Berkeley student bound for a medical career says high school/community college dual-enrollment helped her achieve scholastic success
Aneesa Mustafa is on her way to becoming a doctor, studying at the University of California, Berkeley.
“I have always dreamed of going to a U.C.” she says.
But she believes she might not have gotten there without a boost from dual-enrollment that set her on a successful path in high school.
As a high school sophomore at Dublin High School, she had heard about Middle College High School, which offers a program that allows students to attend high school and community college at the same time, allowing them to finish a year of college by graduation.
“Having structure and foundation early on, I know which way to study for certain classes.”
Aneesa Mustafa, Middle College High School/Las Positas College Dual-Enrollment Graduate, Current UC Berkeley Student
“I thought it was not for me, that I wouldn’t do well,” Mustafa says.
Straddling two worlds could be difficult for a teenager, she figured, but then she heard more about the program and how she could continue her high school life while she attended college classes. She decided to give it a try, beginning with one night class.
All 116 California community colleges are focusing on Vision 2030, a strategic plan to provide more equitable and affordable education opportunities for non-traditional or disadvantaged students so they become academically and economically successful. One of the focuses of this plan is dual-enrollment, and Middle College High School integrates high schoolers early into college level classes to ensure students stay engaged.
Mustafa enrolled in a psychology night class at Las Positas College in nearby Livermore while a sophomore. Then Covid hit, and the class went online.
In her junior year, she went to high school from 8 to 11 a.m., then could take up to eleven college classes if she wanted. Then in her senior year, her high school classes ended at 10 a.m. and the rest were college classes. She completed a year of college by the time she graduated from Dublin High.
From her first college class, she knew the experience was different. Her classmates included a mother, a veteran and some elderly students, a mix of people that she enjoyed. “It creates more dialogue,” she says. “It was a good segue to life.”
Also, in a large high school with crowded classrooms, she found the smaller classes of just 15 or 20 students at Las Positas fostered good mentorship and engagement. Teachers encouraged students to visit at office hours.
Now, at Berkeley, the same classes could be taught in a lecture hall with 500 students—which is not a good initiation into college for most students, she says.
“Having structure and foundation early on, I know which way to study for certain classes,” she says.
She was able to keep up her high school friendships and activities and walked with them at graduation. But she also graduated with her Middle College class of 70 students from several community colleges in the area.
Because she was enjoying her Middle College experience, she chose to transfer to Las Positas as a sophomore there rather than go straight to a four-year college, where she would have to enter as a freshman. Other Middle College students choose the latter route because they want the freshman experience of dorm life and other social trappings of college, but Mustafa preferred living at home while at Las Positas. She applied to every University of California campus and was accepted to all of them.
Her acceptance at the highly competitive Berkeley, she believes, was partly because her college essay focused on her experience and motivation with Middle College. “I think they were able to see I made the most out of it,” she says.
She enrolled in Fall of 2023 to major in specialized biology.
She has also encouraged her brother to enroll in Middle College. “I don’t think there’s any reason not to,” she says.
To learn more about Middle College High School’s and their dual-enrollment program, go to www.wccusd.net. To learn more about the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office sand Vision 2030, go to www.cccco.edu.
Written by M.S. Enkoji
| Regions | Classes & Topics |
|---|---|
| Bay Area California | Dual Enrollment – Variety of Classes |
