By Mariah Taylor ‘26
Conestoga Valley High School has a lot of opportunities for their students, some of which they might not even know about. One of these opportunities that helps students boost their confidence in a college setting is the Dual Enrollment program. Students who start this program could potentially graduate with an associate degree in addition to their high school diploma.
There are two well known schools that CV pairs up with — Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) and Millersville University. This program lets students become more confident in pursuing a masters or bachelors degree after high school, because they will already be one step ahead of their friends who aren’t involved in dual enrollment.
For example, students can go to HACC and pursue their program under General Education Studies. Doing this can earn them all of their gen ed credits for a reduced price, as well as a more convenient location through their high school. These credits count towards an associate degree, even if they are all under the general education program.
Not only is dual enrollment good for early college credits and high school credits, but it can be good for the college experience, especially if a student is on the fence about going to a 4-year college. There are so many reasons why you should consider taking the dual enrollment path as a high school student.
Austin Blantz (12), a participant in dual enrollment, said that “It helped me because I was able to experience college and it’s coursework in a small dose without the big financial commitment.”
He continued: “I would definitely recommend doing it because not only does it count towards you credits at CVHS, it also gives you college credit, which you can transfer to the college of your choice after high school. Also it gives you a feel for what college is like before you go.”
While it can be a challenge to split your time between college and high school, Austin said that “It definitely helps you with time management because your balancing two different schools and a different types of coursework.”
Austin’s adive to people who are considering the program is to “Don’t let fear or nerves deter you from doing it. It’s a great opportunity that will be very beneficial to you.” His favorite memory is “Making friends and laughing and just having a good time and realizing that college isn’t so scary.”
Students have the ability to take online courses as well if their school schedule is filled. There are convenient colleges, such as HACC, that offer online or even remote courses. HACC and other colleges around Lancaster hold night classes as well.
As upperclassmen, students also have the ability to take college courses and have them count as senior credits. For example, English 101 (English Composition 1) at HACC can replace your English course senior year, but it will count as both a college credit and a high school credit. This can help take work load off of a senior while still getting that college education while only being in high school.
Not only could you potentially get a degree before you graduate, but doing the dual enrollment program can help boost a chance of getting a job after college. If you still plan on going to a 4-year college, it looks good on applications. The program proves that a student can be versatile both in a college setting and in a high school setting, showing that they can balance two completely different schedules and have good time management. Sometimes that’s the most important thing on any kind of application.
In the article, What Is Dual Enrollment? written by author Kathryn Flynn, she explains common questions about dual enrollment and clarifies how it works when you want to transfer your credits to a college. “Dual enrollment allows high school students to take college classes while they are still enrolled in high school,” she writes. “These classes count for both high school and college credit. High school students who complete dual enrollment classes generally take fewer classes in college and save money on total college costs.”
Flynn also notes that not every high school student may be eligible to do dual enrollment by the time they are an upperclassman. There could be several reasons why that is. There are different requirements for each state, and students must typically maintain a certain GPA while they are still in high school in order to be a part of the program. If their GPA drops, they may be pulled since they cannot balance high school and college at the same time.
Flynn also goes into depth about how the grades work in order to transfer the credits and earn dual credit for both high school and college. Students usually must have to pass with a C or higher in order to transfer the credit to a 4-year college so that they will not have to retake the course. However, it is important to note that not every college may take a course that was transferred from another college.
In order to earn college credits, you also have to successfully complete the course within its semester. If if you were to do a class like English 101 during your senior year, you would have to send the transcript to your counselor so that you can get credit for both high school and college.
As you can see, doing dual enrollment can give a student the opportunity to feel what it’s like to take a college level course while they are still only a junior or senior in high school. They have the ability to not take as much college courses as others, especially if they start the program early enough. You may also potentially have the ability to earn an associates degree before you even graduate from high school!