Hey guys, I was wondering if the summer programs that some high school students take during the summer, can you put the credit courses in the College?University Course section of the Common App? If so, what are some programs I should look into? I’m interested in plants and I have a lot of extracurriculars related to plants, including the creation of a website for gardening awareness and working as a produce clerk in a grocery store
If the course earned credits at that college/university, then you must send an official transcript when you apply, and you must record that information in the College/University course section.
As for the best courses for you to take, that depends on your budget. Start with the community colleges and any 4-year colleges and universities within commuting distance.
@happymomof1 I’ve been thinking about taking local community college classes like Chemistry, History, and something environmental. I’m still looking though
Personally, I’d recommend that you look for a job or a volunteer position for the summer. Not only will that give you a break from studying, but it will also give you a chance to try out things that you might like for a career.
@happymomof1 I am a produce clerk at a local supermarket starting my sophomore year and I might start volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House.
What recommendations do you guys have for online undergraduate courses for high school students?
So, the ‘why’ matters.
If you are thinking that you will impress admissions by doing extra online courses- you won’t. Especially if they are just random classes.
I agree with @happymomof1, you will do more for you (and by happy coincidence for college apps) by pursuing a real interest. Is your interest in plants botanical? environmental? agricultural? sharpen that interest by doing an internship or a summer job or possibly a targeted summer course.
As far as adding college or university courses to your common app, that could very possibly depend on which schools you are applying to. For instance, I know a student who saw options to to add info under certain headers, whereas the same headers we’re not available to include the same kind of info under some of the other schools. Also, some schools require the courses and grades to be input via the SSAR (for which I believe there may be exceptions for international students or rare extenuating circumstances) and do not seem to care about the transcript, when using the SSAR because if it turns out to be incorrect for some reason, they seem to give the impression that, that is on the student, which of course they would probably expect the student to email them or inform them of such some way. Also, different schools may want the SSAR filled out differently, so this would require coordination between the schools. This could also vary by state. However, there are some schools that do not use the SSAR and they will likely require official sealed transcripts, which you would probably do yourself a really big favor to mail them directly to the schools yourself via priority USPS mail with a delivery confirmation or via UPS ground with a delivery confirmation. This way you don’t have to play the whole back and forth between the school that the application is being submitted to and your high school regarding whether the transcript was sent and when. Not everybody does what they say they will do or they may forget and you don’t want to be wondering whether the transcript ever got to the corresponding college/university.
As far as adding college or university courses to your common app, that could very possibly depend on which schools you are applying to. For instance, I know a student who saw options to to add info under certain headers, whereas the same headers we’re not available to include the same kind of info under some of the other schools. Also, some schools require the courses and grades to be input via the SSAR (for which I believe there may be exceptions for international students or rare extenuating circumstances) and do not seem to care about the transcript, when using the SSAR because if it turns out to be incorrect for some reason, they seem to give the impression that, that is on the student, which of course they would probably expect the student to email them or inform them of such some way. Also, different schools may want the SSAR filled out differently, so this would require coordination between the schools. This could also vary by state. However, there are some schools that do not use the SSAR and they will likely require official sealed transcripts, which you would probably do yourself a really big favor to mail them directly to the schools yourself via priority USPS mail with a delivery confirmation or via UPS ground with a delivery confirmation. This way you don’t have to play the whole back and forth between the school that the application is being submitted to and your high school regarding whether the transcript was sent and when. Not everybody does what they say they will do or they may forget and you don’t want to be wondering whether the transcript ever got to the corresponding college/university bc for early application / early decision the timelines are pretty concrete for some schools. Also, keep in mind that a number of schools do not consider the application to be complete until they have all of the information that goes along with the application, meaning high school transcripts if they require those instead of the ssar - including an AP college-level course transmission from college board (if applicable), a transcript from AICE college level courses (if applicable), a transcript from any online schools and your college transcript for the summer courses you do while in high school (again only if they require the official transcript), and test scores such as SAT and ACT to be considered for merit aid (regardless of whether they require those scores for admission). Then, remember that they will want updated transcripts from each entity you finish courses with and get final grades assigned for, to show the status of courses that may have been in progress when you originally applied.