VGCC Propelled High School Student to College Success

One May, Vance Harrell (pictured above), then a 16-year-old student at J.F. Webb High School in Oxford, and his father read a letter from Vance-Granville Community College inviting Vance to take college courses while he was still in high school – a program called Dual Enrollment. They decided to give it a try. That decision paved the way for the Harrells to save thousands of dollars and for Vance to be a more successful college student.

During the summer and the school year that followed, Vance Harrell took VGCC courses in Spanish, English, History and Psychology. “I was busy in high school with other extra-curricular activities, but VGCC was very flexible with my schedule,” he recalled.

When Vance graduated from high school and enrolled at Louisburg College, he was already ahead of college freshmen, with 18 hours of college credit under his belt. “All the classes I took at VGCC transferred into Louisburg College perfectly,” Harrell said. Vance excelled at the private college, received a scholarship and graduated magna cum laude with an associate degree, a little more than one year after graduating from high school. His record earned him a transfer scholarship to the four-year Wingate University, where he will start classes in August.

“Dual enrollment helped Vance learn how to study for college,” his father, Howard V. Harrell, III, said. “It also gave him more confidence. It put him a step ahead of other young people and helped him be a top achiever at Louisburg College.”

Harrell was also impressed by how much money Dual Enrollment saved the family. He estimated that VGCC saved him $25,000 in college tuition and fees that he would have paid for the six courses at the other colleges. Tuition costs are waived for Dual Enrollment students. He recalled that one semester for Vance cost only $22. Since Howard Harrell is such a strong believer in dual enrollment, his younger son, Jason, is also now enrolled in VGCC dual enrollment classes, with the potential to graduate high school with even more college credit than Vance did.

In addition to Dual Enrollment, VGCC’s Huskins and Learn & Earn Online programs offer college credit to eligible high school students.