Does anyone in Virginia participate or know anything about the Early College Scholars program? I recently found out about this, and would love to have the seal on my diploma… But what really interests me is the free tuition for AP’s on Virtual Virginia. I have a ton of classes I would like to take, for both enjoyment and the GPA boost… I can take basically as many classes as I want over the summer and transfer it to my transcript, but my parents don’t want to pay the $375 fee per course.
When am I able to sign up for it? I’m a sophomore, taking AP Euro, AP Studio 2D, and on the waitlist for Physics 1 (taking 2D in the meantime since other schools haven’t started the year yet).
Also, is it worth it to take the course (through VVA or not) after the exam? I’m reluctant to take the course after the exam, because the course would help more than a prep book ever would. I’m on self-studying Music Theory, Env Sci, HG, Psych, Micro, Macro, Art History, Comp Sci, Comp Gov, and World. I don’t think it’ll show up any different from classes on my other transcript, so I would mainly be taking it for more in depth study/enjoyment (scattered as they seem, they all hold my interest) and boosting my GPA.
Would it be advisable to take the easier classes online (Env Sci, Psych, HG, Micro, Macro), or would it seem like I’m doing it for padding? I don’t plan on writing about the classes for my essay (I know it’s early, but for now it seems unlikely I’ll mention it) and while I know I’d like some of them immensely (HG, Psych), I worry about looking like I’m doing it all for admissions, plus overloading myself when I know that I’ll try to apply for the Governer’s School at RU (Humanities) and possibly some other programs. It seems pointless to try and take the classes after the exam, but I want to try for college credit/advanced standing because I doubt I’ll get much college financial aid (parent had promotion and is making more money, but have few savings and nearly no retirement funds) if it’s only need based.
For the record, I plan on self-studying a few more AP’s as a junior and senior for credit/placement, but don’t know if I can take it between sophomore and junior year and remember enough to do well on the exam. Could I request access to the materials in the course but not take it for credit, then mention it on my application (if that, I personally don’t care whether they show up or not)?