This is the first year dual credit U.S. history has been offered at the school and it gives students a chance to receive both high school and college credit at the same time. Students are pushed to the limit, while having a heavy yet manageable workload.

“It’s been good because I really try to keep up with my work,” junior Esmeralda Vasquez said. “The work isn’t that bad. It isn’t as bad as I thought [it would be]; you need to keep up with the note cards and really study for the tests.”

Students taking dual credit classes are able to take the classes at community college prices, meaning they are able to lower the cost of their education after high school.

This benefit makes dual credit more appealing to some students than other options, making them to want to take more dual credit classes. Beginning with the class of 2021, dual credit courses will also receive the same GPA multiplier as AP.

“If there’s a chance [to take more dual credit class I will],” junior Marco Nunez said. “Because I won’t have to take those classes in college, making college cheaper and spending less days in classes.”

Students have been able to earn college credit through AP classes for years by passing AP tests at the end of the school year. Although this earns credit as well, some drawbacks exist that make dual credit a better option for some students.

“From what I have heard [the AP students] have to do more note cards and essays, and we don’t have to take a test to get credit,” junior Mayori Espinal said.

On top of the amount of work, AP students also have a slightly different schedule consisting of a 27-week course. While dual credit students have the class all year, they attend every other day, giving a more spaced out schedule and more time to complete assignments similar to the AP humanities course that is linked with AP English III.

These differences allow students to focus on learning other college skills instead of going to class every day and studying constantly for an end-of-year exam.

“I think the most difficult thing is learning how to read and study on your own, and then the amount of info you have to learn on your own and using your time management skills to find out how you’re going to read and study on your own,” dual credit and AP teacher Amy Harp said.

Harp enjoyed offering and teaching dual credit for the first time last fall, and she is looking forward to teaching it again next year.

“I’ve enjoyed being able to go more in depth with more historical context because you don’t have to take a test at the end of the year to receive your credit because you’ve already received your credit for the fall,” Harp said.