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DAVIS COUNTY — Teenagers in Davis County saved their parents about $6 million this year. The way they've done it signals a change in what's considered a rite of passage for many high school seniors.
A few thousand recent graduates in the Davis District earned college credits by taking concurrent enrollment classes in high school.
One of the graduates, Maddy Anderson, said, “That’s awesome. That’s a lot of money. Just a little bit was my part.”
The students saved themselves and their parents serious tuition money. It’s $5 per credit in concurrent enrollment class versus up to $300 per credit at a university.
“College is expensive and so being able to do that in high school was just for sure, yeah, let’s do this,” said another student, Tawnie Fitzgerald.
Holly Handy of the Davis School District said, “Concurrent enrollment for a long time was the best kept secret and now the word’s getting out. Parents are saying, ‘We want our child participating in this.'”
Educators tout more than savings, including the early exposure to college-level standards.
“I think that’s very valuable to give those kids a bit of a head start on what they’re going to be doing when they’re in college,” said Luke Rasmussen, the principal at Northridge High School.
Students agree.
“It showed me what a college class was like and what they expect from you,” said Anderson.
At Weber State University they would have paid about $1,500.
At the University of Utah, the cost would have been nearly $3,300.
Those students qualify for a Weber State tuition waiver worth another $1,500. By taking core classes in high school, they may also qualify for a Regent's scholarship worth another $1,200.
Students filling their senior year with chemistry, math and English 1010 may project a different image than that of the typical high school senior.
“This generation is really savvy,” Handy said. “They’re looking at, ‘how can I get ahead? How can I do this? How can I make the best use of my time and my resources as well?’”
Student Libby Hanson explained, “I just want to get ahead so I can kind of get out there and get my life started sooner than the normal person could.”
Senior Madison Carter said, “I don’t think you should waste your time because college is a lot more expensive and might be harder. So you might as well take advantage of it while you have the opportunity.”
For them, senior year is no longer a slack off. Many kids are getting a jump-start, earning what they need and learning what they don't.
For example, teacher Radon Andersen noted that a student may say, “’I’m going to be a doctor. I’m going to be a doctor.’ Then at the first sight of blood they realize, I’m not going to be a doctor. Well, we’ve potentially just saved them thousands of dollars on a career choice that was not for them.”
