[/av_textblock] [/av_one_full][av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=” mobile_breaking=” mobile_display=”] [av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”] One of the many things a junior or senior can do in high school to make a positive impact on their college career before it has even started is to look into the Dual Enrollment program at their local colleges.
Any ninth through 12th-grade student enrolled in an eligible Georgia high school or home study program is eligible to enroll in the program after they have passed a required college placement exam.
Junior Julius McKenzie from Macon County High School is one of those students who decided to take his future college career in his own hands. He learned about South Georgia Technical College’s (SGTC) program through his counselor and peers at school.
According to SGTC’s website, the Dual Enrollment program gives high school students the opportunity to take college level courses that allow them to recieve both high school and college credits. They can take academic degree level core courses that will transfer to any Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) or University System of Georgia (USG) college or university, occupational courses, or diploma-level core courses.
“I have been able to complete courses that I would have been instructed to take in the next few years,” McKenzie said.
McKenzie is the point guard for his school’s basketball team, which takes up a lot of his time between his school work and the Dual Enrollment program, but he described basketball as something that helps with the stress.
“Basketball keeps me going when times or life become rough,” he said. “It means the world to me.”
Even when playing the sport he loves has him completely tired at the end of the day, McKenzie does not allow for his academics to fall behind.
“Dual Enrollment and athletics are stressful at times because there are days when I am straight exhausted but still manage to stay up late to finish assignments,” he said. “It’s even worse when I have away games, so I try going ahead and finishing assignments before games.”
While it is hard work, McKenzie is still able to recognize the benefits he will get out of Dual Enrollment and what it will mean when it is time for him to start college.
“It has boosted my GPA,” he said. “My class ranking has gone up.”
On top of that, any of these courses taken through Dual Enrollment are fully funded by the state of Georgia so that no student will have to pay out of pocket for books, any college related fees, or tuition, according to the website.
Dual Enrollment is not for everyone, something McKenzie was quick to point out after explaining the adjustments he had to get used to after taking on the program.
“Serious consequences come with Dual Enrollment,” he said. “Make sure you’re committed.”
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Why South Georgia Technical College?
• Second oldest technical college in Georgia; celebrating the 70th anniversary of the first graduating class from 1949
• One of only two technical colleges in Georgia with on-campus housing
• Free textbooks ( Students receive a book at the beginning of the semester and if they return it in good condition at the end of the semester, there is no cost.)
• 99% job placement of graduates
• Over 200 associate degree, diploma, and technical certificate of credit programs available
• 12:1 student-teacher ratio
• Nationally ranked in academics, student activities, and athletics
• The SGTC Lady Jets intercollegiate athletic basketball team is currently ranked 16th in the nation and has been to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I National Tournament four of the last five seasons.
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