I go to a very small school. The only AP course we have is AP English, and it’s mostly an online class study group. If I wanted to take other AP classes, I’d have to take them 100% online. Alternatively, I could take dual credit college courses that are 10 minutes away from my house. I want to do more advanced math classes, but I struggle with online math. Would colleges care that I didn’t do AP classes?
do you intend to stay in-state publics for college? If you intend to stay in-state to a public university, it definitely makes more sense to take classes as dual credit or simply taking CC classes, since those credits tend to transfer over nicely. AP classes are more universally recognized, though a few top schools are starting to limit and/or not accept AP credits.
If you prefer in-person class format, take the in-person classes.
For those college courses which are at the same level as AP courses (e.g. single variable calculus), you could take the AP exam to get double coverage (in case the college you eventually go to accepts AP scores but not your community college’s courses, or vice-versa), although you should not expect double credit for the same material.
Note that if you do eventually apply to medical or law school, all college courses and their grades count for that purpose, even for college courses taken while in high school.
My daughter didn’t take any ap courses. She did two years of all dual enrollment classes. She got into all 8 colleges she applied to. In addition when we talked to tons of college admissions and every one said it was a non issue for admissions purposes including highly selective schools. While that doesn’t mean that it will give you college credits, it is fine for admission unless you take develepmental/fluff classes.