Should I list MIT OCW Courses I've studied?

Applying to College
1

On the common app activities section, I’m questioning whether to have a spot for online college lectures/courses that I’ve studied. I’m a STEM Oriented student and have used quite a few MIT OCW courses/lectures to independently study. However, the nature of these online materials is that there is no way to prove completion or proficiency directly. For a few topics I’ve complemented them with AP Tests and College courses (mainly the math ones), but most of them have no backing. I’ve already sent the schools I’m applying to the scores and grades for those AP Tests and courses, but I’m not sure whether I should list the other topics I’ve studied.

What are your opinions? Should I list them out for colleges to see, even without credentials?

MIT OCW Taken:
8.01,8.02,8.03 = First three undergrad physics sequence for MIT Students
18.01,18.02, 18.06, 18.03 = Single and Multi Var Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations
14.01-Intro Microeconomics
5.60- Thermodynamics
6.006- Intro to Algorithms

Oh, and also Stanford: CS106A, CS106B which are the first two Computer Science sequence courses

2

The best way to “back up” the OCW listings is to tie them to research or projects that used what you learned in those courses and explain that in an essay. Barring that, you can still list them, but they won’t be given as much weight.

3

I would list them. It shows initiative, commitment, passion.

4

I don’t think they’ll be a tipping point, but seeing as you dedicated a significant amount of time to learning these topics, I do think college admissions officers would be interested in seeing them.