Bridge Day took place at Armuchee High School on March 16 where students, parents, and administration met together to discuss the schedules and courses for the next school year. There were many options to choose from when considering what courses to sign up for. There are honors classes, CTAE classes, WBL classes, AP classes, and Dual Enrollment. Dual Enrollment is a very common choice among the Junior and Senior class as a higher level of education compared to regular high school classes.

Jordan Joyce, a Senior dual enrollment student at Armuchee High School, said, “Dual Enrollment is a class that you take in a high school that you get college credits for.” When a student is dually enrolled they will receive both credits to complete their high school degree as well as credits on a college level. Jenni Stansell, the Academic Counselor for Armuchee High School, said, “To do dual enrollment you must apply for dual enrollment through a Georgia futures account and also apply and be accepted into the college you take classes from.” Georgia Futures is the platform that Armuchee uses to allow high school students to do free dual enrollment classes. Stansell said, “Most colleges have a minimum Grade Point Average, but you can also use PSAT or ACT scores if you don’t meet the Grade Point Average requirement. You can do dual enrollment through several colleges like Georgia Northwestern Technical College, Berry College, Georgia Highlands College, and Shorter University.”

There are several classes to choose from as well. Joyce said, “Last year I took History 1111 and 1112, and this year I am taking Math 1111 and 1113.” Cate Gilbert, another Senior Dual enrollment student, said, “I am taking college Government and Economics and College Algebra.” Harrison Hulsey, a Junior dual enrollment student, said, “I am currently taking College U.S. History and English 1102.”

Taking dual enrollment classes gives you an advantage that you don’t get with regular high school classes. “A semester of dual enrollment counts as a full year of college, so you basically get a head start with your college education,” said Hulsey. Stansell said, “Many dual enrollment students begin planning this in tenth grade and if you plan the right classes for the right schools you can enter college as a sophomore.”

Dual Enrollment also allows students to be self-responsible since there is no in-person teacher to hold them accountable. Joyce said, “You gain time management skills because there are assignments due every week on Saturday so you have to manage how you spend your time while also taking college classes.” The workload is significantly different from high school classes as well. Joyce said, “During College English, I had an essay due every week and there were a lot of quizzes. There is a lot of reading too because you don’t have a teacher to read it with you, so you do your own reading.”

There is a lot to consider when taking a college-level education in high school. Some students choose between online dual enrollment and in-person, and some students take a completely different path for high school college credit and enroll in Advanced Placement classes.  “If you look at more competitive schools like the University of Georgia, Georgia Institute of Technology, or any Ivy League school, they will want to see that you’ve taken Advanced Placement because it’s more rigorous,” said Stansell, “But if you want to go into a trade school or a local college like Georgia Highlands or Shorter University I would highly recommend dual enrollment because it easily knocks out the required core classes and you don’t need higher rigor for those schools, so dual enrollment provides an easy option to get ahead at those schools.”