by Reid Nichols

In the afternoon, 53 students pack up their books and leave the high school.

But where are they going? They are headed over to the Iowa Western Cass County Campus for college classes to receive college credit.

According to guidance secretary Gina Honke, some of the 53 students take more than one class.

These classes provide advantages to high school students wanting to further their education after high school. Guidance counselor Jennifer Thurston said, “I think that any college experience you can get is good, and getting any basic college credits you can get will help you save money when you are at college.”

The opportunity to take these classes is due to a program called the Senior Year Plus Program. This program serves as an umbrella for a variety of programs designed to provide high school students access to courses that have the potential to generate college credit.

Thurston stated that the classes are pretty easy to fit into your daily schedule. “I think the experience of actually going there and not having class every day, and learning time management is really helpful. Not all schools will be the exact same, but It is the experience that is helping. Any experience is going to be what you make of it,” said Thurston.

But are these classes helping student prepare for what college will actually be like? Senior Taylor Berns said, “No, I think that they are not as challenging as what actual college classes will be like for me next year. Most kids just take them so that every other day they can have open 7th and 8th.”

Junior Haley Carlson said the classes are helping her prepare for college. “They help get general education credits out of the way. They also help teach us time management and how to rely on yourself instead of your teacher,” said Carlson.

If you are interested in taking one of these college classes at Iowa Western, see your guidance counselor and they can help lead you in the direction you need to take.