In high school, students are able to engage in dual enrollment, a process in which students take classes at Montgomery College and earn college credit while still completing their high school degree. According to the MoCo Show, Montgomery College was rated the 10th best community college in the country, the criteria being cost and quality.
Senior Myiesha Ameen is taking Intro to Sociology at Montgomery College this semester, and plans on taking a chemistry class for the spring semester. “I think the most important thing I’ve learned in sociology is that it is everywhere. I see it everywhere now. It comes up in every class. I’ll learn something in sociology and I’ll read about it later in my AP Human Geography textbook,” Ameen said.
Since this is normally students’ first encounter with college classes, they can be a difficult adjustment at first. Senior Jezzel Renderos is taking Construction Method and Materials this semester since she is planning on pursuing architecture in the future. “The length of classes was definitely an adjustment since my class is an hour and 45 minutes long, which is more than twice the length of classes at Wootton. Also, this was my first time having midterms and final exams,” Renderos said.
Additionally, the workload is different, but not in the way students may think. “I barely get homework from my class and no graded assignments,” Renderos said. “Just studying for the quizzes and tests. It’s a lot less graded work than some of my APs at Wootton. But this might vary from class to class.”
However, senior Joelle Hounyovi notes that there is less open help on assignments. “It’s not like high school where you can ask a tutor from the National Honors Society or go in for help during advisory. You have to book appointments and find someone that specializes in what you are looking for,” Hounyovi said.
Science classes in college usually have long lab periods, which is a change from high school where students complete their labs in either one period or two for the double-period sciences. “I’m a little nervous about taking chemistry in MC in the second semester since we have a two hour lab period once a week, which is significantly longer than any time I’ve spent on a lab at Wootton,” Ameen said.
Hounyovi recommends that students consider dual enrollment as an option for the next school year. “I would definitely recommend MC to other students. It’s super convenient, affordable and everything is so straightforward starting from the application process to graduating. Taking classes at MC is one of the best things a high school student can do,” Hounyovi said.
Ameen agrees, noting that classes at Montgomery College prepare high schoolers for what college will be like. “Even though it was hard at first, I’m glad I took classes at Montgomery College because I feel like I now have a better idea of what I’ll see in college next year and how to be as successful as possible,” Ameen said.
