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Pros and Cons of Dual Enrollment

Demand for dual enrollment, also called concurrent enrollment, is growing in our high schools. In fact, one in five community college students are high school students. 2.5 million high school students took a college course in 2022-23, many of those were in California. It is not uncommon for students to earn an AA before they have even graduated high school. These college-level classes are marketed as being rigorous and as granting college credits while counting double for high school credit. What’s not to like?

What is it?

There is plenty to like, but, as with everything, it is important to know all the facts. Dual enrollment is defined as when high school students take college-level courses. This can look several different ways. A high school student might enroll in a college course on their own to explore classes and interests beyond what their high school offers. If the student wants high school credit, the high school might need to approve the class . This option is often used when a student has maxed-out available courses in a certain subject. In another scenario, a high school might have an agreement with a college to have a course taught on the high school campus. These courses follow the college curriculum and might be taught by the college’s faculty or by a high school teacher who has been trained in the curriculum and certified by the college. Another option is high school “articulation” when a community college reviews a high school’s Career Technical Education (CTE) curriculum and decides to grant college credit for the coursework.

Each of these iterations of dual enrollment come with their own considerations. Who is teaching it? Who pays for it? Is the college credit transferable? Is it better than taking an equivalent Advanced Placement class? The fact that there are so many questions and a lack of consistency leads many to be skeptical of the value of these courses.

Why Does it Matter?

The ability to offer college courses gives high schools the opportunity to offer practical career-oriented classes and/or more advanced classes that they might not have otherwise been able to. These, however, come at a price usually shouldered by the district but sometimes shared by the parents. Unfortunately, not all districts or the families they serve have room in their budgets for this expense. This creates an accessibility issue as dual enrollment options are typically more prevalent in wealthier districts.

A commonly asked question is how taking college courses factors into admissions. The answer can vary widely between institutions. There is consensus that these courses are more advanced than standard high school classes and choosing to take them demonstrates a student’s desire to go above and beyond the minimum requirements. It shows they have taken advantage of all opportunities available to them. But which is viewed as more rigorous when there is an equivalent AP course? The UCs do not have a preference among the various forms of advanced coursework, but that is not universal. Community college courses are generally considered easier than AP courses, and unlike the AP, the curriculum is not standardized. These facts can be a consideration when a transcript is being evaluated.

What about that elusive promise of college credit at the end of the course? The college credit awarded is often not transferable to the college or university where a student eventually enrolls. Credit is more widely granted for high AP test scores, but colleges have different policies about that as well, and it can depend on the course and the test result. In other words, not all AP courses or test results are treated equally. Additionally, students often elect to not take the AP test thus eliminating all possibility of getting credit.

For these reasons and more, at the end of the day if asked which class a student should take next year, I am most likely going to say, “It depends.”

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Do You Know the Secret Sauce?

The answer to that question along with how open you are to new information might fundamentally change your college admissions process. Many students and their parents enter the college admissions season with an abundance of misconceptions. One of the most striking examples is what students think that the colleges are prioritizing when they are making admissions decisions.

NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling) teamed with Harris Polls to do a study on students’ perceptions about the college admissions process. The results provide needed insight into the student perspective. Everyone involved in college admissions should consider what the students are thinking so that corrective action can be taken to assure college-bound students know what is expected of them. They should have the appropriate tools to plan according to these expectations.

Students’ Common Misconceptions

Unfortunately, the poll results show many discrepancies between what students think they need to present to colleges and what colleges are actually looking for. Over 56% of those polled believe that GPA in all courses and test scores (SAT/ACT) are the most important factors. Extracurricular activities came in next at 34% and application essays at 33%. Another 1/3 of those surveyed also felt that grades in college prep courses were an important factor. Students felt that the least important factors are course rigor, teacher recommendations, interviews, demonstrated interest, and at the bottom, the counselor recommendation.

What Colleges are Assessing


Compare that with what colleges report that they are primarily assessing when reading applications. An overwhelming number of colleges (76%) listed GPA in college prep courses as the most important factor. Overall GPA and strength of curriculum came next. 26% of students felt strength of curriculum mattered compared to 63% of colleges. This is a problem as students throughout high school inappropriately weigh predicted grades over challenge when making course selections. After those three heavy weights, come other considerations such as character attributes (28%), essay (19%), and measured interest in attending (16%). Surprisingly, colleges rank test scores at 5%. This, of course, cannot be evaluated without context and the winds are always changing on this. It could vary significantly between schools, but I do think it is an indicator that students who overwhelmingly think it is the second most important factor need to evaluate it in context. If a school requires it, it is probably significant as it could verify the legitimacy of a high GPA. It would never, however, be more important than, say, strength of schedule. On the other hand, many ”test optional” schools are truly that, test optional. For those, it may really be closer to that 5% on the importance scale. It could be higher, though, as some are test optional in name only. That is when insider knowledge of a school’s admission process can be really helpful.

