I really wanted to take a 5th AP for my junior year, but unfortunately, I decided on this a bit too late when all spots were filled up. My counselor gave me another option of taking a college course after school. I’m really trying to get into Berkeley, and I really need the extra GPA point to be competitive. Do colleges like Berkeley even care about these programs? Am I better off focusing on extracurriculars(was thinking about starting a programming club)?
It’s only one class. It won’t affect your transcript too much. I think your time is better spent on your SAT/ACT scores and anything else pertaining to college, since junior year is one of the most important years of your high school career. If the starting the club requires a lot of work and effort that cuts into your homework and other EC’s then I suggest you not go through with it, but if you can handle that and your course load then it should be fine.
I actually disagree with the above commenter- I think the dual enrollment could be seen as a bonus to your application, since you’re challenging yourself at the college level.
And as for the club, if you are interested in starting one, I say go for it.
@yonceonhismouth AP classes are at the college level. OP doesn’t get a huge boost because they took a college-level class at a college instead of their high school. If OP feels that they can handle their course load consisting of five college-level classes, starting a club, and preparing for the SAT/ACT, then of course they should take the DE class, but if it might risk being unsuccessful in their high school classes then it might be best to reconsider taking the college class.