Day in the life of a dual enrollment student

Many Blazers often find school to be way too long and the homework to be way too much. But some dedicated Blazers find that the average high school experience still doesn’t satisfy their learning needs. For that, they turn towards the dual enrollment program.

What is the dual enrollment program? 

Dual enrollment is a program offered to high school students across the county. This program allows students to take college courses at Montgomery College (MC) for a minimal cost, allowing them to earn credits toward a college degree.

Montgomery College Biology Building

Photo: The Bioscience Education Center on the Montgomery College Germantown Campus is just one of the buildings that students can take classes at with the Dual Enrollment System.

The Bioscience Education Center on the Montgomery College Germantown Campus is just one of the buildings that students can take classes at with the Dual Enrollment System. Photo courtesy of Nathan Yap.

There are several dual enrollment program pathways within Montgomery County, giving students a lot of flexibility. Some of these programs include Jumpstart to College–a program where high school junior and seniors can enroll in Montgomery College courses– and Middle College–a program for ninth grade students which has a full campus experience in which students will attend classes on campus instead of in high school. These programs allow students to pick and choose a pathway that works for them depending on their schedule and courses. Some of these pathways, such as Early College, even present students the opportunity to earn an associate’s degree in a specific field of study. 

Introducing Absatu

For junior Absatu Conteh, dual enrollment was the perfect program for her. She heard about it during a counselor visit her freshman year and decided to register for the Jumpstart to College program during her sophomore year. 

This semester, she is taking English 101 and Psychology at MC to contribute toward her major in biological sciences. To her, dual enrollment was an amazing opportunity to get college credit for free. “College is not free. I don’t know if college would be free for me. So, let me just take the opportunity to get some credits,” she says. 

A day in the life 

Every day, Conteh wakes up at 6:15 a.m. and gets ready for her day at Blair. Like most Blazers, she attends classes from 7:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The only difference is that she attends virtual Montgomery College classes lasting 75 minutes after school on Mondays to Thursdays. “I have psychology on Monday and Wednesday, and then I have English 101 on Tuesday and Thursday,” she says. 

Because Conteh’s psychology class starts at 3:35 p.m., she has to attend her class immediately after coming home from Blair. After her dual enrollment classes, she focuses her evening first on completing her college work and then her high school homework. Conteh usually finishes all of her school work around 10 p.m. Finally, she does her nightly routine before sleeping at 11 p.m.

For Conteh, enrolling in two college courses was the perfect amount. Even though she knows students who take on a much larger course load with four classes at MC, the two classes she takes are a balanced workload for her that allows her to maintain the rigor of her MC courses while also finding time to enjoy other aspects of life during the weekend.

To balance the workload, Conteh strategized her course selection at Blair. She takes advantage of classes such as study hall to complete a lot of her college work during the school day. “Instead of getting my high school work done in my study hall, I get college work done,” she says. “I do have classes where if the teacher is done lecturing, and you finish the work, you have the rest of the class just to yourself.”

Why dual enrollment? 

Conteh finds dual enrollment to be extremely helpful, and she strongly emphasizes the learning environment at MC through the caring professors. “I feel like they put more time and effort into making sure that everybody understands, rather than just teaching lessons and going about their day,” she says. “I don’t feel that lots of teachers at Blair actually make sure that everybody understands.” 

One factor that contributes to Conteh’s opinion is the ability to choose her own professors due to the larger student population of colleges and universities. Over the summer, Conteh researched the professors that are offered at Montgomery College, and carefully chose professors that seemed to reflect her learning style. “That’s what I did for a majority of the summer, doing research on teachers, and deciding what teacher I want,” she says. By doing so, she was able to connect with a teacher that they share common interests in. 

However, the most important factor for Conteh is her goal of saving money for college. Through dual enrollment, Conteh ultimately wishes to skip a year of college and thus a year of tuition. “The goal is to start college as a sophomore,” she says. Dual enrollment gives Conteh the opportunity to save both money and time.

Accessibility 

Dual enrollment is definitely an intriguing option for Blazers that may be bored in their classes or want to try college-level courses. Blazers interested in participating in Dual Enrollment can contact their counselor or stop by the College and Career Center for more information. If students wish to get more information, they can also reach out to Blair's dual enrollment coordinator Mackenzie Cho.

According to Conteh, the dual enrollment process is easy, and is accessible to all students. “I don’t think that I [have seen] anything that they should improve,” she remarks. “I just feel like everything’s really good with the dual enrollment system.” 

Overall, the dual enrollment system is a unique opportunity for students across the county and something that students should definitely consider while planning their high school experience due to its ability to save money and gain more knowledge.