All in all, there is a disconnect between what colleges value and what applicants think they value. I hope that this data will help families plan and put things in perspective. The secret sauce is challenging yourself in high school course selection and working hard to achieve good grades in those challenging classes. Writing ability, interest in attending, recommendations, and quality of extracurricular activities follow in level of importance.

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Cold, Hard Facts About College Admissions

Many are sick of hearing me say, “That school is a reach for everybody. ” Some of my colleagues call such schools “moonshots” or “lottery schools” hoping to convey to students that it is extremely unlikely that they will be accepted. It is a bitter pill to swallow for hard-working “A” students to be told exactly how small their chance of acceptance is. Why is it that so many deserving and capable students must lower their expectations? It is basic math.

Here are Some Numbers

Let’s start with Ivy League schools. As a reminder, the Ivy League is a NCAA athletic league, not a descriptor for academic prowess. The term, however, is used more often to describe their esteemed educational opportunities than to discuss their hockey teams. These eight institutions are perfect examples of schools that I refer to as “reaches” for everybody. I imagine that while students and their parents are outwardly sobered by the fact that Columbia and Harvard each have an admissions rate of about 3.4%, inwardly they are saying, “Then I still have a chance!” 

Here are the cold, hard facts. There are about 27,000 public and private high schools in the U.S. There are, therefore, 54,000 valedictorians and salutatorians in the U.S. Combined, the Ivy League schools make offers of admission to about 20,000 high school students. So, if class rank was the only criteria they used, they would have to turn away 7,000 valedictorians and every salutatorian. This isn’t even taking international applicants into account.

Harvard tweeted in 2022 that they had 2,000 available slots in their freshman class. 8,000 of their applicants had perfect GPAs and 4,000 applicants were ranked first in their class. Additionally, 18,000 applicants submitted SAT scores of 700 or higher in the reading/writing section and 20,000 scored 700 or higher in the math section. 

The same math applies to more than just Ivy League schools. Application numbers are often driven by popular published rankings which is where research for many students begins and ends. This results in top U.S. and international students applying to many of the same schools. Prestige is important to these academically motivated students. It is what they have worked for, but it also means that they are competing with many of the same people at each of the colleges to which they apply. So what can be done to mitigate the problem?

Amend Your Plan of Attack

While students can take a shot at any school they want, they and their parents should get excited about additional, more attainable choices. How do you do this? There are a number of ways.

First, list the attributes of those pie-in-the-sky schools that appeal to you. From there you can research and find schools that have those same ideals be it majors, geography or research opportunities. Creating your own ranking system based on knowing what you want from your college experience, is the first step in insuring that you land at a school that is a good fit.

If you are fortunate enough to be going to visit colleges, don’t just plan to go to the dream schools, see some in that area that you know less about. This country is filled with “hidden gems,” and you might discover your treasure. Go prepared with a list of questions to ask to help you learn more about each school. You might discover that a school not previously on your radar has some amazing opportunities.

Parents play an important role. They typically have a good deal of influence over their children’s attitudes about colleges. Talk up the attributes of “target” schools. Be open-minded so that your children will be as well. As their students’ cheerleaders, parents can help their children swallow that bitter pill of the realities of selective admissions. 

Anne Murphy is an independent educational consultant. Contact her to learn more about college admissions, and how she might be able to help you with the application process.

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In the Spotlight: Personal Statements

little bird with yellow chest

Each Spring, birdwatchers in coastal San Diego know it is March when they see Hooded Orioles returning to their feeders. Last year I even saw some Robins and blue Scrub Jays. I would like to be a birdwatcher someday, but for now I am an educational consultant and application essay coach. As such, I mark March by the release of the Common App personal statement prompts.

