It’s just a half-hour trip to Iowa City – an hour both ways. It’s a nice chance to take a quick break from the stresses and activities of the regular day, and a good time to listen to a podcast. Senior Evan Tvedt has to drive an hour every school day to take Calculus at the University of Iowa, but he enjoys the time to unwind.
Currently enrolled in his sixth college class, Tvedt has been taking college classes since the second semester of his freshman year. Tvedt likes to take these classes because he can take subjects that aren’t offered at the high school, or study them at a more challenging level. Calculus is his first class through the University of Iowa. Tvedt has taken four classes online and through Kirkwood, and one class – Project Lead the Way, a dual credit class – through the high school.

In addition to college courses, Tvedt has also taken one AP class and is currently enrolled in two others. Two of the AP classes, AP World History and AP English Literature and Composition are offered as classes at the high school, but AP Chemistry is an online class. Tvedt can earn college credit for these classes as well, from achieving a high score on the exam.
Calculus has been an essential class for Tvedt to take, as he plans to go into a science field and knows that will require him to take Calculus. He decided to take Calculus through the University of Iowa because he wanted to take it at an accelerated rate, and he desired a challenge.

The most impactful class that Tvedt has taken was Environmental Science, an online Kirkwood class. Tvedt enjoyed the class because it brought awareness to how humans affect the environment, and what could be done to fix it. “It was fascinating,” Tvedt said while describing his experience with the class. Tvedt was influenced to take Environmental Science by his older sister, who took the same class. The class sounded appealing to Tvedt, so he wanted to learn more.
Tvedt has taken advantage of the diverse courses offered by Kirkwood and the University of Iowa and took the courses he wanted to learn more about. “It gave me a challenge I may not find at the high school,” Tvedt said. Tvedt has taken may specialized classes, like Human Anthropology and Human Biology, which are both online Kirkwood classes.
Even though Tvedt has taken a majority of his college classes online, he prefers taking in-class courses. “It’s been really cool to sit in a classroom and experience it and also have all of the resources available to you as a student,” Tvedt said.
Although taking college classes in high school has numerous benefits, Tvedt said they also require more time and effort. They are a major time commitment. Since these classes are college level, students are held to a higher standard and the classwork is more accelerated than in high school.
Tvedt’s advice to anyone thinking about taking college classes in high school is to “see if you can get coursework that will fulfill requirements for the future.” He also commented, “The Environmental Science class, regardless of who you are, should be one you take because it is fascinating – a little terrifying too – but absolutely fascinating.”
These classes have been a good learning experience for Tvedt and he enjoyed every class he took. Tvedt said that taking college classes is a good way to get college credit while still in high school, and a helpful introduction to the college experience. “It’s nice to dip your toes in before you jump in the deep end next year.”