The Coming of Age of Dual Enrollment

With escalating college tuition, today’s families are looking for ways to cut costs. Due to this increasing demand, more and more colleges are offering the ability for high school students to take college level courses to satisfy many general education requirements before entering college. Advanced Placement (AP) classes offer students the ability to take college level courses, that not only prepare students for the rigorous demands of college academics, but also give them the possibility to gain college credits. For the credits to be considered, students need to pass an end of the year cumulative exam with a score of a three, four, or five. Yet, some colleges are now shying away from transferring AP classes, unless the student passes with a four or five, truly proving their mastery over the subject.
This is why students are opting for dual enrollment: US News says, “Dual enrollment is an increasingly popular option for college-bound high school students. In its simplest form, dual enrollment allows a student to enroll in college courses and earn college credit while still in high school, taken while on their high school campus.” The grade received in the course in high school is what would potentially transfer in for their college transcript. The course would satisfy both the high school graduation requirement and the college general education credit at a fraction of the cost. At SCCS, a three credit English Composition course (dual enrolled through Colorado Christian Univ.) would cost a student $200. That same course at a California State University would be $1,587 ($529/credit). That is a savings of over $1,300/course.
This last year, SCCS graduate Payton Schwesinger, took full advantage of all the AP and dual enrollment courses SCCS had to offer and graduated with 30 percent of her UCLA graduation requirements completed. That is 55 credits towards her 180 required credits completed all at SCCS, at a fraction of the cost.
With a low student-to-teacher ratio, competitive sports for grades K-12, Advanced Placement and dual enrollment classes and full and half day Kindergarten programs, SCCS partners with families to help produce students who are prepared to make a difference in the world for God.
Join us for our Fall Kindergarten Preview Day, Friday, December 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Space is limited! Please RSVP at 661-252-7371. Visit www.sccs.cc or www.facebook.com/SantaClaritaChristianSchool for more information.