This year Common App announced at the end of February that the prompts will remain unchanged for the 2024-2025 application cycle. In the last year there has been a lot of conversation about the evolving role that this personal statement plays in the application along with speculation that the prompts would change. The widespread use of AI has given counselors and admissions folks pause. Will more and more applicants use AI to write their essays? If so, and there has been little evidence indicating that this is a wide-spread problem, what will the fall-out look like? Duke University recently indicated that they will no longer be using application essays to evaluate writing skills but will still be looking to learn something about the applicant’s values or character. This focus is in line with what the objective of the essay has always been, not only for Duke but for every college that requires it. Colleges are looking for hints as to what this applicant will contribute to their campus.

For high school juniors, the challenge is to write (themselves!) a story that effectively reveals who they are as a person. It should be new information and not a rehash of the activities section. This is about who they are, not what they have done. It does not need to be a unique story. It does not need to have fancy vocabulary and intricate sentence structure. These can overwhelm the essay and smother the writer’s voice. Authenticity is paramount.

Importantly, relax. Don’t believe the people in the YouTube videos who post about their essay that got them into their university. An essay alone has never gotten a student into a college. It is additional information and supplements the transcript and the activities. Share what you feel has been important to you. You will be fine.

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Spooky October

October is when seniors get scared. The creepy Halloween ghosts and goblins are not creating this panic, it’s the fear inherent in the college application process. They turned the page of the calendar and suddenly with some deadlines just days away, the process has become real. Very real.

Every year, this insecurity results in people suddenly adding a number of schools to their lists and, the inevitable, essay do-over. If you think about it, it is completely counterintuitive to add work at this late date that is likely not to reap any rewards. It can actually be detrimental as valuable time that could be spent on individual college applications is lost. 

In hope of relieving at least some of the anxiety surrounding the personal statement, I would like to share a message I have repeatedly heard from college admissions officers, the personal statement is the cherry on top. It is no more than a sweet extra.

Here are some paraphrased statements from college admissions officers of highly selective schools:

USC: “We didn’t create the personal statement prompts. We did write our own questions, which we wouldn’t have done if we didn’t really value the answers.” 

Cornell: “I can’t love you until you show me the transcript.” What he meant by that is that no essay, no matter how amazing, is going to get somebody in who was not otherwise a strong candidate.  

Northwest: “We really don’t use them. They are truly optional. We only ever used them to evaluate writing skills, but then we realized that most people who apply to Northwestern can write well enough. We are only interested in our own question.”

University of Chicago: “We find that we get more useful information from the answers to our questions. The personal statements tend to be repetitive; they don’t give us new, valuable information.” 

So, don’t believe the person who posted on TikTok that their essay got them into Harvard. I wish them luck on their essay coaching business but hope that they learn more about college admissions before they take on clients. This does not mean that the personal statement is a waste of time or of no value. These colleges do not represent everyone, and the personal statement certainly has an important role for those colleges who use a holistic review process but don’t have their own essays. The time you spent laboring over it this summer was time well-spent, but it is important to know when to let go.

Seniors:  Your takeaway should be that at this point in the application process, your time is best spent on the supplemental essays. They are important and provide opportunities for you to do everything from describing an impactful activity to showcasing your academic interests and, of course, why XYZ University is the best place for you to learn and thrive. This is the prime place to display your values and intellectual curiosity and convince each college that they need you in their community. To write an effective supplemental essay, you must put in the time to research the college and organize your thoughts. Do not be deceived by the low maximum word counts, you should have a lot you want to say and fitting it into a paragraph should be challenging. If you think it is easy, you aren’t doing it right. 

Juniors:  Thank you for reading this far. Your takeaway should be to approach the application process with the intention of spending as much as the entire summer on the personal statement, if you want. Finish it by the first day of school and don’t look back. Form your priorities based on the real weight of each piece of the application; not on what you think the important pieces are.

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In the Spotlight: Legacy Admissions

We have all heard by now that the Supreme Court has ruled against Harvard University and University of North Carolina by striking down race-conscious admissions. While the impact of this is debatable, we know that affected colleges will need to make some adjustments as to how they handle applications.

Affirmative Action has, however, recently only been used by a relatively small group of colleges. Like Harvard and UNC, they are typically more selective colleges. Less selective colleges don’t share the same struggles to enroll minorities. Additionally, nine states, California included, had already banned race-conscious admissions.

Even though a majority of schools are not directly affected by SCOTUS’s decision, colleges are focused and determined to enroll diverse student bodies. The learning environment is enriched by the presence of a variety of perspectives inherent in students from different backgrounds and cultures with a variety of experiences and interests. Even with their usually sincere dedication to enrolling more underrepresented students and increasing accessibility, colleges are being scrutinized for hanging on to a tradition many feel negates these efforts, the consideration of legacy in admissions.

