Maintain a high GPA, take AP classes and do as many extracurriculars as possible… these are some of the typical pathways that Oak Park High School students take to increase the likelihood of getting into their preferred college. But what if there was another way to achieve the same outcome? Well, there is, and it’s called dual enrollment.
Dual enrollment at OPHS is when students take college courses with the Ventura County Community College District, or VCCCD–Moorpark College, Ventura College and Oxnard College–as enrolled high school students.
“You have to get permission from the high school in order to take the classes, but the classes themselves are entirely through the community college,” Ryan Hashemi, an OPHS senior who already has two associate’s degrees through dual enrollment, said. “You can take up to, like, 11.5 credits, because 12 credits would make you a full-time student … the most [classes] I took in one semester was five.”
Students have the option to take college classes in the summer as well as during the academic year for high school and/or college credit, based on their long-term goals.
“I’ve done all of my gen-eds,” Hashemi said. “So if I went to a UC [or CSU], they’d all be done, and I could get out in one to two years if I wanted. But, I’m not going to a UC. My school also takes a ton of credits, so it’ll still help me get out earlier if I want, or it’ll unlock room for a double major, a minor and stuff like that. It just frees up my schedule in college. If you just take some of the classes beforehand [with dual enrollment], that takes away some of your stress in the future, or lets you finish earlier.”
VCCCD offers both online and in-person courses, so that students can build a schedule that is manageable and works best for them.
“I remember freshman year, I was just really bored, I was looking for other things to do, and I wanted to take a different bio class,” Hashemi said. “I was looking at different options, and I saw that Moorpark had different classes. All of the bio classes specifically were full or had prerequisites, so I ended up in the biotech program, and I ended up really loving it. But I started with just one class, and I was really nervous walking in, because I was 14 and everyone else was [older]. There was a 50-year-old in my class, so it was definitely nerve-wracking.”
Given that dual enrollment is not one of the most well-known programs, the process can be difficult at times.
“I think some do know [about dual enrollment], but not enough people know,” Anika Amladi, an OPHS senior who took Intro to Sociology and Intro to Psychology in the summer, said. “It’s listed on the college and career website, but it’s kind of obscure. Registering for classes is incredibly complicated. You have to go through multiple steps, and I had no idea what I was doing. I asked for help many times.”
However, many students adjust to the process after doing it a few times and find the effort worth it overall.
“It gave me experiences and skills I couldn’t get at the high school because our school’s very lecture based, but the [college] class was mostly labs,” Hashemi said. “The lecture was online, and the labs were all in person, so every time we went to class, we were doing a lab.”
Those who have done dual enrollment with the high school, have generally recommended the program but advise individuals to take it at their own pace.
“It’s free while you’re in high school, so if you can handle the extra load while you’re here, just do it,” Hashemi said.
