What is an online AP course?
Advanced Placement Courses, as the name suggests, offer a rigorous course experience to you. They are offered by certain online high schools. AP courses are generally taken by students if they have a fixation on a specific subject. Also, students resort to these courses to better their chances at college admissions or jobs. These courses certainly add that extra weight to your application or resume. Augmenting your analytical skills, these courses tend to heighten your overall test scores. They can also boost your overall credit points. These courses are way more challenging than the core or honor courses. The main objective of these courses is to drill the student for college-level or even job-level work environments.
How does an online AP course vary from that of a traditional high school?
It is always better for you to compare both scenarios before you decide to go for an online or formal AP course.
-
Pre-requisites:
Both online and formal schools have their unique set of rules. The College Board might suggest recommendations for the pre-requisite courses that the student needs to pass. However, online as well as traditional schools have the flexibility to decide which prerequisite courses are essential for a student to pass to be eligible to take AP exams.
-
Approval of the course:
The first step for any online or formal high school is to get the approval of the AP class by the College Board. For this, the syllabus for the course has to be submitted to the College Board. Things can proceed further only if this syllabus is approved. In the case of a traditional school, the AP course teacher submits the syllabus. However, in an online school, the entire curriculum department submits the syllabi for the range of AP courses offered in each subject. Online teachers use the same approved syllabus.
Online school students are typically referred to traditional schools to take the AP Tests.
How to enroll for an AP course?
You need to get the entire list of all the AP courses provided by your online school. You can consult with your school counselor or online teachers regarding this. You should get all your trifling to intense concerns cleared out by them. You might want to get more detailed information regarding the prerequisites, the varied courses offered, and the courses that are well-suited to your interests. While taking a plunge into an Honors or AP course, you should be confident enough that you can consistently produce fairly good grades of an “A” or a “B”. The student needs to juggle these courses with core subjects efficiently.
What is the value of an AP course?
AP courses can be the career-making factor for students. Here are the major reasons why students take an AP course:
-
Walking an “extra” mile
If you have taken an AP course, it proves that you have a special interest in a specific subject. By completing some challenging courses in the subject of your interest, you have shown that you have taken that extra effort to gain more knowledge in that specific area. The college admission officers or advisers get impressed by such out-of-the-way efforts. It not only proves your credibility, but also demonstrates your diligent dedication towards that particular subject. It shows your genuine love for the subject!
-
Higher scores
AP courses sharpen the analytical, reading, writing, and objective analysis and evaluation skills of the student. This leads to higher scores in standardized tests. No wonder AP courses lead to a significant increase in ACT and SAT exam scores.
-
Higher GPAs
AP courses also impact the overall GPA scores. An “A” grade in an AP course may earn the student 5 points. Normally, in the conventional grading system, an “A” earns 4 points. However, it might not be the case in every online school, as grading scales might differ from school to school. So, make sure to check it out further by consulting with the Education Counselor of the school.
Students with one or more AP course degrees stand a higher chance of getting through the admission phase of their dream colleges. Moreover, most top-level colleges contain a Secondary School Report that helps the college officials to know more about the specific online high school. It gives an overview of the location of the online school, what kind of courses are offered by the school, how many AP courses are offered in each subject, grading system, highest GPA score in the class, etc. If the school is imparting a wide array of Honors and AP-level courses, then the colleges are likely to expect students to have taken at least one or more Honors or AP courses. This report is filled by the Education Counselor of the online high school and helps the college officials scrutinize the relative performance of the specific student.
What are the Advantages of Online AP courses?
-
Flexibility
Online AP courses provide a high degree of flexibility. The student can manage their traditional high school classes with an online AP course.
-
Affordable
Many online schools offer discounts on the cost involved in an online AP course. So be on the lookout.
-
Socialize with like-minded folks
It gives an opportunity to socialize with other students with the same goals and passions. The bonds can be very strong in this case since like-minded people flock together!
The Ogburn Online School offers the choice of AP courses to online high school students. The subjects are US History, Environmental Science, Calculus AB, and English Language and Composition. All the courses offered at Ogburn are College Board approved. These advanced-level courses are taught by specialized instructors.
If you do not have a solid purpose for enrolling in an online school, do not enroll. Without self-motivation, you will never be able to give the extra effort required to complete an AP course. However, if you have your “why,” jump into an AP class.