Credit Conundrum

Only having to go to class a few times a week instead of every day, studying for hours for the big test at the end, getting so used to writing essays that it becomes easy to write them quickly and under pressure.

Students at Jefferson Academy, if they work hard and have the required GPA, can be given the opportunity to take both Concurrent Enrollment (which are offered through Front Range Community College) and AP courses. 

“I think our partnership with Front Range is fabulous,” shared Mrs. LeValley, JA’s Post-Secondary Advisor. “We offer around 12-ish college courses a semester here on site, and it's a great opportunity.”

While taking AP and college courses can be beneficial, it is suggested that instead of doing it to stack up the college credits, students should do the courses because they are actually interested in the topic.

“I teach kids all the time who want nothing to do with history, and yet, here they are in an AP course,” explained Mr. Thimsen, who teaches AP European History. “That can be frustrating for both the student and the teacher, because you don't really want to be there, you're just grade hunting, or you're college credit hunting.”

There are a lot of students who want to get ahead, but there is only so much that one person can do, and many students tend to load up on as much as they can.

“I don't love when students overwhelm their schedules and with such high level courses and sometimes forget that you can also take college classes in college,” mentioned Mrs. LeValley. “So I often feel like I get to remind students of that as well.”

Taking those advanced classes at JA can be very difficult in comparison to the normal classes, but some students welcome the challenge. Many have a favorite type of class, either being AP or Concurrent Enrollment. 

“I feel like [college classes] bump the difficulty a bit more,” stated junior Todd Short. “You get treated a lot more like an adult in a college class. Some days, we just don't have a sub or anything, or a lot of college classes have off-blocks and stuff, and it’s really nice being treated as more mature.”

While many prefer college courses, others find the transferability of AP classes to be more efficient.

“I personally wish that JA offered more AP classes, because you can go on almost any school's website and see what score you need to get on the test to transfer and what it's going to transfer as, versus going in blind in terms of what credits you're going to get with the college classes,” explained senior Katie Proctor.

As the question of college becomes increasingly relevant, transferability of the college credits earned comes into play.

“What I like about the college courses that we offer here is they’re guaranteed transfer in the state of Colorado if you have a C or better,” said Mrs. LeValley. “It's not reliant on one test for a few hours, so it allows students to actually develop and hone their skills.”

Students love getting a head start to earn college credits early at a lower price, but there are some things that are not necessarily discussed about transferability. 

“I was talking to an admissions counselor at [Colorado School of Mines] because I was wondering what the transfer of my credits would look like,” shared Proctor. “It turns out that most, if not all, of my credits will only go in as elective credits…which is not helpful for me, because I'll just go into Mines with 38 general elective credits, and I don't think they require that many.”

Even if credits might not always transfer in the way that you want it to, many still recommend taking AP and Concurrent Enrollment courses as they can help prepare you for college so that students can go in feeling confident.

“[AP and college courses] teach you discipline, they teach you routines, they make you aware of processes that help for future success in general,” explained Mr. Thimsen. “Hopefully those things spread and give you knowledge that is going to stay with you for a long time.”