<p>I've heard this a couple of times in school now, and it really has me wondering: If a student maintains a rigorous in-school schedule and performs well (as in maintaining straight-A's, for example) but decides to "pad" his GPA by taking several FLVS courses -- some easy and some difficult -- would he be frowned upon by colleges during the application process? Naturally I'd assume they would because it makes it seem like your GPA isn't as good as it first seems to be since there are so many unnecessary FLVS courses on the transcript.</p>
<p>I'd love to take a bunch of FLVS courses for the purposes of boosting my GPA so I can reach the top of my class by my senior year (I'm currently a sophomore)... but I don't want to risk it if I'll regret it when it comes time to apply for colleges.</p>
<p>I “padded” my GPA with EPGY. Calc BC, Multivariable Calc, and Physics C. I exhausted my curriculum, and needed more courses to do. I think it is a good thing. However, for the specific purpose you have doesn’t seem quite right, especially if you plan on taking “easy” courses, in which case it might seem obvious that you are trying to pad.</p>
<p>Well I’m not necessarily going to take “easy” classes to scam the system, so to speak. I want to take classes that I am legitimately interested in and allow me to avoid having to take it at school.</p>
<p>For example, my school doesn’t offer any computer programming classes… so I’d be interested in taking Computer Programming and/or AP Computer Science through FLVS.
I’m taking Spanish 3 in school but would also enjoy taking Latin, so I’d like to take Latin I, II and III online.
I’m currently taking Web Design I online, and would like to take WD II over the summer.
I’d like to take Economics online so that I don’t have to deal with it during my senior year in school.
Next year I’m taking AP United States History, and I’d like to supplement it with AP United States Government and Politics online.</p>
<p>You don’t take the AP test online; you take it at your school just like the in-school AP students. If you don’t attend a school, I guess you’d take it at a specified location, which is probably a local school.</p>
<p>I haven’t taken an AP course online, but in other courses, yes, you can easily cheat. It’s not recommended, obviously, but I’m sure plenty of students do it anyways. Some of the module exams are timed, and some also require out-of-the-box thinking with free responses. There are also oral components in which your teacher quizzes you and discusses the material over the phone; if you take too long to answer, or the teacher hears rustling papers/pages in the background, I’m sure they’d know you are cheating. </p>
<p>I’m referring to FLVS - so if you’re taking your online courses through something/somewhere else, the policies and procedures may differ.</p>
<p>Right. But no matter how it’s calculated, more classes in which I earn an “A” = higher GPA, no? My other concern is that seeing 8+ extra classes may pose a red flag to colleges. I’m just not sure how they evaluate things, which is why I’m seeking advice.</p>
<p>For EPGY, I got grades either by submitting a final transcript (did this for Calc BC and Physics C), or I submitted progress reports that you can find at the EPGY site.</p>
<p>I would not recommend taking that many extra classes unless you have no other activities. FLVS has some easy classes but they are still time consuming. I’ve did an honors class to pad my GPA, it was easy and its tempting to cheat. I’m now taking AP Stats and Spanish 3 out of necessity and I wish I didn’t have to.</p>
<p>I have the time and motivation, so that’s not an issue. I also don’t plan to take all of these at once. I’m currently a sophomore and have the rest of this year plus two more school years (and summers) to complete these classes. :)</p>
<p>You have two threads for effectively the same question.</p>
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<p>You might think you’re dedicated, but make sure you don’t get in over your head. I’ve taken upwards of 15 online classes at this point; I started the summer before I started high school and have taken standard, honors, AP, and college classes online. A normal load in my state is 4 courses per semester; I’ve never taken fewer than 5 courses any semester in high school. </p>
<p>Online classes seem easier at first, and then you realize that you’re mainly just wasting time in face-to-face classes, and really not learning anything. I found online standard and honors classes very easy, and as such my average in the online honors courses I’ve completed is a 99.33. Similarly college courses online and face-to-face are normally not very challenging because they are focused on learning material–not simply doing busy work like APs.</p>
<p>The problem is online AP classes–or AP classes in general. In my online AP Lit class we’ve done at over 200 assignments, and each one is incredibly long and tedious. They aren’t difficult, nor do they require much thought (remember, your teacher is reading the crap your classmates are churning out before they read yours) but they often take hours and hours…similar story with APUSH. I don’t know what kind of learner you are, but I like engaging lecturers…those people who you hear or see, and just know they’re on a different plane from other people. A lot of online classes will have pretty pictures or “field trips” online, but when it comes down to it most of the time you’ll be staring at a book doing a de facto self-study.</p>
<p>I took AP Calculus BC and AP Physics B online last year without honors physics, or any kind of calculus (all my math had been online since Geometry and was not challenging). We were not provided with appropriate textbooks or learning aids, and none of the teachers at my school were capable of doing any of the problems (public education fail right there). The instructors can’t provide a lot of help if you don’t understand a concept. Those who had AP Calculus AB and Honors Physics did decently, no one else did.</p>
<p>What I was saying about your “dedication” isn’t anything personal. You’re dedicated…and you power through for awhile. Then you realize that the APs are year-long, and they keep going, and going and you get tired, take a break, and get further and further behind.</p>
<p>I didn’t take my online courses with FLVS, but if you want my advice, I think you should look into college courses online or face-to-face–community college courses will probably be much cheaper. </p>
<p>Has anyone taken Calculus Honors on FLVS? I am thinking of taking it as a step up on my BC Calc class this fall in High School Would you recommend taking it?</p>
<p>My daughter has taken quite a few flvs courses, due to her fine arts concentration at school. She discussed this with admission officers at several T20 schools and all said basically the same thing, she should keep them to a minimum and should have a good reason for not taking the class at her school. They much prefer students take the classes at their school, if they are offered.</p>