5 Questions I Get Asked as a Dual Enrollment Student

When I first told people about my intentions of dual enrollment, I was met with a lot of mixed reactions. Here are some of the most common questions I get asked as a dual enrollment student.

1. How are you in college and high school at the same time? That must be a ton of work!

This question is somewhat conflicting because while it's definitely not light, I personally haven't struggled a ton with the workload. Firstly, dual enrollment isn't adding college courses on top of your high school work, it's substituting those courses for the same credit. So it really depends on which classes you take and how you do high school. I was homeschooled for high school so I had flexibility. And I took courses that I was genuinely interested in and that I was good at. My first course was College Composition I and we had a grand total of four essays for the entire semester, the final assignment being a 4-page research paper. Naturally, this will vary depending on what school you dual enroll through, but many high schools offer their college courses at the high school itself so you don't have to go anywhere. Although I highly recommend taking them on campus so you can get used to the college environment.

2. You have to be really smart to go to college early right?

This is one of my favorites! While doing college courses early requires a certain amount of intelligence, it's not only for straight-A students. Check with your high school to see what the dual enrollment requirements are. For me personally, I actually did pretty averagely in my high school courses, but my college courses had a nice workload which allowed me to succeed.

3. Aren't you just throwing your childhood away?

*deep inhale* Actually I'm not. No one forced me to go to take college courses and I picked them out myself. Dual enrollment has allowed me to follow my interests through resources I may not have been able to have if I had just stayed in high school. I enjoy the freedom that being a college student allows me and I still do a lot of other stuff in my free time. I like hanging out with my friends, reading manga, and playing the piano. The only thing I regret about dual enrollment is not starting it sooner!

4. High schools offer advanced courses, why can't you just take those?

This might come across as strange but I was always terrified of AP Courses. I ended up taking honors French because that was the next class available and that was alright. But hearing about AP testing scared me so I can't really give my opinion on that. However, I did enjoy my honors course since it didn't add too much to my workload. I also really enjoyed the flexibility my dual enrollment courses offered me. Unlike many high school courses, college courses are usually only a few times a week instead of every day (this depends on the semester and college). During my first class, I only had class for an hour and a half two times a week. It was bliss. And because most of the courses you'll take when you first start out will be level 100 (meaning they're for freshmen), they do tend to be lighter when it comes to general requirements.

5. Can I really do something like that?

Yes! Dual enrollment is available in most counties so it's best that you speak with your school counselor to look into it. Some courses may be available at the high school to fit with your schedule, or if you're really dedicated, you can try and take classes on the college campus (which I highly recommend). If you're interested in finding dual enrollment near you, check out dualenrollment.co. It has plenty of resources for you to get started. Good luck on your journey!