Berkeley City College (Berkeley, CA)

Jan 2014

RE: High school sophomore wants to take a college class over the summer

My daughter (10th grade) took ASL at BCC, two evenings a week. The ages of the students in her class were quite diverse. College-aged kids to older adults and everyone was very kind to her. She had no problems. BCC won't take students younger than 10th grade. Check the BCC website for the summer course catalogue when it comes out. High school students have a later class enrollment date than everyone else, so are somewhat disadvantaged in getting the classes they want. Be ready to register on the first day summer registration is open to high school students. You will need a completed ''Concurrent Enrollment Form'' from BHS before you can register for a class at BCC.

So, 1) register at BCC on-line; 2) when the summer course schedule is available, figure out what class you want; 3) download the Concurrent Enrollment Form and fill it out 4) take it to BHS counsellor to sign; 5) bring completed Concurrent Enrollment Form and registration info (ID number) and BHS ID to the BCC office on the first day HS students can enroll in classes.

Also, your student may have to take placement tests in math and/or English depending on the class desired, and I'm pretty sure these placement tests need to be completed before enrollment. Lots of info on BCC site, but this is a multi-step process. Good luck! Good experience at BCC

ADD student at Berkeley City College

Dec 2007

I'm curious if anyone can tell me if Berkeley City College has any special help for students with ADD. My son will be taking Spanish and Math, classes he failed twice at Berkeley Independent Studies. His math teacher there told me that languages and math were particularly hard for students with ADD. His problem is less about comprehension than about the tedium of the work for him, but it is also about remembering what he has learned in those subjects. He's very bright and does well in English and History. He's trying to transfer to a 4 year college but has to pass these hurdles first. Anyone have experience with this? Still Hoping

Dear Still Hoping: My daughter, who has been diagnosed with ''mild ADD'' will be attending BCC for the first time this spring, so I don't have any direct experiences yet for her. One bit of good advice I received from another Parents of Teens poster was to check out the instructors on ''ratemyprofessor.com''. It consists of students' ratings of their professors, so you get what you pay for (those who do poorly tend to complain the most, whether or not it was the professor's fault!). But it may give you an idea of who to steer towards or who to steer away from. There is a counseling center for students with disabilities, but you have to have a doctor's evaluation of ADD in order to use it, I believe. It looks like they have a lot of resources there but you have to be more your own advocate than in high school. You are welcome to e-mail me, though I don't have much more info. yet. I've been hoping my daughter would have a way to connect to other younger students at BCC, as she is only 16 and starting college full time. Liz