get the AS. But, really, that's gravy. The community college has been a good high school experience and a chance to developed those EF skills while still being at home. If no credits at all transfer, I'll be OK with that-for the most part, the schools where they won't expect that level of study from all students coming in. 

 

There are two middle college/early college programs in my city which focus on getting an AS in a specific field before graduation. Usually these are more practical degrees. Homeschoolers usually do the free 12 credits, but not much else, and many do them as classes offered just as DE at satellite campuses for a few state U's, not on the main campuses (which, for DD, has been the main draw). DD was the youngest student to ever start classes, and had to apply as a regular student since she was not DE eligible yet. They transferred her to DE classification when she was officially in high school. 

Edited June 28, 2020 by dmmetler

[Momto6inIN]

8 hours ago, Lori D. said:

And, as you mention in your original post -- 11th and 12th grades were terrific years in our homeschool. I would not have wanted to hand that over to the CC and have us miss out on being able to go deep in our own designed courses of DSs interests. 😉 
 

This x 1000!

And as @chiguirre mentioned, not all CC's are high quality. Ours is, for the most part, but since my oldest DS was a high achieving math student and planned to do lots of math and CS courses at uni, he actually learned calculus more in depth and thoroughly and faster by self studying at home with AoPS vs the experience he would have had taking the general calc courses at the CC. Those would have checked the box of Calc I and II, which would be fine for some majors which don't require math beyond that, but I'm not convinced they would have adequately prepared him for upper level math courses in CS/engineering he needed to take. That might not be the case with all CC's, obviously, but it's something to consider since I know lots of hs'ers use CC for math.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Momto6inIN said:

This x 1000!

And as @chiguirre mentioned, not all CC's are high quality. Ours is, for the most part, but since my oldest DS was a high achieving math student and planned to do lots of math and CS courses at uni, he actually learned calculus more in depth and thoroughly and faster by self studying at home with AoPS vs the experience he would have had taking the general calc courses at the CC. Those would have checked the box of Calc I and II, which would be fine for some majors which don't require math beyond that, but I'm not convinced they would have adequately prepared him for upper level math courses in CS/engineering he needed to take. That might not be the case with all CC's, obviously, but it's something to consider since I know lots of hs'ers use CC for math.

DD has done no science classes at the CC. Humanities have been first rate, especially through the honors college, and math has varied. Spanish ticked a box, but she has learned a lot more talking regularly with a homeschool Spanish Academy tutor than she did in the college classes. 

[8filltheheart]

48 minutes ago, Momto6inIN said:

This x 1000!

And as @chiguirre mentioned, not all CC's are high quality. Ours is, for the most part, but since my oldest DS was a high achieving math student and planned to do lots of math and CS courses at uni, he actually learned calculus more in depth and thoroughly and faster by self studying at home with AoPS vs the experience he would have had taking the general calc courses at the CC. Those would have checked the box of Calc I and II, which would be fine for some majors which don't require math beyond that, but I'm not convinced they would have adequately prepared him for upper level math courses in CS/engineering he needed to take. That might not be the case with all CC's, obviously, but it's something to consider since I know lots of hs'ers use CC for math.

Agree that homeschooling high school is full of  so many opportunities for cool classes.  I love creating classes for my high schoolers.

But, in terms of the OP, DE is not default taking classes at a CC. My kids who have DEed for more than a single class have DEed at a 4 yr U.

[historically accurate]

My oldest did achieve an AS in high school this past year. She chose to do dual enrollment starting spring of her freshman year with 1 class, 2 classes next semester, 3 next, to full time Jr & Sr. We did not really have the goal of getting the AS until Sr year when she realized she could easily do it. So, she did. She has some learning disabilities and neuro differences that I had a hard time accommodating here at home, so we looked at various ways to achieve high school. The cc was secular (very important to her), and she easily worked at a college level with appropriate accommodations.

My next child is starting high school this coming year. She will probably take a few classes at the local cc, possibly doing dual enrollment her Sr year, but she is not needing the "not Mom" classes as much. She does not care as much about secular/Christian based classes as oldest, so online classes are easier to find. I don't foresee her getting an Associates in high school.  She may take some CLEP tests because she loves (like really loves) tests haha.

I don't see my youngest (going into 8th grade this coming year) doing any dual enrollment. She may surprise me, but she has always been happiest doing homeschool with no co-ops or outside classes.  

[Ellie]

15 hours ago, egao_gakari said:

My kiddo will be doing a couple of dual enrollment classes next year (10th grade). Other homeschool families in the area seem to plan for their dc to achieve the full Associate's degree by high school graduation--and most of the ones I've talked to actually do achieve it. But when I first heard of DE, I pictured it as a supplement to ongoing education at home. To get the A.A., I think my kid would basically have to complete his whole junior and senior year with DE classes, and I'm not sure I really want him to do that--I'm kind of looking forward to those years! Is it unusual to do a few DE courses without intending to get a full 2-year degree?

