By Naomi Kiarie | Observer Contributor
Every high school student can attest to having that moment. It comes without warning, and it hits hard. You realize pretty soon you are going to have to leave high school to go off to college and although you have taken all the college prep classes, you still don’t feel completely ready. It could be a scary moment. But there might be a way to better arm yourself for the transition to college – start early.
I am talking about dual enrollment. Dual enrollment students are high school students taking college courses that, one, count toward their high school diplomas, and two, build up college credit. Most teens that choose to dual enroll find high school courses unchallenging. However, a growing number of students simply want to get a head start on college. Who chooses dual enrollment? The majority are juniors and seniors in high school, but I have met sophomores taking a class or two.
A few weeks ago I started at Mount Wachusett as a first-year student. However, through a couple semesters of classes, I began having almost finished with the pre-requisites for applying to the nursing program. A semester or more of classes under your belt by freshman year can help you graduate early and allow you to take more of the classes that you are interested in. For those students who want to go into professional programs like nursing, medicine, and law, dual enrollment can be your savior.
There is no real way to find out if dual enrollment is right for you. Take a look at your classes. Are you doing well? Are you looking for more of a challenge? Talk to your guidance counselor. Let him or her know that you are interested in taking college classes to fulfill some of your diploma requirements. Your counselor can look at your work and tell you if it is a sound academic decision. However, the most important person you should consult making this decision is you. You will know whether you are driven enough to take on such a challenge. I am not going to lie; college is very different from high school, but if you can start a little earlier, it could set you up for future success in the years to come.
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