by College students need to be organized and manage their time well in order to succeed, but college students who are still in high school have to do it twice.
Sports, studying, a social life, family time, and relaxation – all aspects of most students daily life. But for some high school students, they expect more. Kyle Miceli, a Freedom High School Student said, “I chose to take dual enrollment courses to get a jump start with college credits, all while replacing an unnecessary elective.” Some want to get ahead and receive college credits, this means they will take dual enrollment classes.
There are positive and negative aspects to being a dual enrollment student. According to Miceli and Madison Walther, seniors at Freedom High, being a dual enrollment student takes planning and organizational skills, time management and determination to get the work done.
Miceli took an English course at NCC last semester. When asked how he managed his time between working and school work, along with his college credits, he says he isn’t a procrastinator, which helped him get his work done efficiently. “I’m always getting things done as quickly as I can because I’m always focused on deadlines,” says Miceli. This is a vital element in his road to success.
“This was a good introduction to the college environment, more independence and a reduced tuition rate,” says Miceli. He enjoyed being a dual enrollment student because he had shorter classes, the class wasn’t held every single day, which let him have time off from his high school schedule.
Since he will go to NCC next semester he will have a jump start on credits and a reduced tuition. Although, it wasn’t all fun and games. Miceli said, “You can get a horrible professor, you can have professors cancel as you sit outside waiting for the class to start, and the mandatory survey never happened.”
Sometimes not all college professors can be your favorite. For Miceli, he believed that happened. “I paid $300 to get a teacher who spent more time complaining about his pay than actually teaching,” Miceli says.
Madison Walther on the other hand, loved her dual enrollment experience, she stayed motivated and it helped push her to be excited to graduate senior year and grow from there.
Walther took an algebra class at NCC this past semester. “Staying busy is important to me and college courses helped keep me busy,” says Walther. She also explained, “I wanted to get a jump start on college credits and thought what better way than to take a class I’m comfortable with and receive credits towards my major at the same time.”
Her algebra class wasn’t too challenging since she was familiar with the material and also enjoyed having the time away from her high school. Yes, she did have a busy schedule and had to keep up with the work, but she says, “it’s no problem at all really, I stayed focused and organized, which made it easier for me to stay motivated and finish strong.”
High school tries to prepare you for college, but college prepares better than anything else. Taking dual enrollment classes allows students to be in the college atmosphere with college students, college professors, college books and college grading systems. College books hold more information than high school ones, causing them to be more expensive. “I did not enjoy paying so much for the book,” said Walther.
Dual enrollment students maintain the drive and determination to get their credits before even getting to college. College is a new step in a student’s life, why not get ahead if you can. “I’m glad I chose to take an algebra class at NCC,” said Walther. She also explained, “I think it prepared me for the workload I will have to hold while actually in college.”
