How to Jumpstart Your College Education in High School

By: CCA’s School Counseling Team
Did you know there’s a way to pay for college without being awarded a scholarship? CCA’s school counseling team shares how students can earn college credit while in high school, saving them both time and money. Also learn how CCA high schoolers get to experience a biblically based collegiate curriculum through the school’s new partnership with an accredited Christian university.

Getting a head start in life may be viewed as a rare opportunity reserved for a “lucky” few, but perhaps it’s more about taking advantage of the opportunities that God has placed right in front of you.
“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.” – Ephesians 5:15-16 (NLT)
At Calvary Christian Academy, high school students are encouraged to get involved and maximize the school’s wide breadth of spiritual, academic, and social offerings in order to have a transformative CCA experience.

One such academic opportunity is being able to earn college credit on campus while enrolled in high school. This is achieved through the 25 Advanced Placement (AP) and 6 Dual Enrollment (DE) on-campus courses that are offered to students who are seeking an academic challenge. All of these rigorous courses are taught by CCA faculty who are devoted Christ followers and trained to help students see Christ in each subject.

Students who pass these courses are often able to transfer the credits to the college/university they plan on attending. By bypassing their college prerequisites, whether it be just one class or many, they are able to dive more quickly into their area of study and get a head start on their career path.

Some students are even able to start college with a third-year “junior” status based on the amount of credits they come in with. This allows them to graduate from college early if they choose. If they want to enjoy their four years on campus, coming in with college credits opens the door for them to double/triple major and pursue minors.

CCA’s college-level courses, AP and DE, involve no additional tuition fee. This means that students who pass these courses while in high school can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars in college tuition. They also result in an extra GPA boost.

SUCCESS STORY

 
Hunter Ramsay, an alumnus and valedictorian from CCA’s Class of 2016, graduated with 54 college credits he earned by taking AP and Dual Enrollment classes at CCA. Thirty of those credits applied to his major, biomedical engineering, at the University of Florida.

“I was able to graduate in four years from a typically five-year program because of these credits,” he said.

Hunter is now working as a clinical applications engineer at Intuitive Surgical. He is a fully-remote employee who gets to travel around the eastern U.S. training doctors on how to use the company’s Ion robot, which makes non-invasive lung biopsies possible.

DUAL ENROLLMENT PARTNERSHIPS

For the past 15 years, CCA has maintained an ongoing partnership with Broward College (BC). Students in grades 10-12 are able to enroll in online and in-person courses on BC’s campuses for the fall, spring, and summer semesters, barring they pass BC’s entrance exam and meet the program’s GPA requirements.

This school year, on top of continuing this relationship with Broward College, CCA established a new partnership with Southeastern University (SEU) based in Lakeland, Florida.

 
Just like CCA is committed to building up the next generation of Christian leaders, Southeastern University is a Christian university committed to equipping the next generation to go into the world as influential servant leaders in their careers and their communities. The Chronicle of Higher Education recently ranked SEU in the top 1% of the fastest-growing universities in the U.S.

The following SEU courses, available to juniors and seniors, have been introduced to CCA for the 2022-23 school year and are administered on CCA’s campus under the direction of a CCA faculty member.

  • College Algebra
  • Statistics
  • General Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Elementary Spanish (B)
  • Intermediate Spanish (A)
CCA students also have the option of taking SEU online courses for a fee.
“This new partnership builds upon the biblical worldview that CCA’s faculty and staff are actively developing in their students."
“This new partnership builds upon the biblical worldview that CCA’s faculty and staff are actively developing in their students. Students are also challenged by the rigorous teaching methodology and higher-level thinking that are required for these courses,” said Dr. Cliff Mack, a CCA high school counselor who also serves as an adjunct professor for Florida Atlantic University, Florida State University, Lancaster Bible College, and Trinity International University.

As CCA casts a vision for the future, its high school administration looks forward to expanding the school’s Dual Enrollment course offerings through this new SEU partnership.

 
CCA high school families interested in learning more about AP and/or Dual Enrollment offerings and the requirements for participation should contact their assigned school counselor. School counselors will be able to advise if these courses are a good fit for an individual student. Click here to watch a Dual Enrollment Q&A Dr. Mack recently hosted online with CCA families.

If your child attends another school and you are praying about providing him/her a Christ-centered education for the 2023-24 school year, click here to submit an inquiry form to arrange a campus visit. We would love to meet you and share with you more about how disciples are made spiritually, academically, and socially at CCA!

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