<p>I suggested that my son take a college classes for two reasons: 1) to see how the college classes were structured differently from HS classes (i.e. no daily homework, big lectures, etc.), and 2) he took a summer class and lived for 6 weeks at the school at the top of his list to see how he liked living there. (He also knocked off his UC VPA requirement at the local CC so he could do it in one semester vs. one year.) He is a humanities kid through and through. Although my only goal at the time was to keep him interested in learning (which high school was NOT doing), I do believe that having been successful at the college level helped him with admissions. It motivated him to become involved in the college application process as well (improved HS grades, willingness to strive for the schools he wanted to attend, etc.).</p>