<p>What do you think looks better to upper tier schools like Duke, William&Mary, Washington U, and UNC - online college courses (within UNC system) or online AP courses? See, I am preparing to register for next semester and senior year courses, so I would like some direction.</p>
<p>Are online AP courses inherently superior (in adcom's eyes) to online college courses within the UNC system?</p>
<p>Thanks much for advice!</p>
<p>are your classes even designated as online on your transcript? mine arent.</p>
<p>The only class that is designated as an online course on my transcript is German. They mark it as VHS German, VHS standing for Virtual High School. My astronomy course from my sophomore year is just listed as Honors Astronomy and my online college philosophy course is just listed as Phil121 - Cont. Moral Problems.</p>
<p>I think either would be fine, in that they show you're pursuing academic interests outside of what your HS offers. </p>
<p>AP has the advantage that, if they're College-Board audited classes, they're a known quantity that admissions offices will easily understand/recognize. (For juniors & younger, I might suggest doing online AP since you can take the accompanying exam to demonstrate your competence in that area. But that's of less relevance since you'll be a senior.)</p>
<p>College classes have the advantage that, as a high schooler, you can demonstrate your readiness and aptitude for college-level work. And, since you plan on taking them through the UNC system, I'd assume (though I'm no expert here) that they'll also be a known, recognized quantity by admissions offices, too. Certainly, they would be at UNC. And if that is where you end up going, then I would guess that your credits would transfer easily.</p>
<p>So I s'pose the choice is up to you. Does anybody else from your HS have experiences with either program? Does wherever you'd be taking the AP courses from have a pretty good reputation among students? I think because either are good choices, whichever is best for your instance really just depends on factors like those.</p>
<p>EDIT: I see, from re-reading your post, that you'll be taking some of these classes next semester as a junior. That might factor into the decision some. If you would be able to take AP exams in those classes you take next semester, maybe go that route. You could still take AP exams in the subject matter of the college courses you take, but it might be more difficult, because the curriculum in the college classes might not as clearly align with the AP curriculum. I know the conventional wisdom is that AP exams don't matter much in admissions decisions, but the opposing conventional wisdom is that for students with more unconventional high school paths, like homeschooling or online classes, any additional "proof that a non-traditional education is at least on the same footing with a more commonplace one" is a good thing. You might find this article helpful: Cyber-Schools</a> and College Admissions - Ask The Dean</p>
<p>Thanks a lot Bee3 for that extremely helpful reply. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, the online AP courses in NC are year-long, as opposed to my school AP courses which are semester-long, so second semester AP courses are out of the question. </p>
<p>Yes, next semester I am taking WCV 101 + WCV 102 (Western Civilizations I & II) as a dual credit/six hour course through UNC system. </p>
<p>I figured next year, senior year, I would take AP Biology online considering my school doesn't offer any science AP. I really don't like the idea of it taking up one year though; that eats up more credit I could earn through UNC. However, I am going to end my HS career with AP German online second semester as it is self-paced, so it is the only exception to the AP year-long rule.</p>
<p>Essentially, my schedule pans out:</p>
<p>Senior Year -
1st Semester:</p>
<p>AP English Lit
AP Calculus AB
Honors German IV
UNC Courses Online or AP Biology Online</p>
<p>2nd Semester:</p>
<p>Honors Physics
AP German (Online)
Continue AP Biology Online or UNC Online courses
Free Period (Just because I feel like I deserve it after 4 years)</p>
<p>Bump!!! (10 Char)</p>