(Obviously if he got super motivated and wanted to challenge himself to achieve the A.A., I'd be fine with that too 🙂)

The first homeschool convention I went to in 1983 had several workshops on high school. My dc was only seven yo, but I wanted to plan ahead. 🙂 One workshop presenter pointed out that all of the lower division courses required in college were repeats of high school; rather than do high school twice, he recommended doing community college instead of high school. So that's what i did. Both my dc began taking classes at the community college when they were 14. No, I didn't push them to graduate in two years. 🙂 They earned college credit, not high school credit (I didn't need an outside entity to give them high school credit; I did that myself), and I graduated them on their 16th birthdays, because they had done as much at home as they were gonna. 🙂 

This was in California, where community college tuition is (or was) very reasonable and affordable.

[RootAnn]

My DD#1 was the first homeschooler I know of to do DE at the local 4 yr state college (30 min away). It is not common in my rural area although I know of one other homeschooler who lives one county over who did DE at the CC (too far from us to be practical). That CC caters to homeschoolers but is in the "big city" an hour+ away.

DD#1 started spring of jr year & ended up taking three classes total. Two transferred into something directly with one actually being helpful toward her eventual college program of study. Two were used to get a high school credit out of the way quickly in a less painful way than taking the class at home or online. I think she regrets not taking more DE to knock more credits out, but she could have CLEPed more than she did cheaper & faster. Motivation & drive was lacking at the time.

Dd#2 is starting the summer before senior year & my goal for her is to slowly get her ready for a full college schedule, knock out some classes now, and support her as she figures in person classes out. Hopefully, she'll have 13-16 credits -- all counting for her ultimate degree -- by the time she graduates in the spring. She will do better with 12-14 credits per semester and if she has some buffer, she can do that. [She wants to live at home & attend the local 4 yr state college. She was not ready for DE prior to this year.]

DE goals, like everything else in our homeschool, is individualized to each kid. My rising freshman might start sooner & take more credits, but then again, she might not. 

We don't have easy access to a CC in the area (remote classrooms 30 min away at a satellite campus with live video from yet another campus location) so a AS or an AA are not goals for us.

[Arcadia]

47 minutes ago, Ellie said:

 

This was in California, where community college tuition is (or was) very reasonable and affordable.

12 credits per quarter free for us from 9th to 12th grade.

About $150 per course per quarter if paying.  Locally community colleges are charging about $45/credit/quarter in the Bay Area. Much cheaper than SJSU to try dual enrollment.

[BusyMom5]

The closest place to DE is about an hour away, so I had DD wait until 11th grade.  Our goal was to check boxes for gen eds, for both high school and college.  This year she is taking more classes in her interest areas.  I am trying to check that the classes all (or mostly) transfer for the degrees she's interested in as well as to the Universities she's interested in (all state schools, so right now aside from one Calc  class it all looks to transfer).  I'm not sure that we have an overall goal- she will not have an AA degree but will be close.  She will have between 50-60 credits when she graduates.  She plans to use them to buy her extra time for a second major, and has even worked out a way to get a Masters and a second Major within the time-frame of normal college years.  Right now I feel it's too soon to say if she will really do those things or not.  I know I reached my limit in math, so was happy to pass that on to someone else.  As for the other classes, my goals were more for her to have more interaction, accountability, and I think we were both at the point that my role needed to change.  It was a great transition and has been a good experience.   Right now, with Covid, we still haven't chosen classes b/c it's just too iffy.  The on campus classes were a real benefit to her, and I am sad that it probably wont happen this next semester (right now they say yes, social distanced but we will see).  

My second DD is in 10th grade, and no plans to DE this year.  I would like her to take a few next year, online.  She could easily do Government- which is required for both HS and college- and possibly history or English.  By her Sr. year I want her to take the college Algebra class.  They have classes just for DE kids online, and the math one is offered as a full year class instead of a semester.  This would let her sign up and start in the fall.  If she finished, great!  If she needed longer, she could have the entire year.  If she just finishes the ONE math class, that's all that is required for many degrees.  My goal for her would be to work up to college level work, knock out a few Gen Eds, and get this one math class over with so she can move on to things that interest her.  She also may decide to not go to college after high school, but at least she could get a few classes done.

As for younger kids- I guess that will depend on the kid and their goals.  

Cost here is about $100 per credit hour, plus books.  

[Ellie]

1 hour ago, Arcadia said:

12 credits per quarter free for us from 9th to 12th grade.

About $150 per course per quarter if paying.  Locally community colleges are charging about $45/credit/quarter in the Bay Area. Much cheaper than SJSU to try dual enrollment.

