Someone recently told me in order to look extremely appealing to admissions officers, I had to take a class through a college sometime during my high school career. I am a rising senior, and am doing various programs/camps this summer. I found a class (in my designated major) I can take for 4 credits online through OSU and was wondering if it is worth it? It is not a self-paced course and is 10 weeks, with a lab and homework due each week (plus midterms and finals). The physical cost is not the issue, rather the time commitment and opportunity cost.
For reference, I will be applying to Top 20 schools and have competitive stats and extracurriculars already.
If you need any further info to make a decision, let me know and I will provide it !
Thank you 
Does this someone have a college degree and working in the field of college counseling, or is this a HS student? Regardless, someone is wrong.
Colleges expect you to maximize the opportunities within the curriculum offered by your current school. If you have maxed out on your opportunities, you **can/b look to supplement with online offerings, community college, etc. But does any college, let alone a top 20 (whatever your definition of that is) expect it if not needed? No.
If you want to take the class because it appeals to you/stretches you/is applicable to your major/whatever, and time and money is of no concern, by all means do so.
@skieurope Hi, that person was an academic advisor I see regularly and has been in the business for a while. At first, I didn’t really believe his/her advice, but it has been on my mind recently so I looked into it.
My high school does not offer AP Physics C (I want to be an astrophysics major), so the school is paying for me to take it online (not through a college, however) during my senior year. I am the only person at my HS who will be doing so.
I have maximized my opportunities in school (i.e. taken the most APs my school allows, participating in, leading, and founding various clubs associated with my major, etc.), but I did not know if doing this would be worth it and would be a good bump to my app.
My school is a relatively poor public school outside of a city that is doing horribly at the moment. My offerings are not as plentiful as private schools would be, so I’ve tried to make the most of it.
The advisor I have (whose clients do come from those aforementioned schools) said it is very common and very enhancing to an app. Whether there is truth to this, I do not know.
I don’t know. Maybe it is end-of-junior-year paranoia, but I am just trying to, as you said, max out on my opportunities.
I appreciate the response!
The fact is that top student at a low performing school will stand out more than at a school that they get tons of apps from. Maximize what your school offers, get excellent grades, and supplement if your academic needs require it. Not for the reason this “adviser” gave.
@VickiSoCal Thank you! It’s very easy to get discouraged (especially comparing myself to CCers who have opportunities in their schools that I obviously don’t have) and your comment really helped!
Maybe a little bit of that, but you seem on a solid track. @VickiSoCal is absolutely correct.
Truly, there are better ways for you to be spending your time than taking a college class in the summer. Way too many students try that sort of thing, and then up with a regrettable grade or a W on a college transcript that will follow them for the rest of their life. Not to mention the simple headache of that extra college transcript if the student ends up studying elsewhere - at this point I have seven and it is a colossal pain when I have to produce official copies of all of them.
Do something that you want to do for your own reasons this summer.
Wishing you all the best!
Admissions officers find admirable those students who challenge themselves and make the most of the academic and extra-academic opportunities available to them. However, I don’t recommend taking the one college level class at this late stage solely to look good for college admissions. I don’t think taking one college-level class will make a difference for your candidacy because there hasn’t been a pattern of such. Take the college-level class if it will prepare you for the rigors of college. Also, what are the opportunity costs for you? Could you spend summer doing more worthwhile things that develop your capabilities and contribute to the community?
My son took college level classes throughout 9 - 12th grade and graduated high school with 76 college credit hours of dual-credit classes he took at a community college with an A average. This sustained pattern did get noticed by colleges and in fact one top college waived their SAT Subject Matter test requirements because he had demonstrated he could perform at the college level. While this case was an extreme example, it is intended to support my previous point that one college level class in rising senior year is unlikely to make a difference. Find a more meaningful way to spend your summer.
" an academic advisor I see regularly and has been in the business for a while." That doesn’t guarantee they know.
Regardles of this person, your better bet is to immerse yourelf in what the top colleges truly look for, what they say, not the self-designated experts, blogs or forums. Be that sort. Figure out if your ECs truly are competitive and reflect the depth and breadth these college want. And not just titles, what looks fancy to you, or so-called “passions.” Not a string of awards or camps.
It’s immensely competitive.
It’s not about making yourself “look extremely appealing,” as if you can sprinkle fairy dust. It’s about wise choices over 3.5 years of hs. SO, if you want astrophysics, and this horrible hs is willing to pay for physics C, make a wise and informed decision.