<p>I have long thought that high school students should consider taking community college courses during the summer as a way to raise their GPA, show colleges that they are capable of doing college-level work, and to explore subject areas not available to them at their high school.
What I'm less sure of is how colleges, especially academically competitive colleges, view this option versus the option of a student taking college-level courses (for credit) taught by college faculty during summer sessions. Is there any particular advantage to doing one rather than the other from the viewpoint of college admissions? Would admission to a competitive summer program on a college campus be seen differently?</p>
<p>Depends on the summer program, depends on the class and where it’s taken.</p>
<p>TASP vs. random class at a CC…no contest.</p>
<p>I don’t expect others to necessarily hold this opinion, but I don’t think summer coursework shows that much. It’s not like taking a college course in lieu of a lower class at HS during the regular school year because the student doesn’t have other academic demands during the summer. And because they are taught in a condensed timeframe, summer courses are sometimes thought to be less rigorous/comprehensive than those taught during the school year.</p>
<p>I’ll also add, if the student is already doing well in HS, then it can be good for them to do something more interesting during the summer. Once a student shows themselves to be a academically qualified candidate to a selective school, adcoms will be looking to see if they stand out in other aspects of their application.</p>
<p>Thank you for the TASP reference, which I was not familiar with, although I see it is too late for current juniors to apply (deadline Jan 21). I’m going to ask my question more precisely: I know a student (junior) with an ACT score of 32 and a GPA of 3.96 (weighted). The student is trying to be strategic about choices this summer. So under consideration are programs like Stanford’s High School Summer College Students that allows students who are accepted to it to attend the same classes as Stanford undergrads. You mention that it’s a good idea for a student doing well academically to “do something more interesting during the summer.” Are you saying you think it’s more important to do something outside the academic realm? Appreciate your input.</p>
<p>Students who may eventually apply to medical or law school should realize that college courses taken while in high school will count toward the GPA used for medical or law school admissions. This can be helpful if A or A+ grades are earned (preloading the medical or law school admissions GPA), but harmful if lower grades are earned (putting the student in a hole for medical or law school admissions GPA).</p>
<p>^^^ That is an important point to bring up. Whenever the student applies for admission for a degree program at an accredited college or university, or for a job that asks for transcripts, it will be necessary to provide an official transcript from the college or university that summer course was taken at. The hassle factor over the long term (as in for the rest of that person’s life) may not be worth it.</p>