Between taking a full day of classes here at EHS, taking an internship, or taking college classes at Bergen Community College, you have a handful of options that each have their own benefits for your senior year. If you elect to take BCC classes, you might be a high school student, but you are not recognized as one. You are taking actual college classes with older students, to receive college credits that can be transferred to the college you attend after you graduate. Senior year has been a great experience for me because of my decision to take these classes, for reasons well beyond having less work.

Given the opportunity to enroll in intro-level classes, you can them take in-person, asynchronously, or both. For the fall semester, both of my classes were in person, in total having only three classes a week. For the spring semester, I took one in-person class that met twice a week, and one asynchronous class.

If you choose to take any in-person classes, it’s important to be mindful of your schedule. Bergen is about 20 minutes away from Emerson, so it’s smart to make sure your Bergen class begins at least a half hour after you’re done at EHS. If you play a sport, it’s also important to make sure you will be able to be on time. Other than these minor restrictions, you have the freedom to make the schedule that works best for you.

As a college student, you get to enjoy the long winter and spring breaks. On top of this, classes also end in early May. If you don’t have a Bergen class on a given day, you only have a half day at EHS.

Taking college classes also gives you an early sense of the responsibility that a college student bears. It’s up to you to keep track of your assignments, as professors usually don’t give many reminders about assignments that are due. They’re also a lot less lenient about late work, so you’ll have to make sure to stay on top of everything. That being said, the workload for intro classes is usually light, and so it shouldn’t be difficult at all.

Another benefit of taking classes at Bergen is the social aspect of it. While it is obviously nice to have classes with the kids you have known for years, taking Bergen classes helps you expand your social boundaries. If you take classes there, you have the opportunity to meet so many new people of different ages. Nobody knows you are in high school (unless you say that you are) so they will treat you just as another college student. It can be a bit intimidating being in classes with students who are older than you, but remember that most of them are there for the same reason you are and there is no reason to be scared.

Simply being in a new environment after spending eight hours at the same school every weekday for the past six years is truly a refreshing experience. Gaining real college experience is also extremely beneficial in easing any uncertainties one might have about attending a college or university.