I’m planning on doing a Computer Science course by Harvard on edX for trivial purposes, and paying 90$ for a verified certificate, I would like to know how much this would help, if it would, in my college applications as I plan on applying for a few select American universities in the top 100 rankings by QS.
I personally mentioned that I took them in essays and interviews. It is a way of showing academic curiosity. I do not think that it would be seen as anything more or less than that.