Dueling Along by Emily

Dueling Along by Emily - December 2016 Scholarship Essay

I am a junior in high school… and a freshman in college. Last year, when I was in tenth grade, I started taking dual credit college courses online. That means that some of the classes I took counted toward my high school and college credits. I have earned eighteen college credits through my dual enrollment classes in the past two years. Since I am homeschooled, I have the time, resources, and flexibility to undertake such an endeavor. However, that does not mean that it is easy to do college work in high school. My dual credit classes have been demanding and difficult, especially since I started taking them early in high school; but through the challenge, I have learned to be diligent in my work. I am sure that it will be easier to adjust to college when I am on campus because I have so much experience with the coursework now.
Not only are online dual credit classes more difficult in their content, but they are also more condensed. Most courses on a college campus would last between fifteen and sixteen weeks, but my online classes are only eight weeks long. There are pros and cons of this compact system. On the one hand, because I can take two classes in the time that students would normally only take one, I am able to earn more credits in a year. This has been very helpful to me, especially since the workload is not conducive to taking more than one dual credit course at a time. On the other hand, the amount of work that I need to complete in those eight weeks is the same as most students need to complete in sixteen. I am basically taking the course double-time, stuffing in twice the amount of material to cover per week. It was definitely a challenge to get adjusted to this quick and concise mentality, and at first I struggled to get everything done. Nevertheless, my professors were gracious, and I have gradually grown accustomed to my eight-week intensive courses.
Dual credit college courses are not uncommon among homeschool students. In fact, it is a great way for families to save money because this online option is much less expensive than an on-campus college experience. However, most schools do not offer dual credit courses until a student is in eleventh grade. How, then, did I get twelve credits as a sophomore? The school that I wanted to take classes from conveniently offered courses for tenth graders, too. That way, I was able to get started on earning credits even earlier than most students. Unfortunately, that posed another challenge. As a tenth grader, I was only beginning my second year of high school. I still had some adjustments to make in that area, let alone adding college work on top of it. There were times when I got intensely stressed because of my work, but my parents and my professors helped me to work through it. By balancing and managing my time better, I was able to succeed in my college and high school courses, and I passed all of those classes.
Most subjects come relatively easy to me, aside from some types of math. So, all through middle school and my freshman year of high school, I coasted through my classes without putting a painstaking amount of work into them. I passed with A’s, and all was well. Yet that simply does not suffice for college work. I learned the hard way that an increased amount of study, preparation, and diligence is necessary in order to succeed in college. I am not able to skate around laziness anymore; I have to put my best work into everything. As I added more and more effort to my schoolwork, I saw my grades improving. The more I paid attention during classes and homework, the less I had to cram for tests. By exerting more effort, I found my classes to be easier and much more enjoyable. I learned that diligence definitely pays off, even if it feels annoying or unnecessary at first.
High school is challenging, but college is even harder. In the past two years, I have been able to balance both levels of education at once. I know I could not do it by myself. My parents, professors, and others have helped me to succeed in each of my classes. Through the struggles of condensed coursework, simultaneously learning how to be a high school and college student, and putting in a sufficient amount of work, I have grown to become a better student. I put more effort into my studies, and I have had better grades in my high school classes as well as college-level courses. I have eighteen college credits to my name, and I will be able to apply them to my next season of education. Since I am only a junior, I still have one more year in which I hope to earn even more credits; my goal is to enter college as a sophomore. I am so grateful that I have been able to take dual-credit courses. It has shown me that, with help and support, I am able to handle difficult work and complete it well.