[HiddenDragon]

I'm a Junior in high school and last year I took AP Comp. Sci. Unfortunately that's the highest programming class my school has so I talked to my counselor who said I might be able to enroll in a college course. The counselor was really not helpful at all. I called up a few colleges around my area and they pretty much told me they didn't know. One of them said that they have 100 level courses (How to use Word) and 700 level courses (Working on your Masters) but nothing in between.

Know of any colleges that will let me take programming classes for concurrent credit? What would you recommend I do?

[modi123_1]

What's your area? Are there any community colleges you can show up to and enroll on the cheap?

[HiddenDragon]

Kansas, near Wichita. I don't know how I'd be at the college campus and high school. I would imagine it would have to be online.

This post has been edited by HiddenDragon: 30 August 2011 - 04:47 PM

[macosxnerd101]

What you could do is register for some study halls at your high school and work with the counseling department and administration to leave school early and take your classes at the college. In CS at college, you'll want to look at Data Structures I as the next course in the sequence. Beyond that, are there other higher level math or science courses not offered at your school? AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Physics? You might as well take one of those as well and knock it out if you couldn't otherwise take it at your school.

[modi123_1]

Let's not forget most "interesting" computer classes will require pre-reqs... so unless you can swing (and I do advice to swing) that your AP Comp Sci score passes you out of them you might just be picking off intro classes for when you do hit college.

[macosxnerd101]

Quote

so unless you can swing (and I do advice to swing) that your AP Comp Sci score

Love the Java pun, modi.

The other course you might want to look at is Discrete Math at college. That generally requires very little in the way of prereqs, and that and Data Structures I both open up a lot of doors. Modi is right though- you'll be knocking off a lot of prereqs most likely.

[Gavisann]

Talk with your counselor and a local community college about Dual Enrollment. I don't know if all states have it, but it will allow you to take college levels classes for free. Remember that you will need to take pre-reqs before you will get to the classes you want.

[HiddenDragon]

Thanks guys. This year I've got Chemistry 2 (Equivalent of college chem - concurrent credit), Physics, and Pre-calc. Next year will have Physics 2 and Calc (both concurrent credit)

I'll see what I can do about a dual enrollment of some sort. Only got a 4 on the Comp. Sci. so I'm not sure what good that's going to do.

[macosxnerd101]

A 4 isn't bad. For most places, a 4 will get you out of the standard intro class. Check around at the local colleges to see what scores they want from that exam.

[HiddenDragon]

Just had another thought on this. Well, first, my school probably won't let me do a dual enrollment until next year but I'll ask.

Anyway, on to my other thought. If I can't do a dual enrollment or take any college courses should I do something like MIT's OpenCourseWare and then test out of the classes my freshman year?

[macosxnerd101]

You can try for self-studying then taking the placement exam. Check your college's policy that you're looking at attending post-high school. Sometimes, a credit is worth more than the aggravation of a placement exam. Just something to keep in mind.

[Gavisann]

HiddenDragon, on 02 September 2011 - 06:48 AM, said:

Just had another thought on this. Well, first, my school probably won't let me do a dual enrollment until next year but I'll ask.

Anyway, on to my other thought. If I can't do a dual enrollment or take any college courses should I do something like MIT's OpenCourseWare and then test out of the classes my freshman year?

Dual enrollment is a deal between primary and secondary schools. So, you would have to go to a public college, ie. community college.

[NeoTifa]

DON'T DO IT! ENJOY HIGH SCHOOL! I did this (PSEO) and fucked up really bad because I wasn't prepared and couldn't handle both college and high school and extra curriculars. I started college with a 1.6 GPA thanks to that. Not to mention it fucked my high school GPA beyond no belief. It took my 3.6 to a 3.2, and it was only that high because I worked my ass off the other 2-3 quarters that were left of my senior year.

This post has been edited by NeoTifa: 02 September 2011 - 08:47 AM

[chrisH]

NeoTifa, on 02 September 2011 - 08:46 AM, said:

DON'T DO IT! ENJOY HIGH SCHOOL! I did this (PSEO) and fucked up really bad because I wasn't prepared and couldn't handle both college and high school and extra curriculars. I started college with a 1.6 GPA thanks to that. Not to mention it fucked my high school GPA beyond no belief. It took my 3.6 to a 3.2, and it was only that high because I worked my ass off the other 2-3 quarters that were left of my senior year.

I'm going to have to agree with NeoTifa on this one. Unless you are 100% (and I really do mean 100%) confident in your abilities, I wouldn't be taking the classes at college.

Stick to your AP's for now and enjoy the ease that high school is. Picking up a book or online reference and begin burning through it is a very good idea. You build your study skills as well as saving money in your pocket. It is waaay cheaper than a pay-by-unit class.

That's just my 2 cents though.

[macosxnerd101]

I'm going to speak my piece about AP classes. I think they are great and they've helped me place out of a ton of general eds; and as chrisH said, a great way to save money. However, the caveat is if you get a qualifying score. A 3 doesn't cut it everywhere. Some schools don't accept even 5's for certain exams. Look at your school's policy, look at the course, and look at your confidence in your ability to get the necessary score. If you don't have confidence that you can do this, you're blowing $85 on the exam. And at that point, $85 + paying for the class at a more expensive college is going to cost you more than paying for the course at a community college. Of course, if you pass the AP exam, then the $85 is cheaper than community college. Weigh the trade-offs carefully before making your decision.