Since the start of the 20th century, young adults have been introduced with various opportunities like having new technology and being able to advance in school at a young age. Things are much different today than they where 10 years ago.

High school students have more opportunities now than they ever had before to begin their adventure into the college world. For example, there are a variety of ways for students to earn college credit at Akins. Because students want to be college ready, many decide to register for college level classes early while still attending high school.

College advisor Sarah Simmons said, “Akins High School offers many ways to earn college credit like dual credit classes, articulated credit, co-enrollment courses, and AP testing”. The opportunities that are offered here at Akins “help students get an understanding of how college classes are going to be like so when they actually attend college they will be ready” and they will benefit the student in many ways.

Senior Fabian Jimenez has taken advantage of these opportunities by taking four ACC courses throughout his four high school years. He has taken Speech, Government, and two classes of US History.

Jimenez highly recommends taking dual credit classes because “they challenge you to do your best and they prepare you for college.” Because there are so many college credit opportunities here at Akins, “students should try to earn as much as they can because it saves money and it saves you time in college,” he said.

Senior Corrina Benavides has also earned some college credit from the opportunities found here at Akins. She has earned over 15 hours of college credit by taking advantage of programs available here and at ACC.

Benavides said, “through my experiences with dual credit classes, I found that the classes were more difficult and kind of hard to juggle Akins stuff with ACC stuff but it is possible and worth the time.” Benavides strives to get accepted into the University of Texas, Texas A&M, and the University of Houston and the college credit that she has earned here at Akins will help her stand out over most applicants when applying.

According to Simmons, “college credit will highly benefit a student in the near future by saving them money on tuition and by getting experience of post-secondary education while still having the support of high school staff and systems.”

“I recommend college level courses to high school students who are committed to challenging themselves, expanding their experiences and who are prepared to put in a lot of work and realize there are real world consequences,” Simmons said.