I hate math! Math is the one subject I just truly dislike. Although I get good grades in math, I don’t want to have to take another complete year of math in 12th grade; so I want to take AP Statistics and AP Calc online. I have a few questions about that CollegeData says I can take AP Calc and AP Stat through Khan Academy and get credit for it. I always used Khan academy as an addition to study for my in school AP classes (I am quite sure their info is incorrect). So my question is, if I take AP classes online; does that give me credit / exempt me from being forced to take a math in my 12 grade year?
Update, there are also free courses on EDX, a website sponsored by Harvard and Yale (It was either Yale or another Ivy) it also comes with a certificate, would that work?
Get credit where? HS or College?
High School
You have to take classes from a virtual high school approved by your high school or at a community college. AP stats should be considered one full year of math, as would a semester of math at a community college (calculus or statistics).
My daughter took AP Biology through BYU online high school for high school credit. She had to get approval in advance from her school and the credit was included on her transcript. It was very reasonable in price too.
Why do you say you “have” to take math as a Senior?
I have to take a math my senior year because I want to make sure I get into the Ivy Leagues, I have worked extremely hard throughout my educational career and I want to kick it into overdrive over this summer to look the best / stand out for admissions.
With acceptance rates of like 15% and below, nothing can make sure of that.
Online courses and instructors can vary in quality, so many will not be recognized or help you stand out compared to students taking courses with higher grading/teaching standards. Make sure to thoroughly check the course description and details before enrolling.
And as far as I know, not every Khan Academy course will be recognized by high schools, you would have to check with your high school. NorthernMom61 has a good example of how her daughter was able take an online course that was accredited by her high school and included on the transcripts.
With that said, colleges will certainly take into consideration online courses as proof of supplementing your education, again, the more recognized the course, the better it will reflect in your application. Once you get your AP math out of the way, push yourself to learn higher level courses that you’re actually interested in. The more knowledge you get in a subject, the more opportunities you will have to prove your intellectual strengths. EDX is a good resource for this.
Many of the IVY League students were not only taking APs, but also participating in competitions, research programs, etc. during their summer breaks. More and more extracurricular activities are available for high school students, some which can be done online as well. Feel free to PM me if you’d like more specifics.
AP Stats on KhanAcademy is a relatively new course, so I would stay away from that and take it from a different provider such as FLVS. AP Calc has plenty of resources available online and you might be able to get away with making your own course using resources such as MIT OCW and complete more than just AP Calc depending on whether you can get advanced resources such as tutoring. Even if you don’t, AP Calc is still a flagship class and should be easier to take online than AP Stats because of it.