by Samantha League

Created on: May 28, 2009   Last Updated: May 30, 2009

High school is an accumulation of: relationships, college, sense of identity, college, dress code, stress, college, getting your license, college, realizing you have to grow up, and... college. No matter how much high school students want to avoid thinking about further education, college is lurking in every aspect of high school life. Students are encouraged to take classes that will benefit their GPA and that will look favorably on high school transcripts. While honors classes obviously look good, the opportunity to take AP or dual enrollment classes presents itself junior year. But which to take if you need to choose? After my experiences of taking both and knowing people who took all AP or all dual enrollment, I have put together a little guide that may help your decision.

If you're getting tired of high school... and are ready to branch out a little, look into dual enrollment classes. They're offered on the college's campus, which gives you a chance to leave your high school campus and step onto what feels like the next phase of your life. Taking classes on a college campus will open your eyes to opportunities colleges have to offer - clubs, different classes, and an array of new faces ranging from all ages. It's also a nice transition step from high school to college once you graduate.

However, if you're not ready to leave high school yet... consider AP. You'll recognize most of the people in your class and can stay with your friends. You may even know the teacher, who you can form a close relationship with throughout the whole year. While it's not always true you're just a name in college classes, it's definitely true that you can bond better with your AP teacher since you'll see them everyday.

If the idea of taking a test at the end of the year to determine if you receive college credit or not freaks you out... take dual enrollment. While there are finals in college, that final's grade does not determine whether you receive college credit or not - all the grades you've received throughout the semester do. In AP, if you do not receive a 3 on the national test in May, you will not receive college credit. If you are too stressed by this concept or feel it's a little ridiculous, sign up for dual enrollment.

If you like the idea of having one less period during your school day... dual enrollment is a great opportunity to shorten your high school day. At my high school, if we took one dual enrollment class during the semester, we would either come in

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