My dds started at Evergreen Valley College in San Jose. There were three categories of student: part-time dual enrollment (high school students); full time enrollment (adult); student under 18 not enrolled in high school. We could have done DE at no charge; however, DE students got high school credit, not college credit. When they graduated, they had to take enough classes to equal the credits they had earned as DE students. Students under 18 etc. earned college credit; they just needed parents to sign for them. We decided on that route.

San Jose City College had a cosmetology school; older dd decided she wanted to do that, so she enrolled when she was 16. The only cost was her supplies. After graduation, she worked for awhile, then went back to EVC for her AA, then transferred to SJS where she earned a BA in English Lit. She worked as a stylist while attending and graduated debt free.

[RootAnn]

DE through the local high school (must be enrolled there as a full time high school student) is about $50/ credit hour plus books but is only certain online classes.

Enrolling as an "enrichment" student is about $300/credit hour plus fees & books but you can take anything that is open & you meet the prereqs for.

[Serenade]

Our goal has been to lessen college debt. Both of my sons did/are doing dual enrollment.  My older son earned 32 credits for "free" except for books.  He attended another year after high school to finish his associates in science. This fall he is transferring to a university as a junior, with no college debt.  All of his credits transferred.  My younger son will probably follow the same path.  I live in NC, and in NC it is very easy to take classes that transfer to the university system without any hassle.  Also, a student with an associates degree and decent grades can more easily get into the top NC schools than if that same student had applied directly after high school. 

[Miguelsmom]

My son graduated in May. Our goal was to get him job ready. So he went after an AS degree. He decided to continue on after looking at availability of his profession. If he does not do the special program he'll transfer 42 credits in. If he gets into the special program they will take at least 60 credits.   Either way he'll finish early. 

[lewelma]

DS took 2 courses at the local university in 10th grade. We had a couple of goals.

1) For ds to learn to meet outside expectations and timelines. This was no problem for him which relieved my mind.

2) To find out if ds could/should remain in NZ for university. After his experience, he decided he would rather be a small fish in a big pond.

We decided after these 2 courses in 10th grade, that he would do all classes as homegrown in 11th and 12th grade. 

[mom2scouts]

Doing DE with the goal of getting an AA is not at all common in my area. Most parents here do it with the idea that it reduces college debt because they can get general requirements out of the way and the state pays for a certain number of credit hours. Others do it to provide classes for their advanced students. We don't have community colleges near us because we have a large university right down the street and another only 20 minutes away. DS is planning to take a couple of DE classes this year as a senior and the goal is to experience a college level class with deadlines and a teacher other than me. There's also a class he wants to take that is beyond my ability to teach. I chose the local university instead of one of the many small private colleges because I wanted to be close enough to easily have him take classes on campus, but Covid may prevent that.

[katilac]

On 6/28/2020 at 7:09 AM, Melissa B said:

 Though with Covid-19 she is now considering graduating next year and forgoing the final year of her scholarship. I am sad about that, but the classes she would need for her Biology minor are all lab classes and the college campus doesn't have the same appeal anymore. The necessary rules for this coming year are very restrictive. 

Make sure she takes the economy into consideration, and whether it might make sense to give it an additional year to recover. Year after next will hopefully be less restrictive, letting her end on a better note. If not, she could take just 12 hours and work more. 

[Reefgazer]

Our goals for dual enrollment were 1) to be able to show capability with college classes, 2) knock out a class faster (a one-semester college class is equivalent to a year high school class), and 3) (hopefully) obtain some credit for college if the course transfers to the 4-year uni.

[Arcadia]

On 6/27/2020 at 5:19 PM, egao_gakari said:

. To get the A.A., I think my kid would basically have to complete his whole junior and senior year with DE classes, and I'm not sure I really want him to do that

DS15 finally wrap up his 10th grade and the only classes that gave him joy were the dual enrollment classes he took, even when his in-person classes were all moved to online due to shelter in place.  

[slackermom]

We were originally looking to use DE for a few classes, but our flagship state university requires 27 college credits as one of the options for proof of college readiness for homeschooled applicants. Once we complete that option, my dc is basically halfway to an AA, so we looked into that. Our state has a guaranteed transfer program from the CCs to most of the State Uni BA programs. It is a significant cost savings, and allows dc to still make significant progress online while we wait out the Covid crisis. Also, even with FT DE, it should leave some time for personal pursuits like art and dance. Especially since we are not having to drive to campus.

I spoke to an admissions officer at the State U, to verify our plan was acceptable, and I will have to graduate dc prior to completion of the AA, so they are getting the AA as a CC student not a DE CC student. So, we will pay DE rates for a year, graduate high school, pay regular CC rates for the year after that, and then dc can be a junior at the State U.

eta: Also, dc plans to get an MA right after the BA, so expects to be on campus for 4 years anyway, but finishing an MA at the age they would normally get a BA.

Edited July 19, 2020 by slackermom
edited 2 add