Honors Level Courses versus Dual Enrollment

I'm a junior in high school this year, and the thought of graduation is lingering in the air...of course, behind that very amazing exultation is a tower of the unknown adversity...also known as 'admission to college'. There are so many things to think about and so little time. Junior year can be summed up in about one word: hectic. You load up on honors courses to look like a brainiac, along with numerous extracurriculars to show you are well rounded; you barely have time to sleep! I know you know what I'm talking about because every hardworking student has been there. And then, right in about the middle of February, it arrives: Course selections for senior year. Some may look at it as relief; I look at it as a chance to make it or break it for college.
I attend a high school where they offer numerous honors programs, but no AP courses. Senior year opens the door to another option known as dual enrollment. Dual enrollment is when you are still taking several high school courses, but you are also enrolled at a college level. Most seniors choose to take poli. sci. or English 101 to get it out of the way. Dual enrollment also at some schools gives you the chance to take these college courses at not only a reduced price, but you might possibly get reimbursed also. Sounds great, right? It did to me, too. Until I started doing some research...
I'm looking into some top-of-the-line private schools...Arcadia, Swarthmore, Gettysburg are the ones at the top of my list. My counselors at my school made dual enrollment sound god-like. They gave me the impression that this was going to get me to the level I needed to be to get admitted to these schools. I'm a naturally curious person, so I called the admissions offices of these schools to see what they think about dual enrollment and getting ahead.
Arcadia didn't have a strong stance on either honors courses versus dual enrollment. Both equally weigh the same in the admissions officers' eyes. They did say for dual enrollment, you are taking a chunk of time out of your normal high school schedule that could be filled with classes to drive to and from the community college at which you are enrolled. So, that's a negative to dual enrollment.
Gettysburg pretty much had the same stance. Dual enrollment won't make or break you. Good scores on tests, a great GPA, and a magnificent class rank will be sure to catch an admissions officer's eye, as long as you take rigorous courses. As long as you take the hardest course offered at your school, you will have a better shot than taking regular courses.
And then comes Good Ole' Swarthmore...(this is my dream school and then some) Swarthmore didn't recognize dual enrollment what-so-ever. I mean, I'm talking about basically a practically Ivy League school, and their stance on dual enrollment is "What is that?". This showed me right here that dual enrollment is NOT the way to go. Swarthmore does not accept college credit from a just-graduated high school senior. So there would be no point in taking dual enrollment. You would just be wasting your time and money.
Of course, this applies to my situation 100%, but hopefully this will help you out to some extent.
My advice: do the research, call colleges, ask counselors, but never take what they say at face value. Don't settle for one answer; get a few so you can average them and read between the lines.
Also, you're still a high school student...it's your senior year. Of course, don't slack off, but HAVE FUN!
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