Chris Franklin is a step ahead of many college students entering their freshmen year this fall. The 18-year-old, who will graduate from Morrisville Middle-Senior High School tonight, will start Penn State as a sophomore thanks to the dual enrollment grant program.

Through the grant, Chris and 21 of the 47 seniors at Morrisville High School have earned college credits from Bucks County Community College. The cost of the courses and books were covered by the state grant.

Several local districts offer the dual enrollment program including Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township and Centennial.

Through dual enrollment, the students took core college classes such as math, science, English and foreign language. The program was open to high school juniors and seniors. The students received college credits and the classes counted toward their high school class requirements.

The professors would come to Morrisville to teach the college classes.

But Chris spent his senior year at the community college, where he was enrolled as a full-time student. Chris’ courses met his high school requirements and earned the college credits. As a senior he played varsity soccer and guitar for the jazz band and was member of the National Honor Society.

Chris has earned 27 college credits. It was an eye-opening experience, he said.

“I would have to give presentations in front of adults, which was interesting,” he said. “I got to be at the prom and enjoy 12th grade while experiencing freshman year [of college].”

Kelli Piell, 18, who earned 15 college credits, said the dual enrollment classes were different from her high school classes.

“You don’t have to raise your hand to go to the bathroom,” Kelli said. “Teachers nurture students more in high school and in college they don’t even collect homework.”

She said she’s still nervous about having a college roommate. “But class-wise, I know how to study for tests now,” said Kelli, who will be a second semester freshmen when she starts college at the University of Pittsburgh in the fall.

“I have a full semester of college credits for free,” said Kelli. “That would’ve cost a lot of money.”

Kartika Campbell, who earned six college credits, knows what to expect from college professors. “So now going to a new school won’t be that bad,” said Kartika, who will study nursing at the community college in the fall.

Chris said the dual enrollment program was rewarding.

“I’m out of my freshman year before I started [college],” he said. “My parents are really happy. It’s the best scholarship I could’ve gotten.”

To participate in the dual enrollment program, students must pass a placement test, have a minimum 2.0 grade point average and must score proficient on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, said Morrisville Principal Melanie Gehrens. The grant only covers college level coursework. It doesn’t cover remedial classes, she added.

Chris is looking forward to the freedom he will have in choosing his first semester of classes at Penn State because he has taken many of his core classes.

“It basically puts you a head and shoulder above a lot of other people starting out,” Chris said. “I’m very grateful for that.”

Information from: www.phillyburbs.com

This entry was posted by Taman Siswa on Friday, June 15, 2007 at 9:47 pm and is filed under College Grant, Education News. Tags: College, Grant, Scholarship, Student, Study, . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.