As I’m sure many of you know, some schools allow you to take classes at community college or even local colleges in your senior or junior year. I wanted to take Microeconomics at either my local community college or the regional college ( probably community as it is MUCH cheaper), but I was under the assumption that I wouldn’t take as many AP classes as possible, so I don’t overwork myself, but I am questioning how colleges will look at this. The classes at my community college are easier than AP at my high school, so I figured it wouldn’t look as good as an AP course, but I was recently told that I should favor community college over AP because it shows that I have an initiative to learn. Which will look better for colleges, AP or Community College?
Although the classes are easier, they’re college-paced and require a college student’s level of autonomy (ie., you’ll be qgiven 30 pages to read, outline, summarize; you’ll write down questions on the reading to bring up in office hours. You won’t get a little quiz and if you don’t keep up soon you’ll be so overwhelmed you won’t be able to pass the midterm…)
A typical AP class meets 5 times a week for 10 months and covers the same amount of material a college class does in 4 months with 3 periods a week. That gives you an idea of how much work you’ll have to do on your own. Sure, community college don’t require as much as 4-year college classes, but they are organized differently from high school.
The best proof you can handle college classes is… taking college classes and doing well in them. So, college adcoms do appreciate your taking a cc class and doing well in it. Obviously if you bomb it, that’s a problem. 
D1 did that last year. (only it was government) It was actually easier, but it looked upon a bit more favorably. If you pass the class, most colleges will take the credit. With the AP, it really depends upon your score. Some will only offer credit with a 5 in some subjects.
I’m biased but I think the AP curricula basically stink. From a value standpoint-- as in best-class-available to take, I would definitely go for the CC. It’s worthwhile trying to figure out what teacher to select if possible (google name and review). As at any school, there are poor teachers at CC too. It’s far harder to get a good grade with a poor teacher (code for “learn well”), IMO than with a good one. Whether you click with a teacher IME often has as much to do with learning and enjoyment as subject matter or even curriculum.
So - all things being equal, go for the CC over AP. But if a teacher is exceptional somewhere, this would override the general advice IMO.
And conversely, never forget that those AP classes are basically pedagogical travesties - just a mind-numbing volume of information-dump and no one can sip effectively from Niagara Falls. You’re asked to jump too many, too treacherous hoops with too little support IMO. And this is just pretty standard across the board. Don’t let it get to you and let you start to think if/because you struggle with this stupidity you are yourself stupid or unprepared or unpreparable. The APs are their own weird little thing and how relevant any of that is as a predictor, and of what, is just plain ill-defined.
The College Board has tricked public schools into believing that these canned classes are better than actually teaching students