High School Question AP credits vs. Community College Cred.

I'd go with the community college route. Even if what she takes there isn't accepted within her college major she could get some elective credits taken care of. My ds went to community college for about three semesters. He's in a 4-year university now and has been able to skip a required English class, and a required math class. The others are counting as electives. He had one history class at community college which might have transferred as a required class except that he's a history major. The university wants all the majors' classes to be from there. But basically his electives and two requirements are taken care of because the credits transferred. 

My son did both. Some of his AP classes counted as credits for college. All of his community college classes did. It will just depend on the college she wants to attend. They are all a bit different with requirements and each state can be different too. My son's junior and senior year in high school got him 35 college credits towards his degree in college. I think we paid for eight of those credits (reduced price) and the high school paid for the rest. So my son's "freshman" year cost us about $600. While those credits did transfer, it meant that his elective classes were already taken care of and he has been in math and science classes for two years. He hasn't had an "easy" or less stringent class since he started. My son thought the community college classes were easier than his AP courses in high school. But that was comparing electives to AP math and science.

Other factors are how the AP curriculum mirrors/overlaps the universities course offerings.  UT Dallas may not offer any Italian language classes therefore there is no equivalency that can be filled.   AP can be used to fill equivalent college courses assuming the univ offers something equivalent to the AP curriculum.

For what it's worth, our DS has taken mostly honors/AP classes--no Running Start classes (that's what they call it here, taking classes that give you dual high school/college credit)...he will be going into an honor college next year, and his AP credits won't transfer over, BUT (and here's my main point)--we have told him that the object of his AP classes isn't to get college credit (although that would have been great), but to have an enriched learning environment. The AP classes at his school are taught by really great teachers--he also has been able to be in classes with like minded kids...he doesn't make friends/connections easily, but that population seems to be a bit more accepting to him than the general population. I think it would depend on the child, but for us, the AP/honors route has worked out well.

Both my oldest and my middle (a high school Junior) have done the AP route. No regrets about it so far.

One of the deciding factors for US was that there's no transportation available to the community college - students or parents have to provide transportation. My oldest didn't get his license until after graduation, my middle has had her learners for 1y7m now and still isn't ready to test so she may well be a Senior by the time she does. I'm a sahm but I don't drive. So transportation was a big factor for US because the AP courses are available at the high school and the dual enrollment ones aren't.

Now for my middle one - many of the dual enrollment classes are now available online so she COULD take them without leaving the high school campus BUT she didn't find online classes a good fit when she's tried them in the past AND she wanted to take the AP classes - her friends were in them, she knew the teachers (some her brother had, two are her Academic Team coaches), she preferred AP to dual enrollment.

Another factor to consider - especially if you have other children in the public schools - is that the dual enrollment classes follow the college calender not the high school one and the days off are usually different.

Also - if the student is looking at competitive schools - some don't accept EITHER dual enrollment or AP credit BUT they do consider how rigourous the courses taken were. And of course, some accept only one or the other so if she has a college in mind - that's something to consider.

For MY family (and every family is different) - my older two choose AP classes because they wanted the challenge of more rigourous classwork as well as having other students in the class there because they wanted to be there. Dual enrollment probably would have done that as well for them.

My oldest went from high school to community college - he chose not to apply to college his senior year (even though he had a strong academic record and probably could have gone to a decent Univ.) so that was the default (fwiw he turned 18 early in Senior year - so adult decisions have adult consequences). As it turned out it was a good fit for him and he earnt his AA degree while living at home and working. He has no college debt from that. He's now in the Navy and finishing up his B.A.S in Logistics online from overseas - and should graduate with NO debt. He was able to take more elective classes in CC because the AP classes knocked out some of his required courses. He had the option of graduating early (as they knocked out enough courses) BUT one of his required for his major classes was only offered Spring semester so he ended up finishing on time due to the scheduling factor. Since both his comm. college and the college he's attending now are part of our state college system - all his credits transfer (and that would ALSO have been true had he done dual enrollment).

Now my middle child plans to go to a state college in a neighbouring state - a strong transcript isn't a factor for admissions, it's not esp. competitive, although she has a strong transcript and like my son, could apply to a more competitive school. I'm not sure if our state's dual enrollment classes are accepted or not - I suspect it's a case by case basis. They do accept AP credit for scores 3 and higher although she'll have to pass a state test in order to receive credit for the AP US Hist and/or US Govt.

I'd like to emphasize this as well.  My DS is a sophomore in college, but actually a junior because of how his AP credits transferred.  But he still needs the 4 years because you can't take 4 engineering classes in one semester!  He really doesn't need any electives because he has so many required classes for his Engineering major and he has several classes that counted as electives.  This can mean a pretty heavy load for a first year student away from home for the first time.

DS had it a bit rough last year--he was used to acing his classes with very little outside homework.  All in all, it was a good learning experience, even with his GPA taking a bit of a hit.  But he has a 4.0 this semester, so I think it was a good life lesson for him.

I think the AP route was a good one for him.  He's socially immature (Asperger's), but an academic genius.  He went in with 28 AP credits--some for required classes, some for electives.  The class (AP Government) didn't transfer with an equivalent class, so his class transferred as an elective.  And his AP Physics did transfer, but he had to take a calculus based Physics class anyway because even though he did take AP Physics C (or was it BC?), it didn't have as much calculus as he needed for an Engineering major.

What is your goal and your DD's goal?  To graduate college at 20?  To lighten her load?  To minimize her expenses?  What sort of college is she looking at?  A competitive college will definitely expect rigorous course work with the dual enrollment classes may not provide.  

It's tough to decide all of this at 14.  Really, it's a bit nuts.  Is there anyway she can do both?  Take a few dual enrollment classes, but still take the AP classes that she is good at?  In our HS, we found that AP classes were generally fairly accessible because the same 100 kids took all AP classes and couldn't have scheduling conflicts.  But we have almost 3,000 students at our HS, so there are at least 2 classes of every AP class except probably AP Mandarin.

If she's going to study theatre, portfolio and audition will be more important than anything. I'd try to figure out what will save you/her the most money in terms of accepted credits and go that route.

Is she thinking about UNC or State? If so, doing well in AP classes will give her a better shot at getting in. 

AP classes are harder than community college courses, IME. We've done both with our kids, depending upon which is better suited for the child. 

My dd is doing Move on When Ready, the dual enrollment program in GA. She will graduate hs and get AA at the same time and transfer to a 4 uear college as a transfer student vice a freshman. Scheduling was a big deciding factor for her. She just couldn't get the classes at the level needed. AP tests are $96 each with no guarantee that you will score high enough for credit or that the college will take it. Her college classes will transfer in GA, there are reciprocal agreements in place. Her AA will be in General Studies, basically all core classes. Best of all, it is FREE, even the books. No brainer for our family.