At GHS, there are a plethora of classes for students to take. Classes range in levels from general education, honors, dual credit and Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Some students in their junior and senior years take dual credit classes to earn college credits while still earning credits at high school. Others take AP courses and take AP exams to boost their transcripts and resumes for college.

Often, students prefer AP classes compared to dual credit classes because of the coursework and college preparation. When in reality, taking dual credit classes better prepares those students for college courses. Dual credit classes are near exact to the classes taken at the university. Specifically at GHS, students take dual credit through Indiana University. The most popular courses include US History, English W131 and L202 and Introduction to Psychology. Members of Timberlines have taken these classes and found themselves pushed harder than in any other classes. Those students say they are better preparing themselves for their futures’. 

Taking a college course in high school seems like a no-brainer because students are earning college credits at the same time as earning high school credit for half the cost. Students were even taking courses for free last year as IU waived the cost. Earning credits while also gaining experience before going to college sets students up for success. Having college credit before stepping foot on campus sets students apart from others and saves thousands of dollars. If students take the AP class and end up taking the exam, they are paying an extra $97 to take the exam after also paying for the class. 

AP classes are also good preparation for college courses, but other than boosting GPAs, there are really no benefits. AP classes might look good on transcripts, but unless students are going to extremely prestigious colleges, there is no point in taking those classes. Everyone could take a dual credit course and benefit from it. But only the “smarter” students are taking AP level classes. 

In AP courses, the student must score well on the exams to earn their credits and pass the class. In the dual credit classes, though, the student simply has to pass the class to transfer their credits to college with them. It seems like an obvious decision for students to take a dual credit course over an AP one. Many colleges do not accept credit for the AP courses, and more accept transferable credits from their dual credit programs. 

So, overall, students are better off taking dual credit classes over AP classes. Students who take dual credit classes are better prepared for college than students who take AP classes.