While it was once a small group of students, the Running Start program at Liberty has bloomed and has continued to flourish in recent years. Last year, there were 218 students enrolled either fully or part-time, but that has increased by 13.8% this year, with 248 students enrolled fully or part-time. 

One of the main appeals of the program is the jumpstart into one’s post-high school career.

“If you begin Running Start in junior year, you can get the AA degree, and then it’ll make it easier to graduate college with your bachelor’s,” senior Camryn LaCaze said. 

Usually, students attending a university after high school have at least four more years of school, but with Running Start, two of those years will already be completed. 

“A lot of kids have found Running Start a viable option because you’re earning college credit in high school, so you can seek higher education faster and cheaper,” senior Mai-Ly Lu said. 

Additionally, the number of students planning to join the program in future years has increased. The sophomore class specifically has been buzzing about the opportunities the program holds.  

“I’m interested in Running Start because it has more opportunities for better classes and teachers,” sophomore Marissa Lorenz said. “There are more options and programs specific to whatever path we want to take.”  

While traditional high school offers a variety of courses that cover a multitude of subjects, students often feel like they are wasting their time by fulfilling graduation requirements with classes unspecific to their college plan. 

“It feels very different because you can choose your schedule and what classes you want, and you can choose the number of classes you take,” LaCaze said. 

Evidently, there are also downsides to the program.  

“I have to drive half an hour each day, and I take a five day a week class, and it takes a lot of gas money to get there,” junior Colin Larsson said. 

While there are online classes that allow students to steer around the issue of transportation, it harbors other difficulties for learning. 

“I think I’m definitely learning less because my Running Start is online, and I don’t learn as much as I do in person,” LaCaze said. 

Along with transportation roadblocks, many students have also commented on the concern that Running Start looks worse on college applications than AP classes. This is because AP classes have standardized material and exams, unlike Running Start, which leaves universities in the dark about the quality of education the students are receiving.

“It’s made me look towards my future more. Now I’m more observant of what I’m doing and my goals for college,” Larsson said.