<p>D wants to take 2 online classes, in addition to 3 AP classes and Pre-Calc. She wants to have a little more flexibility with her schedule to continue figure skating, which she's done for several years. Has taken a couple of classes online with Laurel Springs. They are quite expensive though, so we are looking into some other more econonomical alternatives. Counselor says that it doesn't matter too much which online school we use, though if money is not an object, Laurel Springs would be best. Anyone have any information on how colleges look at work done online, and whether it matters which institution is used?</p>
<p>Both our daughters did online courses due to a similar situation. We checked classes in advance with the high school principal, at guidance’s request. He also checked the classes to determine if they were truly honors level if they had been labelled that way by the online program.</p>
<p>Some online programs are set up more for homeschoolers, such as Keystone and Laurel Hill.</p>
<p>We used Aventa Learning and Virtual High School. They provided grades. Both can be accessed online under an umbrella program, Educere. You can google it.</p>
<p>Our high school actually joined Virtual High School as a result of our experiences, and now there are 25 slots in the school for kids to take VHS classes.</p>
<p>Thanks, I’ll check out the program you suggested. Did your daughters just take 1 or 2 online courses, or several? How did admissions view the online courses? With regard to taking an AP class online, several virtual hs in our state don’t offer them.</p>
<p>Also look at Florida on-line high school (google it) and Indiana on-line HS. Both are cheaper for in-state, but not outrageous for OOS. Offer AP and college level classes.</p>
<p>Thanks, I’ll check those out too.</p>
<p>Check-out Giant Campus. They have put real effort into producing very well designed online courses.</p>
<p>Just want to mention that some online courses are for high school, and some are college-level. Also, some programs, such as University of Nebraska, appear to be offered by colleges but are actually high school level.</p>
<p>I have read that some states are offering online high school courses. But the ones I have mentioned are private, and cost about $400/class.</p>
<p>For college admissions, make sure that the high school accepts them, and then the online courses should go right on the regular high school transcript, with a grade and a level (honors, AP, standard).</p>
<p>The key is working with your high school.</p>
<p>Then again, if the high school is not cooperative, you can always use a program such as North Atlantic Regional High School, which will compile everything your daughter has done and grant a diploma (it is accredited).</p>
<p>For colleges, taking these alternative routes (online classes) in order to pursue a “passion” (skating) is extremely appealing and any admissions officer will greatly value this kind of dedication and discipline. It also adds to the interesting mix they are after for their campus.</p>
<p>Be aware that online AP classes can be more difficult than classroom counterparts: they cover all the material, not just what can be covered in class time, and often the grades are based solely on testing that is based on the AP tests themselves (and we suspect testing is based on questions that are often missed: our daughter set up a time each week to talk by phone with the teacher, because the tests were a bit random). Another way to go is to do online college or even community college courses, which are equivalent to AP in the eyes of colleges. CC courses are also about $400, 4 year college courses usually twice that or more, but “dual enrollment” programs (hs and CC) offer scholarships/free courses.</p>
<p>Thanks for your comments, they are much appreciated, especially as regards AP online difficulty. Our d thinks it will be challenging, but likes the flexibility aspect. Our hs does accept the online classes, and includes in the transcript. We are just choking a bit at the cost…not even cc classes are covered currently under a dual enrollment program.</p>