TMU has Dual Enrollment! How to apply with a little money, motivation, and a Christ-centered education

Haylie Celeste Adame, Editor-in-Chief

April 19, 2024

Picture taken on Friday, April 12th. Shows the main sign right next to the TMU Admissions office.

Have you ever wondered why GV only offers “basic” Dual Enrollment classes that you may not even want, or even need? Well, there are many schools in Southern California, one being The Master’s University, for a Christ-centered dual enrollment option that does not take much and can look great to TMU or to other colleges.

Picture of courtyard right in the center of the whole campus of TMU. Reads “For Christ & Scripture”. (Haylie Celeste Adame)

When it comes to dual enrollment, GV students usually think of those offered from COC as a zero period. Realistically, the list offered is very short, and they aren’t the most “fun” classes. That is another story, but for now, let’s look at what The Master’s University offers!

Why TMU Dual Enrollment and not COC?

To begin with, college is getting more and more competitive than ever before, which makes anything related to outside school hours look great. And while higher education has, and always will be, competitive and wanting to see more than grades, extracurriculars, and community service, it is really about what you can do to make a difference with what you are passionate about.

Senior Admissions Counselor, Cole Heinzen, added to the talk of their Dual Enrollment opportunity that it, “started off as being an off-campus experience for high school students as well as an online program (within the last 10-15 years has become a better process).”

Straight from their website that lists out their admission requirements needed for their Dual Enrollment program specifically. (Haylie Celeste Adame)

He also added, “They are the same classes that you would take as an Undergrad at TMU, so you are getting ahead in your college career as well as receiving high school A-G requirements.”

He also wanted to highlight that “when applying for Dual Enrolment, the application DOES require a statement of faith since they are a school for Christ, and Scripture.”. It is easy and not as hard as you think (take it from someone who applied.)

Despite there being a price for the classes of about $150 dollars, TMU really wants anyone who is looking into their Dual Enrollment to know that you can save money, time, and also get a biblical worldview if you so choose to.

Asst. Professor of Biological Sciences, specifically of Cell and Molecular Bio, Dr. Haley Smith shared in an interview, “Here [at TMU] it is very clear from the moment you step foot on campus that all faculty align when it comes to doctrinal stances, and major core values, and beliefs. ” She also added that she has noticed the incoming classes are excited and motivated. While also being aligned with the school’s doctrinal statement as well which makes the whole TMU experience even better.

The classes are eight weeks long, fully online, and offer two sessions for all semesters they have (Spring, Summer, Fall). They can really help you as an incoming junior or senior get college credit on top of completing some of your A-G requirements. Does that not sound like a good deal?

Picture of specific information that is important to take into consideration if you are interested in classes. (Haylie Celeste Adame)

COC’s Dual Enrollment Process

On the other hand, at Golden Valley specifically, they help you at our school, and you get called out of class to make sure you get it all done in time. And while it is completely free, you don’t have teachers that come from a Christ-centered background with both worldly and Christ-centered worldviews as well as Christian values. On top of that, COC only has a few select classes you are able to take (which is pretty much the same as every other high school in the district.)

They offer the following:

Intro to Entrepreneurship
Fund. of Public Speaking
Career-Life Planning
American Sign Language

Each class is three units/credits, and are only on Tuesdays and Thursdays as a zero period on campus. The classes for fall semester are from  to Dec. 5, 2024. To add onto that, all of these classes are hybrid, except for American Sign Language, which is all in person classes (at GV, if that wasn’t clear).

What classes does TMU offer?

This is the complete list of all that TMU’s Dual Enrollment offers online only.

These are their Gen Ed classes all students no matter what major must take:
Old Testament Survey I and II
New Testament Survey I and II
Christian Theology I and II
Essentials of Christian Thought

These are all the rest that can count as college and high school credit:
English Composition
World Lit. I
English Lit. I
Intro to Literature
Spoken Communication
Essentials of Music and Art
Intro to Philosophy (Seniors Only Class)
Essentials of World History I and II
United States History and Government
Essentials of Economics and Society
Essentials of Geology and Geology Lab
Critical Thinking and Quantitative Analysis
Introductory to Spanish 1A and 1B
Introduction to Psychology

Admission Requirements
The admission requirements that you will see here are straight from their website under their Dual Enrollment page right here.

The requirements for junior and senior high school students to be admitted to the Dual Enrollment Program are as follows:
Have a clear profession of faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
Must be in 11th or 12th grade (no exceptions).
Must be 15-19 years old.
Submit official high school transcripts demonstrating completion of at least 10th-grade with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75.
Once Enrolled, students can take up to eight-units per semester.

How does this look on college applications?

When talking to Kinzey Smith, an academic counselor at TMU, she wanted to add that, “It is a competitive world out there and for sure it can boost your application even more”. Which is completely true and an honest thought coming from a counselor who sees so many students.

As someone who has applied to TMU, and been admitted into the 2024-2025 school year, I would for sure say that dual enrollment (from COC) definitely increased my chance of getting into their pre-nursing program specifically as well.

These are the benefits that TMU listas as the best qualities of the program! Came straight from their website under “Dual Enrollment”. (Haylie Celeste Adame)

I also believe that as colleges are getting more and more competitive, colleges don’t want to see that you were in ASB, took every AP class possible, and founded three new clubs, or you’re in charge of a few organizations on campus. I believe it is what you do outside of school hours in your personal life or things that take up that time like college classes as a high school student, having an online profile of your writing (for me, that is The Grizzly Gazette) and seeing that you are an active volunteer or you have a job that leave admissions officers with a strong impression.

All of this, I believe to be true since personally it has gotten me far and I have gotten a lot of positive feedback on that part of my application as well. If you want to chat more, email me on my personal email at [email protected].

Here is the TMU Website directly for Dual Enrollment.

Kelly Wilde is the Dual Enrollment Specialist who can give you more information.

Here is the Online Academic Calendar.

You can also contact Mitch Hopewell who is the Provost and Dean of Online Education at [email protected].

About the Contributor

Haylie Celeste Adame, Editor-in-Chief

Haylie Celeste Adame is Co Editor-In-Chief of the Grizzly Gazette, and is a Senior here at Golden Valley. She is actually a part of Hosea and Truth Be Told Club while being a positive influence to all she meets on campus as much as possible. She is passionate about writing stories while also being a leader, she went from a staff writer to section editor of community news which is something she is glad she can experience and hopes the second year will go great. She loved writing about SCV as a whole while diving deep into the reasons things were happening instead of the first layer of information that could be found. To her, being a student journalist means going above and beyond to get valuable and true information out to anyone who reads their stories. This matters so much because it is not only a great skill to have but also something fun and collaborative to be on an amazing team. Whole experience from last year to her was a 10/10 for sure. These three years in SCV have been full of new people and experiences while being with her family and two cats. She loves to bake, hang out with friends, and learn anything healthcare related. One interesting thing about her that nobody believes is that she is passionate about singing for her church and could not be in a better place in her life. Her number one supporter is her boyfriend who has been there as nothing but a lovely addition to her life for a year and a half. She is in high hopes that the class of 2024 Grizzly Gazette will be seen anywhere it can and this year’s team will become family and friends by the end of it all!