The tradition of giving admission preference to children of alumni is primarily money driven. Studies show that legacy alumni are more likely to donate to their alma mater as they have a multigenerational loyalty which is often expressed in the form of large checks. Yield is yet another plus for the universities; legacies are more likely to attend, if admitted, taking the guesswork out of planning a freshman class.

In wake of the decision to ban Affirmative Action, colleges are coming under more pressure to prove that they are not giving preferential treatment to white applicants coming from advantaged backgrounds. Schools are being pressured to ban legacy admissions to prove to the world that they are truly striving to enroll racially diverse student bodies. The feeling is that if race cannot be considered, then neither should legacy.

Some of the schools that have claimed to have stopped the practice include MIT, Northeastern, Cal Tech, Johns Hopkins, Amherst, the University of California system, University of Texas and Texas A&M. Nevertheless, it’s been estimated that 42% of private colleges and 6% of public schools still use the practice to some degree.

Organized protests are springing up in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling. One organization is asking alumni to withhold donations until the practice is banned. Another was formed by a civil rights group and later piggybacked by the NAACP asking colleges to “’even the playing field” by taking measures such as banning legacy admissions. At the end of the day, consideration of legacy in admissions is not a “good look” for universities. The question is, are they willing to give up the $?

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ChatGPT Applies to College

By now most of us have read an article with portions written by ChatGPT, one of the newest and currently free “Generative Pre-trained Transformers,” aka AI-based writing tools. Editorialists include these excerpts as examples to demonstrate both ChatGPT’s abilities and weaknesses. Spoiler alert: I am not going to use AI to write any of this, but I admit it might do a better job. Although grammatically perfect, algorithmic language falls short in other areas due to a lack of true understanding and a tendency to stick to generalizations without citing examples. Professors agree that ChatGPT papers would mostly get D’s and F’s, but many feel that there are productive ways of using it in the classroom. It might not actually be the death knell of human-generated expository writing as feared, but how will college admissions folks deal with the possibility that some admissions essays will not be the applicant’s work?

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Three Steps to Put Joy in the College Application Process

Spring cleaning starts for me as soon as I put away the holiday decorations.  It’s a time when I love to organize and throw things away, any item not nailed down is in jeopardy. I’m sure you have heard Marie Kondo’s advice that if something doesn’t spark joy, then dispose of it. The same practice can be used with your approach to the college application process. Get organized and be willing to throw some ideas away. This will reduce your stress and bring the most satisfaction when submitting your applications. There are three simple steps you can take to a better college application process.

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Rocky Mountain Tour: Colorado School of Mines

I was perplexed the first time I heard, “Colorado School of Mines.” Is there really a school about mining? Who would go there? Answer: Students looking for a STEM-based education with abundant experiential learning opportunities. Its location explains everything. Golden, Colorado, nestled in the foothills of the Rockies, was a product of the Gold Rush. Later In 1874, Colorado School of Mines was founded to “educate and develop” this immerging tech workforce. The Gold Rush ended, but Golden and its college survived. Colorado School of Mines’s mission continues to be to prepare students for the evergrowing and changing needs of the world today.

South Table Mountain
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When Things Don’t Go as You Had Hoped

Getting Neutered, The Least Favorite of Things

When I put Boomer in the car this morning, he was anxious. He likes his morning routine, and this was a big departure from it. He didn’t know if he was going to doggie daycare (not his favorite thing) or maybe to the vet (even less of a favorite thing). In short, he didn’t know what the future had in store for him. Sound familiar? I am writing this on the eve of our own version of March Madness. I work with 20 very capable and talented seniors who are anxiously waiting for colleges to release their admissions decisions. Until they do, these outstanding young people don’t know what lies ahead; they don’t know where they are going.

This time of year, I frequently tell my own story of my uncharted journey to college. I was wait-listed at my number one choice and ended up attending a school that, although just up the road, I had never seen before the day I moved into my dorm. I had honestly never seen that number one school either, but that didn’t seem to matter to me. I was outraged by all of the events and circumstances leading up to my matriculation at this “backup” school. It wasn’t fair. My good friend got into #1, and, from my perspective, her resume didn’t differ much from mine. Okay, not entirely true. She played badminton, and I have no athletic ability. Was that the magic ingredient to get into that school? I’ll never know.

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