Do colleges view it less favorably if you take AP courses online rather than in-person?

Applying to College
1

Hi all,

I’m a junior in HS who has taken no AP courses yet. My school is barring me from taking more than 2 AP courses next year. I really want to take more than 2, though, so I did a bit of research and I found out there are online AP courses. I’m planning to take 3 of these online courses over the summer. Will admissions officers understand why I’m taking online APs, or will they assume I’m scared to take an in-person class?

Note: My high school’s policy of limiting APs is mentioned on page 2 of their [url = <a href=“http://stuy.enschool.org/ourpages/auto/2013/3/7/37096823/Class%20of%202017%20profile%20-%20compressed.pdf%5Dstudent”>http://stuy.enschool.org/ourpages/auto/2013/3/7/37096823/Class%20of%202017%20profile%20-%20compressed.pdf]student profile they show to colleges, so I think admissions officers will be aware of this policy while they consider apps from my HS.

2

You have already had answers to this question on your other, nearly-identical thread.

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@Lindagaf Yeah, I know. I was hoping to get different opinions though because some people (e.g. [url = <a href=“http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20493732/#Comment_20493732%5Dhere%5B/url%5D”>http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20493732/#Comment_20493732]here) have said that colleges do not view it less favorably, while you have said that they do.

4

Spend your money as you choose. There is no issue with doing it. Do not expect it to give you any advantage though, especially if it comes at the expense of other more meaningful ways to spend your time. Unless your high school will accept the grade you achieve and add it to your GPA, which I suspect is very uncommon, whatever grade you achieve will not add value to your application. If you are doing it to place out of entry level courses, or get college credit, fine, no problem. You should ask your high school guidance counselor some questions: will you be able to sit the test in your high school? Will they add the course to your transcript, and if so, will they add the grade as well?

Have you asked for an exception to the rule? Has your GPA increased enough, and your issues far enough behind you that they can be confident you can handle the classes? Again,questions for your counselor.

Re the post you linked. She didn’t say these courses would give you an advantage. Of course they won’t look down on it.