The Dual Enrollment Program, formerly known as Move on When Ready, is known around Chamblee as “the easy way out.” But, I am here to dispel this myth and tell you about the truths of dual enrollment through personal experience. Bringing light to how hard we Dual Enrollment students actually have to work.

Most students at Chamblee take tons of AP courses so that they can have both rigorous classes and get ahead on college credits. And at the end of the school year they pay $90 per class in order to take the AP test which determines whether they get the college credit for the class or not. So, after a whole year of hard work, students could potentially end up wasting both their money and time on a class that they didn’t even get college credit for. I was one of those students last year, so this year I decided to take a different route and enroll in the Dual Enrollment Program.

The program takes place at Georgia State University at one of it’s four perimeter locations, Dunwoody, Clarkston, Alpharetta or Newton. And students wanting to join the program must send in an application to the college as if they were applying to the actual university. After being accepted, students choose their schedules, which is when I believe these students show how determined and serious they are about their education.

Despite what most think, Dual Enrollment students’ schedules are pretty demanding. On Mondays and Wednesdays, my first class at the college starts at 7 a.m. and my last class there ends at 9:45 a.m. After this I travel back home and then to Chamblee for my first class at 11:33 a.m. Now, having to travel back and forth between schools is far from easy, it’s more expensive and takes a lot more self discipline than attending regular school does.

Another aspect that adds on to the challenges of Dual Enrollment are the classes themselves. Some people often forget that we are attending class with actual college students and even adults. So yes, AP courses do give you the feeling of being a college student, but nothing will ever compare to being in the college setting. Professors don’t take the time to remind you about an upcoming quiz or even about the homework due the following day. Everything is your responsibility, that is what sets us apart from an average student.

So, to set the record straight being a Dual Enrollment student is a lot more work than it may seem. It’s early mornings and countless hours on the road. Our schedules might be half empty but our workload sure isn’t.