Making the Grade: High school students gets a head start on college

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Dec. 30, 2014

Students who want to differentiate themselves from the crush of college applicants and, at the same time, get a bit of a break on college tuition are discovering both features in one program. Through dual enrollment, high school juniors and seniors who meet the scholastic eligibility requirements can take introductory, college-level courses offered, in some cases, in the same building where they eat lunch.

But many high schoolers don’t take advantage of the program because they aren’t aware it exists, said Jeff Meadors, the college-wide coordinator of dual enrollment at Georgia Perimeter College.

“A lot of them find us by word of mouth from other students who like the program,” he said. “But we’re out in schools marketing, letting people know we can walk them through it.”

GPC has the highest number of dual-enrollment students in the state, said Meadors, who expects this year’s number of 1,146 to top 1,200 in the spring. Out of that number, 734 are on the northside, where they take classes either at GPC’s location on Brookside Parkway in Alpharetta or at Milton, Centennial, Chattahoochee,, Alpharetta, Roswell and Dunwoody high schools.

“Most of them are taking the required, basic courses in algebra, English, economics and political science,” said Meadors. “They get college credits that do not count against their lifetime HOPE credits but do count into their HOPE GPA. The classes transfer fully, so it saves money; they don’t have to repeat them. And they have the rigor of AP (advance placement), but without having to take a test to show you’ve mastered the information.”

Other students opt for dual enrollment for the freedom it affords, Meadors said.

“They’re ready to have two days a week when they’re free to go to be in class with students from other parts of the metro area, as well as college freshmen and sophomores. For some, it’s a chance to move away from high school and into a setting where there’s less peer pressure. And they can take a course, like psychology, that may not be offered in their high school.”

Sarah Ghalayini, now a senior at the Fulton Science Academy, started in GPC’s dual enrollment program in the fall of her junior year after hearing about it through a friend.

“I also had friends already in college tell me that they wish that they had known about it and urged me to take advantage of the opportunity,” said the 17-year-old. “In my sophomore year, I took AP World History, and I was eager to do more and go beyond that.

Being in the program has given her a better understanding of college expectations, she said.

“In high school, teachers play a larger role in your learning, and they make sure you’re keeping up with assignments,” she said. “In college, not only do you have to keep track of important deadlines on your own, but you also have fewer graded assignments. These changes took a few weeks to adapt to, but students who plan on attending college need to make this same transition at one point, so the earlier they can, the smoother the remainder of their college career will be.”

Laura Whitlock, chair of the mathematics, computer science, science, business and physical education departments at GPC’s Alpharetta center, said the program is enormously popular with parents as well.

“We live in an area where parents are very involved with their children’s education, and they see the value of it,” she said. “Students automatically get college credit and don’t have to take a test to get it. The program is a nice transition from high school, and it helps students grow up a bit.”