Benefits of Dual Enrollment

By Justice Brown

     For high school students, doing dual enrollment from a community college is a great way to earn early credits for college and high school credit simultaneously. Most high schools encourage students to take a community college course to earn early credit or explore options of possible majors when they go to college. For California high school students, community college classes are also either free or very cost-friendly. 

     With community college classes being affordable for high school students, taking advantage of these classes while in high school can decrease the amount of classes you take in college. This will help you earn your degree faster once you get to college and reduce the costs of your education. You also have the opportunity to pursue a double major in college with the extra two years you are enrolled in.

     Dual enrollment also helps you learn the coursework and certain topics you will go over for your college major. It is a great way to dip your feet in and see what you like. In college, changing your major may be difficult but community college is a great option to explore classes. For example, you can take a course for a psychology major and a criminal justice major at the same time to see what your interests are.  

     Even though community college classes are a good option to get ahead, a student should only do dual enrollment if they are prepared and can handle the increased workload. For high school students you are usually limited to taking 11 units per semester or three-four classes per semester. A high school student would be taking about 8-10 classes at the same time. This work can get overwhelming if the student is not organized or is participating in extracurriculars. 

     I am currently a senior at Benicia High School and taking a community college class to prepare and get insight into the work I will be doing once I get to college in the upcoming fall. My class is very exciting and convenient because we only have one-two assignments per week. Taking this class now will also decrease the amount of classes I will have to take once I get to college.